Gathering the courage to make an objection in court or cross-examine a witness can be difficult on a first attempt. So if you plan to pursue a career in criminal law, experts say to get as much trial experience as possible during law school.
Yosha Gunasekera, an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania Law School who works as a public defender in New York City, says she remembers feeling uncomfortable when she was told to cross-examine a police officer during a real trial as a student in a criminal law clinic. But overcoming this challenge ultimately increased her confidence, she says.
“It really made me comfortable in a courtroom setting,” she said.
[Gain skills in trial law during law school.]
Experts say opportunities to do substantive legal work in externships, internships, clinical practicums and pro bono workshops are a critical factor in whether a law school provides meaningful preparation for a criminal law career. Another sign of quality in a criminal law program is having both former prosecutors and defense attorneys on its faculty, and connecting students with work experiences on both the prosecution and the defense sides.
“I think that understanding what happens on the other side of the table — how they think about a case, what the issues are and what their struggles are — can really make you a much more effective advocate for your side,” said Heidi Rummel, a clinical law professor and co-director of the Post-Conviction Justice Project at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
Rummel, a former federal prosecutor who now does criminal defense work, says it is easier to predict the arguments that an adversary attorney will make if you are exposed to the way both the prosecution and defense approach criminal cases.
“Even though a lot of students have a clear idea about which side of the table they want to be on, it’s an excellent opportunity in law school to get the other perspective,” she says. “It will just make you better at what you do.”
[Get law school application advice from recent law grads.]
Ariel Neuman, a private criminal defense attorney based in Los Angeles, says one sign that a law school prioritizes its criminal law program is if it has professors who are former federal prosecutors.
“Becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney in a major city is among the most difficult jobs to get in the legal profession, and learning from these former federal prosecutors will give students vast insight into the criminal process,” Neuman, a Harvard alumnus and former federal prosecutor, wrote in an email. “Schools that have them on faculty show a commitment to teaching criminal law and an understanding of the profession.”
Also ask whether a law school has career service professionals on staff who specialize in helping graduates find public interest law jobs, experts say.
Gunasekera, the University of Pennsylvania alumna, says her advisers at the university’s Toll Public Interest Center provided career advice throughout law school that helped her build up her resume.
[See a law school resume that made the cut at Harvard.]
“From day one, law students who know that this is the career they want to do should meet with someone like that and say, ‘What is the strategic way to be successful in law school? What should I be doing to create the most attractive resume and really to get the best experience?'” she said.
Gunasekera also suggests researching whether a law school offers summer stipends for public interest fellowships or if it offers scholarships to public interest law students. That kind of financial support, coupled with either public service loan forgiveness or an income-based repayment plan, can make student loans more manageable for those who do public interest law, she says, despite the fact that this career path is less lucrative than corporate law.
Neal Davis, a Texas-based criminal defense attorney with more than 20 years of experience, said that law school applicants dreaming of a criminal law career should inquire about whether the school has internships or externships with a district attorney’s office, a public defender’s office or the U.S. Department of Justice.
That kind of practical experience, Davis said, is more valuable for a criminal law career than a course on legal theory.
Prospective law students who want to become defense attorneys should target law schools with flexible course requirements, said Scott Kimberly, a criminal defense attorney in Tennessee.
“If all students are required to complete a certain curriculum through the first two years of law school, which may include an array of courses in legal theory wholly unrelated to criminal defense, a student may not be able to craft their courseload to focus on criminal defense,” he said in an email. “If, on the other hand, students are only required to follow a set curriculum for one year, that would allow students to focus at least two years on criminal defense training.”
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Pick the Right Law School for a Career in Criminal Law originally appeared on usnews.com
