My Post-1L Summer

 

This post is a little overdue, but, hey, better late than never, right? Even though it is almost the end of October (how did that happen?!), I still thought it would be a good idea to talk about my post-1L summer, especially because it was so different from what I expected due to COVID-19. 

I was lucky enough to get an internship over the summer. Plenty of people in my class lost their jobs, internships, and externships due to the uncertainty of the summer, but I'm grateful the courts were using video calls for hearings and docket. 

I worked as a judicial intern for a judge, where I spent my summer working on an opinion for a county court appeal while also attending hearings, docket, and, at the end of the summer, two trials. While it wasn't exactly what I had been hoping for while working in the courts, I'm happy that I still had the opportunity to watch lawyers and judges learn to adapt to the new online environment courts, and many other jobs, were forced to enter. 

I think that was the best way to stay positive about my situation: looking at what I could learn from this unexpected setting rather than at what I was missing out on. As much as I would have loved to dress up every day and work in the courthouse, I was still able to learn a lot and get a great writing sample out of my internship. 

Related: The 1L Summer Job Hunt

I also took one class over the summer, Evidence, and, of course, it was online. I had already planned on taking Evidence over the summer because I knew I would be able to focus better on studying for this tough class if it were the only final exam I needed to focus on. This method worked out great for me, as I don't think I would have gotten the grade I did if I didn't only have to spend time memorizing the Federal Rules of Evidence. 

I really enjoyed Evidence, even though it was tough. I think it's interesting to finally understand what is actually going on in trials and motions hearings, as well as to understand what goes through an attorney's mind while they're making objections. One thing I think helped me a lot in Evidence was having the ability to test my knowledge of the Federal Rules of Evidence while listening in on the trials and hearings at my internship. It was nice to put myself (and my class notes) to the test every day. 

One last thing I worked on during the summer was my law review application. The write-on process was tough and sometimes overwhelming, and it was an intense three weeks of reading, writing, and editing. 

Related: The Law Review Write-On Process

It did work out in the end though, as I was accepted onto law review and now I'm currently working on my case comment for the fall semester. It's been a great experience thus far, and I'm excited to see where else law review takes me. 

xoxo,

Rachel