Justine Keel

I applied to the office not because I wanted to be a prosecutor, though I had toyed with the idea, but because I thought interning there for the summer would be a great opportunity to get practical work experience and skills that I wouldn’t have the chance to get elsewhere over the summer.  I was right.  Working in this office was the best way I could have spent my summer.  The first day of the internship, I told my supervisor what I wanted to accomplish and work on during the internship, including getting comfortable appearing in court, producing a substantial piece of writing, and working on environmental and white collar cases.  The very next morning, he introduced me to AUSAs who had work in those areas for me, including work on an appellate brief.  I also soon began appearing in court.  I even had the opportunity to work on preparing for a standing and suppression hearing, during which I examined two witnesses in court.  If I were in school in the Boise area I would have asked them to let me stick around for the fall!

This experience made me want to be a prosecutor.  It is the first internship I have had where I not only gained valuable skills, but also learned that I would like to do the job that I did as a career.  It was also worth not getting paid to work there- that’s something I have not generally felt about other unpaid internships!  The office was very friendly, and the attorneys’ doors were nearly always open for interns to find out about a new project or case or to tag along to court.  I would wholeheartedly recommend this internship to anyone who is interested in litigation or criminal law.