preLaw - Back To School 2008 - (Page 35) specialties CRIMINAL LAW ed to go into public interest law. So she became involved in the National Lawyers Guild during her first semester and joined the Association for Public Interest Law, a student organization at her school. In her third year of law school, Lee received the National Lawyers Guild C.B. King Award for Outstanding Achievement, the highest honor offered to a student member. Lee was selected for her contribution to the Guild’s mass defense work and for inspiring other students to get involved. And Lee didn’t land her first internship by sending out resumes. She did so by networking. Meeting a legal services attorney took her to Fort Lauderdale where she worked on a special project helping people who were just getting out of prison. With Equal Justice Works, Lee has researched best practices for sex offender treatment and interviewed many prisoners. She now hopes to file a lawsuit to challenge the state’s residency restrictions on released sex offenders. “I’m able to see what happens to people after they’re incarcerated,” Lee said. “That keeps me excited to keep doing this work.” A challenge to working in the field is “just knowing what people face,” Lee said. “There are so many people being run through [the criminal justice system] and many of the people don’t have good representation.” To law students interested in criminal law, Lee recommended researching and reading about the criminal justice system in order to better understand the needs of everyone involved. “Try to get as much experience working in the area as possible,” she said. “Volunteer in a public defender or legal aid office, or take clinics so that you can get real practical experience.” Above all, Lee said it’s important to stay committed to working in the field throughout law school — even when it seems that resources or opportunities are scarce. What is criminal law? Trials are only a small part of the picture in the field of criminal law. With most matters resolved with plea bargains, both prosecutors and public defenders are constantly involved in negotiations. The types of cases handled include crimes against people, drug crimes, organized crime, public corruption and economic crimes. Many prosecutors and public defenders work for the state or federal government. Private criminal defense attorneys generally work for law firms. Expect to spend many hours in a courtroom. People enter the field of criminal law in many ways. Some are inspired through classes, clinical work and internships or summer jobs. To prepare for the field, take a negotiations class, or even a business-related course. Improve your writing skills by taking legal research and writing classes. Undergraduate courses in speech communications, social work and psychology can be helpful, according to information in The Official Guide to Legal Specialties by Lisa L. Abrams, J.D. Talk to people who are working as criminal law attorneys. Where to study… Albany Law School Baylor Law School Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law California Western School of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law Concord Law School Thomas M. Cooley Law School DePaul University College of Law Florida State University College of Law Fordham Law School George Mason University School of Law Golden Gate University School of Law Hofstra University School of Law Lewis & Clark Law School Pace Law School Quinnipiac University School of Law Saint Louis University School of Law Seattle University School of Law South Texas College of Law CRIMINAL LAW Southwestern Law School Suffolk University Law School Thomas M. Cooley Law School Tulane University Law School University of Arizona Rogers College of Law University of Buffalo Law School University of Connecticut School of Law University of Dayton School of Law University of LaVerne College of Law University of Nebraska College of Law University of Oregon School of Law University of Pittsburgh School of Law University of Washington School of Law Western State University College of Law Widener University School of Law-Harrisburg Willamette University College of Law Quinnipiac University School of Law University of Akron School of Law Back to School 2008 35
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.