Sara Juhl

Bexar County Civil District Court Staff Attorney’s Office – San Antonio, TX

What did you like most about your job?

I absolutely love everyone I work with, the other interns, the Staff Attorneys themselves, and the Judges. Everyone communicates well with each other. The Staff Attorneys always welcome questions, always willing to teach us, and have open doors for us.

What was the most surprising thing you learned at your job?

I have learned so many things at the Staff Attorney’s Office. The most surprising probably would be how every Judge has their own nuances of how they run their courtrooms and how they want the documents to be.

How do you think this experience has helped you in your career path?

Our office is not open to the public still because of COVID but we started Zoom meetings with the Pro Se individuals and instead of the Pro Se’s coming into the court for hearings to finalize their divorces, name changes, etc. we are able to present their orders to the Judge on their behalf. While I am not sure what it was like pre-COVID, I believe this is an efficient way to help the public while keeping everyone safe.

Brianna Chapa

Texas Attorney General – Austin, TX

How did you get your job?

St. Mary’s alumni connection and networking.

What was the most surprising thing you learned at your job?

Lawyers often have to be experts in subjects outside of the law! The lawyers in Civil Medicaid Fraud are experts in medical procedures, medical billing, and the law.

How do you think this experience has helped you in your career path?

The AG attorneys are so nice and welcoming. I built a great network this summer and gained mentors! Their advice, honesty, and connections they’ve already provided me will help me succeed as a law student and lawyer.

Amanda Aguilar

Vidaurri, Lyde, Roriguez & Haynes, LLP – San Antonio, TX

How did you get your job?

I found my job on CORE, right before finals!

What did you like most about your job?

My favorite part of my job is interacting with all the different people in the office. Everyone has such a different role, but they are all pivotal to getting the job done.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned at this job?

The most valuable thing I’ve learned at my job so far is seeing how the procedural law and doctrinal law work together to impact strategy.

Sabrina Salazar

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas – San Antonio, TX

How did you get your job?

I found the job posting on CORE and applied that way. I was really surprised when I was offered a position without having to interview!

What did you like most about your job?

The entire internship experience was a dream! I got a lot of courtroom experience, which has been really helpful in terms of my classes this semester. For example, my experience in Evidence has been so dynamic because I have recent, real-life experiences to apply all the rules to. I worked with 4 other interns, most from different law schools (UT, U of H, Vanderbilt). I worked with clerks from Vanderbilt and University of Virginia. I also worked with St. Mary’s students which definitely made the experience less scary early on! It was great to get to meet other law students and recent grads to discuss ideas, cases, experiences, and overall bond with. Judge Ezra was so nice and considerate of our internship experience, always making sure we got the most out of it. The clerks for the different judges would regularly invite the interns to social events so we were always bonding and having fun together outside of work. Also, Judge kept the best snacks in his chambers!

What was the most surprising thing you learned at your job?

My first assignment was to draft a judicial order. I was really surprised when the clerk told me to use my discretion when deciding whether to grant or deny the motion. (Of course, the clerk and Judge double and triple checked my work.) Another exciting and surprising part of the job was Judge’s open-door policy. He even encouraged us to bring our spouses (and my daughter) into chambers.

How do you think this experience has helped you in your career path?

Before my internship I was pretty sure I wanted to practice transactional law. After completing my summer internship, I am now confident I could be a successful litigator, and that I would enjoy it. I was able to secure a position as a litigation associate for next summer at my top choice law firm during the first round of OCI. I know my internship with Judge Ezra helped me secure this position, and the relief I feel having a job lined up for next summer is truly unmatched!

Geoffrey Van Olden

Ketterman Rowland & Westlund – San Antonio, TX

What did you like most about your job?

I enjoy the feeling of making someone whole again after they’ve suffered an injury. The work we do at the firm is largely about holding people accountable for their actions, so the sense of justice at play is what makes the job worth doing. It’s easy to get passionate about our cases and doing good work for our clients.

What was the most surprising thing you learned at this job?

I have been surprised at how much Torts with Professor Liu prepared me for the work I have been doing at the firm. The basics learned in that class truly prepared me for my clerkship. Being able to rely on that knowledge has been awesome, and it has proved to be a great foundation for learning more about personal injury work.

Sabrina Rodriguez

Texas Advocacy Project, Inc. – Virtual

How did you get your job?

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to clerk with the Texas Advocacy Project this summer. I learned of the position through the OCS Spring Recruitment Program and was thrilled to have the chance to work with this organization.

What did you like most about your job?

TAP offers a variety of services to Texans across the state, including community trainings on cycles of abuse and legal aid for survivors. This position offered me the opportunity to work with attorneys who share my passion about these issues. The attorneys I worked with were fantastic and allowed me to get lots of hands-on experience with legal research and document drafting.

How did your job change in a virtual workplace? How did you interact with your co-workers?

I was concerned that a remote clerk experience may not offer the same quality feedback and assignments, however the TAP legal team largely operates remotely (even pre-pandemic) so virtual collaboration is built in to the organization’s culture.

