Joe's Job

So here’s a little blurble (or bloggle?) about my summer job. I’m working for the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, in Boise. The U.S. Attorney is like a district attorney (the person who takes all the criminals to court and gets them convicted), except for the Federal Government. The U.S. Attorney (USA for short) has a whole office of Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs), support staff, and lowly unpaid externs to do her bidding. I’m one of the latter…lattest. I’m a lowly extern.

But it’s actually a lot of fun! I get to help AUSAs with their cases in the criminal division. By “help” I mean a whole range of supportive activities, from doing an hour of research on a question for a busy AUSA to representing the United States in an actual hearing before a Federal District Judge. I’ve even written a brief for an appeal before the Ninth Circuit. I get to engage in a range of work on a variety of cases, each with a unique set of facts and legal issues. With some I’ve hopped on at the end of the process, studying the file before helping with the sentencing stage. With others, I’ve gotten aboard at the investigation stage, working with real-life FBI, Secret Service, and DEA agents to establish probable cause and make a charging plan.

Of course, I’m doing all of this under the supervision of experienced prosecutors. I have two official supervising attorneys, one of whom is a UVA Law alumnus. But we’re encouraged to take projects from attorneys all over the office, even the civil division. So yes, I’m being supervised, but I do have a limited practice license that empowers me to act as if I’m a member of the bar, as long as I have a supervisor hovering over my shoulder to some extent.

I’m having a blast. The work is exciting and challenging, my coworkers are interesting and accomplished, and the hours are absolutely cushy compared to law school. I get to come home every evening and weekend to spend time with my family without homework hanging over my head. This office’s summer externship program is full of lectures and activities to make the experience educational. And best of all, this experience tells me that I really like prosecution work, so it’s a good direction to take my career. And it helps that the people I’m working with at the U.S. Attorney’s Office have a lot of connections in the community, especially at the prosecutor’s offices where they started their careers. I’m loving the job, and we’re loving Idaho. I really hope we get to come back next year.