Posted: July 7, 2021.
麻豆原创 Downtown was created with the mission of connecting students to opportunities through networking, internships and jobs. The proximity of the campus to Orlando鈥檚 Central Business District places students within walking distance of job and internship opportunities, and for many legal studies alumni they were able to experience that firsthand.
The聽Department of聽Legal Studies聽is the聽largest聽undergraduate聽legal studies program in the country.聽A hallmark of the program is its聽internships, which provide聽valuable聽experiences for students.聽Each year,聽between 60 and 75 students partake in an internship.
鈥淚nternships provide our students with the invaluable opportunity to apply what they have learned in our classes in a real, yet still educational, legal environment,鈥� says聽Margarita鈥疜oblasz,鈥疛.D., associate聽lecturer聽and聽internship聽coordinator. 鈥淎llowing them to hone their skills under the mentorship of a practicing attorney, all while gaining practical work experience before graduating and stepping into the professional arena.鈥�
麻豆原创 Downtown聽had the opportunity to speak to three students that were able to gain internships even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and聽are now putting聽the skills they聽learned both聽as students and interns聽to work.
Alyssa Spadel ’21 is a 濒别驳补濒听蝉迟耻诲颈别蝉聽graduate聽who聽interned聽at the Gray Law Firm, a personal injury law firm,聽during her senior year.
Throughout her internship, she worked on a federal case with Attorney Gray (whom she worked under), who had co-counsel on the case. After her internship ended, the co-counsel hired Spadel to continue to work on the case. She says the best experience she had was when she sat in a federal court hearing with Attorney Gray. 鈥淚t was very surreal, and I felt so lucky to have an opportunity like this at such a young age鈥� Spadel says.
Throughout her聽legal studies聽classes,聽Spadel聽was able to gain important knowledge and tips that set her up for success in preparation for this internship.聽鈥淭he鈥疞egal鈥疭tudies鈥痙epartment had done an excellent job preparing me, as I was ready to tackle any task handed my way,鈥澛燬padel聽says.聽鈥淭he most basic classes in the major,鈥痩egal鈥痳esearch and鈥痩egal writing, had allowed me to be thoroughly prepared to tackle the drafting and researching I had been asked to complete. I was able to use聽WestLaw聽and Lexis Nexis without any interruptions as I had done so in my classes.聽I felt very confident in what I had learned in my classes which allowed me to be successful in my聽internship.鈥�
Before聽her internship,聽Spadel聽was unsure聽about her future聽as COVID-19 had sent聽her聽home for many months and made聽her聽nervous to make such a big commitment. However, after everything聽she had聽learned聽she says she is聽confident that law聽is the path聽she wants聽to take.聽鈥淭his Internship was truly indescribable, and I would recommend this opportunity to anyone and everyone!鈥�
Michael Acquaviva聽鈥�21聽interned聽at Jordan Law聽鈥� located just聽9 minutes away from聽麻豆原创 Downtown.
During his three month internship, Acquaviva worked on virtual traffic hearings as well as a few DUI and criminal trials.聽聽鈥淚t advanced my knowledge tremendously throughout the trial process and ultimately gave me [experience] as to understand what type of law I may want to pursue in my professional career,鈥� says Acquaviva.
鈥淭his internship provided me with an opportunity to develop interpersonal relationships with attorneys, office staff, and many other鈥痩egal鈥痑dvisors, as well as shed light on the solidification that becoming an attorney was, in fact, for me,鈥澛燗cquaviva聽says.
Lastly, Andrew William Hathcox 鈥�20 interned during his last semester as an undergraduate student at the Ninth Circuit Public Defenders Office in the 14th and 16th divisions, which handle the office鈥檚 criminal felony cases.
The Public Defender’s Office is only half a mile away from campus, which made it easy for him to serve as a鈥痩egal鈥痑ssistant to the assistant public defenders in the divisions.鈥疉fter his internship, Hathcox was given the opportunity to come back to the office to continue his work until he leaves for law school in July 2021.
Hathcox says a few of the primary skills this internship required include a meticulous approach to鈥痩egal鈥痳esearch, a firm understanding of the ethical requirements within a law practice, and the utmost professionalism when engaging with clients or other鈥痩egal professionals.鈥疻hile reflecting on how prepared Hathcox was for this internship, he stated 鈥淟egal鈥疭tudies鈥痯repared me for this internship by incorporating the tools used by lawyers in the practice of law into our curriculum. Being able to hit the ground running when asked to conduct鈥痩egal research or draft documents set me apart from interns that were less equipped.鈥�
He also gained聽important聽skills聽during his time,聽including聽virtually conducting client initial interviews, taking trips to the Orange County Jail to correspond with clients, watching officer body worn camera聽footage聽of client arrests,聽as well as going through other evidence in a cases discovery, attending court proceedings, and attending evidence viewings.鈥�淭his experience has solidified my dedication to achieving a鈥痩egal鈥痚ducation and聽has聽helped form the foundation for which I can start to build my鈥痩egal鈥痗areer,鈥澛燞athcox聽says.
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