Kathryn Cantu

Pulman, Cappuccio & Pullen, LLP – San Antonio, TX

How did you get your job?

I was very fortunate to have found my job through a series of connecting and networking with St. Mary’s Law Alumni. I started with a cold-open email to an attorney in my hometown that led to her introducing me to one of her law school friends who worked in San Antonio. After connecting with the San Antonio attorney and discovering her firm had already filled its summer positions, she asked for my resume, sent it to a colleague, and I ended up with an interview at my current firm. Now I am happy to say that I have gained three wonderful mentors through this process along with tons of experience!

What did you like most about your job?

I love all the hands-on experience I have gained! Whether it was drafting court documents, conducting legal research, or preparing legal memorandums – I always felt like I was learning something new. I also appreciated that the partners and associates took time with me to provide feedback on my work product and teach me about the procedures in this area of the law. Each member of the firm was welcoming, and I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity working for Mr. Cappuccio.

Danielle Throneberry

Texas Fourth Court of Appeals – Virtual

How did you get your job?

I applied to my job through CORE – the Office of Career Strategy’s job bank – early on in the Spring semester of my 1L year. I was selected as a candidate to interview, and then I was later selected for the position.

What was the most surprising thing you learned at your job?

The most surprising thing that I learned at my job is that appellate courts are exposed to such a diverse array of cases – both civil and criminal – that span all areas of law. You really get exposure to so many different realms, which makes the job very interesting and never boring! You are always learning something new, and the law is constantly evolving!

What did you like most about your job?

I really enjoyed learning about so many different areas of the law to prepare myself to research and then eventually work on drafting opinions. I would spend time reading the record in cases, but I would also spend significant time researching particular issues to familiarize myself with the specific facts, applicable law, and opinions in other similar cases (if any exist!). The hands-on experience was incredible, and it was amazing to see the reality of the 1L brief and moot court experience come to life!

How do you think this experience has helped you in your career path?

This experience has helped refine my research and writing skills so that I can continue to be successful throughout law school and beyond. Further, I think that all law students should have a foundational understanding of the appellate process because of the likelihood of encountering an appeal or possibly having to file one in future practice.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned at this job?

The most valuable thing I learned at this job is two-fold. First, the practical knowledge regarding the appellate process, research, and writing will stick with me as I continue my legal career. Next, and perhaps most importantly, is that your best effort is good enough. Nobody has all the answers, but as long as you try your best and do a thorough job, the work product will be successful. Also, there is nothing that can’t be fixed – and working collaboratively really contributes to success.

How did your job change in a virtual workplace? How did you interact with your co-workers?

My job responsibilities did not change in a virtual workplace. The only difference is that I was not in the office every day. I interacted with my coworkers via Zoom and phone calls. We connected often to discuss cases, applicable laws, and each step of the research and writing process. We also grabbed lunch a few times. It was a really successful internship!

Maya Henry

Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division – San Antonio, TX

What did you like most about your job?

I really enjoy how expansive “consumer protection” work is. I’ve learned a lot about the extensiveness of the DTPA and how it was designed to protect Texas consumers as well as the tools the Attorney General’s office utilizes to ensure businesses are not engaging in deceptive practices.

What was the most surprising thing you learned at this job?

The most surprising thing I’ve learned during my time at the Office of the Attorney General is how diverse Consumer Protection work is. The Consumer Protection Division handles cases involving everything from internet/phone phishing scams, fraudulent and deceptive business practices, health care regulation compliance, the opioid crisis, disaster and emergency price gouging scams, and deceptive education/student loan practices. We work on a range of high profile, multi-state cases to local community-focused schemes throughout Texas.

How did your job change in a virtual workplace? How did you interact with your co-workers?

From what I know, the law clerk role itself has not changed much during the transition to a virtual workplace. I receive all of the same projects and type of work and the division is extremely good at remaining in communication with each other. We are actually allowed to work in the Downtown office a few days out of the week which adds an extra level of structure and sense of community rather than a completely virtual environment. My supervisor, the Office’s lead attorney, and I all meet daily to check in on my progress with certain cases and to discuss any new projects I want to take on. They really value my growth and education during my time in this internship and want to make sure I am on my way to becoming a competent attorney. I personally reach out to my other co-workers to understand their roles and the processes they undertake, such as discovery, public interaction and communication, prepping for trial, and press/media meetings, and how they are handled by each person.

Mariela Encinas

Pima County Attorney’s Office – Tucson, AZ

How did you get your job?

I worked at the Pima County Attorney’s Office as a paralegal prior to attending St. Mary’s. I reached out to one of the attorneys I worked with during my time as a paralegal and he helped me get connected with the supervising attorney that works with the clerk program at the office.

What did you like most about your job?

I enjoy working with the attorneys and learning by observation. I’ve had the opportunity to not only do legal research and writing but observe them in the courtrooms and in meetings where they discuss cases and strategy with their fellow attorneys and staff.