Adventures of a Summer Intern in DC

This summer, I was lucky enough to land an internship in the civil litigation division of the DC Office of the Attorney General (I would love to go to law school eventually!). I’ve been jotting down some thoughts each day, so I figured I’d share some of the highlights of what I wrote – maybe this way I’ll have some interesting answers to that “how’s your summer going?” question:

Day 1:

The first conclusion that the other interns (all law students except for one other undergrad) draw when they find out I’m not in law school is – “Oh, so you can’t drink!” … yes, THANK YOU.

Day 3:

I took more extensive notes than I ever have for school. (on the four depositions I witnessed)

Day 5:

Before I even get to the front doors of MPD, this guy sprints out the door with two cops on his tail and one cop shouts that there was an arrest warrant out for him that just came out today, or something like that. (only slightly terrifying. I was just there to makes some copies. #internlife)

The number of times I’ve smiled and nodded when an attorney is talking to me, only to have to mentally note to go back to my desk and Google/Wikipedia a term… is very high.

Day 6:

I watched a Guatemalan heroin dealer plead guilty in federal court today. Bright orange jumpsuit and everything! #dontdodrugskids

Day 10:

Today I met the Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police, Cathy Lanier. I don’t really know what I was expecting to be honest but she basically single-handedly shut down every stereotype possible… she is tall, blonde, and very sassy.

So far it’s been a lot of learning. Learning to fake it till you make it, learning to walk in heels, learning to be professional even when I have no idea what I’m talking about or doing, learning to deal with tourists standing on the wrong side of the escalator on the metro…  this commute is probably the worst part! I’m looking forward to assisting with an upcoming trial, although I feel like I’m getting more out of being here than the attorneys are from my assistance. I suppose everyone has to pay their useless-intern dues, right?


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