This summer I had the opportunity to extern in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Downtown Los Angeles. As a judicial extern, I watched proceedings and performed legal research and writing. I also had the opportunity to talk to many judges about their experiences as attorneys. My favorite part of working in chambers was the chance to put into practice some of the theories I had learned during my first year. For instance, during our first year we learned about the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and during the summer I had the opportunity to see how these rules were integrated into complaints. Furthermore, working in bankruptcy was a great opportunity to learn an area of the law that I had previously not been exposed to. I learned a lot from looking at issues that I was not familiar with and researching primary and secondary sources for new concepts and precedent. Furthermore, having a supportive judge and amazing clerks definitely made the process more enjoyable.
In addition to all the interesting work in court, this summer I tried out a lot of new food places in Downtown Los Angeles. The Federal building was very close to the Arts District, and Chinatown so there were plenty of options for delicious food daily. In addition to the restaurants in the area, Downtown has farmers markets that offer fresh produce during the day. I enjoyed walking to the farmers market to buy delicious strawberries from the farmers market during my lunch break. Oh, also the view from chambers was pretty sweet!
