Inside the Courtroom: My Summer Externship with Hon. David Carter
This past summer I had the privilege of working as a judicial extern for U.S District Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California. I chose to work as a judicial extern during the summer following my first year because I wanted to learn from trial attorneys and law clerks about the nuances of the law, and put my research and writing skills to the test.
Judge Carter has two law clerks who assigned the work to the externs, and my main tasks included observing court proceedings and drafting orders for motions to dismiss, motions to compel and default judgments. The chambers were fast-paced and full of energy, just like Judge Carter himself. The judicial externship gave me substantive experience in writing and research. After drafting an order, one of the clerks critiqued the writing style and analysis of the order, which provided invaluable feedback. It typically takes four to five drafts before an order is published.
My 1L Lawyering Skills course prepared me to research and write orders for the court. Strong research and writing skills are essential to becoming a successful judicial extern and necessary for every career path following graduation. The clerks also organized interesting and practical workshops for the externs, designed to give externs more information about working in different facets of the legal industry, including big law, government, public interest, and clerkships.
Seeing Judge Carter in action and gaining insight into the way he handles his case analysis was an incredible experience. Moreover, my externship was a great way to see the inner workings of a courtroom, hone my writing and research skills and meet a wide variety of lawyers in all different practice areas.