Michael Martucci is a second-year day student at New England Law |
Boston. This past summer he worked as a law clerk at the Law Office
of Susan, T. Aguiar, a busy solo
practice in Boston, MA. As part of our new blog series highlighting student
work Michael writes about his summer experience and explains how he found his internship.
My summer job search began
around the middle of March. Having absolutely no legal connections in the area,
the NEL|B CSO Symplicity
site was my only resource for finding a summer internship—and it proved to
be a valuable one. It was really important for me to be in Boston for the
summer, so I dedicated about 8-10 hours each week looking through the site for
new job postings and preparing cover letters. I kept a detailed record of dates
and places that I applied, and made sure to follow up on every application and
email. By the end of April the persistent effort paid off when I received an
offer for a summer law clerk position at a busy solo practice. It was exactly
what I was looking for: small firm atmosphere, located in the city, and to top
it all off, it was a full-time, paid position.
I was very fortunate in
that the attorney I worked for truly enjoyed teaching law students the
practical “ins” and “outs” of the profession. I expected to spend my summer filing papers
and answering phones, so I was quite surprised on the first day when the
attorney handed me a stack of files and asked me to begin research for a
summary judgment motion. In fact, she allowed me to participate in almost every
aspect of her personal injury law practice. My responsibilities included legal research,
drafting memoranda and legal documents, filing documents at the courthouse,
meeting with clients, and communicating with opposing counsel over the phone. It
was a great hands-on experience of what it was like to work as an attorney.
My favorite part of the
internship was gaining practical legal experience—it really helped to boost my
confidence in school. I have no doubt that I am a better student this semester
because of the work I did over the summer. The practical knowledge has helped
me frame my classwork in a way that allows me to comprehend the material
quicker and more thoroughly than before. This has been especially helpful given
the heavy workload that accompanies the second-year of law school. The hardest
part of the position was constantly juggling several different projects at the
same time, especially since I had no prior legal experience. The biggest
challenge was time management. However, successfully completing all the
projects was by far the most rewarding part of my summer, and the constant juggling
actually became enjoyable.
Throughout my whole
experience, I found the skills I developed in my first-year Legal Research and
Writing (LRW) course to be most useful as I spent the majority of my summer researching
cases and drafting arguments. Not only did I get to bolster my research and
writing skills, but I also drafted a wide array of court documents, which ended
up being very helpful for my LRW class this fall.
Overall, the biggest
take-away from my summer internship was the confirmation that I made the right
choice to go to law school. I find the work challenging and engaging, and I can
honestly say that I want to make a career out of it. Furthermore, it ended up
being one of the best summers I can remember. For my next internship, I would
like to challenge myself by working in a larger firm as the contrasting
atmospheres would be helpful in pinpointing a direction for my future. However,
regardless of what I do next, I know that the knowledge and experience I gained
working this past summer will put me in a great position to succeed.
- Michael J. Martucci, Class of 2014
Students
have access to internship and postgraduate job postings and can participate in
on- and off-campus recruitment programs through our Symplicity site. To
access, you will need your Student ID# and a password (sent to you in November
of your first year.) If you don't have a password, please email the Career
Services Office (CSO) at cso@nesl.edu. To identify your own career goals and create a
personalized job search strategy, call the CSO at 617-422-7229 to schedule an
appointment with a career counselor.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment