Serving Through the State

By Kalyn Norwood

Photos by Maria Iacobo

 

Government attorneys spoke with USC Gould students about the nature of working in the public sector and what their offices look for in future employees at the “Government Employers Panel,” presented by the Government Law Organization.

 

Louis Avila '98

“If you want compensation there are plenty of opportunities as a lawyer to get compensation.… That’s not why you do this job,” Trutanich said. “You do this job… because you get to represent and do justice.”
 
Trutanich left a private firm to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2008. As a U.S. attorney, he prosecutes criminal cases and primarily focuses on gangs. He recently took part in an operation that saw the arrest of the entire Avenues gang in Northeast Los Angeles. Through his decision to become a government attorney, he said he feels he is able to effectively change neighborhoods for people in the community.

 

Louis Avila ’98 has served as L.A. County deputy district attorney since 1999. Previous to working as an attorney, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He said that as a deputy district attorney, the same principle of protecting the public applies and allows him to continue serving his country and his state through a different medium.

 

“What’s on the line is pretty important,” Avila said. “From the defendants’ standpoint, it is freedom. From our standpoint, it is the safety and security of the people of the state of California… that’s who you’re representing.”

 

Gary Tavetian ’84 urged the students to use their law degree to do good for the community. Tavetian left 15 years in private practice to join the natural resources division of the California Attorney General’s Office in 2001. He said his job is to protect the natural resources of California.

 

“To be able to say that I have been able to stop pollution and that I have helped people have a better life in California… makes me very proud,” Tavetian said. “There are various ways to help people in society – this is one of them.”

 

As the head of his office’s internship program, he told students it was important to have a resume that demonstrated a sincere commitment to civic duties.
 

He also provided interview advice. Instead of students talking about how a particular internship would help them in the future, he said they should speak on how interested they were in helping the people in the state of California.

 

“When you’re interviewing, you’re there to help us because you care about what we do,” Tavetian said.

Avila spoke in detail about the three-step hiring process for becoming a district attorney in his office, where only 70 of 1,400 applicants were offered a job this past year.
 
“They’re looking for your ability to communicate, to talk on your feet, to have a conversation and to be engaging,” Avila said. “They want to know that you can stand up in front of 25 people you don’t know and pick 12 as potential jurors.”

 

Trutanich advised students to seek out mentors.

 

“Hook yourself to somebody’s hip or a couple of peoples’ hips and just listen to what they have to say as your career progresses,” Trutanich said.
 
There are many routes one can take in serving as an attorney, but for these three men, no other practice could be more rewarding.

 

“[The best think about being a government attorney is] the fact that your ethical obligation, your job, is to see that justice is done,” Avila said.

 

Speakers with Government Law Organization leaders