An exploratory externship at the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office may prove to be a career-defining experience for Kate Poppe, a 2L on the IP track.

Where are you externing?
Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office

Why did you decide to pursue this particular externship opportunity?
I really enjoyed my Criminal Procedure course taught by Professor Mickenberg and had received a scholarship to participate in the 2007 National Public Defender Training Program. I thought that this externship would give me an opportunity to look into criminal law and see if it would be an area that I would want to pursue in the future.

What is a typical day at your externship like for you?
I am currently working for the Juvenile Division so a typical day includes my interviewing juvenile detainees at the detention center and then going to their respective hearings in the afternoon to see if the magistrate will release them from detention. I then research and write memos the rest of the afternoon. For the past few weeks I have been reading transcripts from a custody case and writing supplemental objections to the Magistrate’s decision.

What are you learning?
I have gained some invaluable experience in client interviewing by both observing my supervisor interact with clients and conducting interviews myself. In addition I am learning a good deal about time management because I am kept quite busy on a daily basis. I am also learning about the different areas of law that the public defender’s office practices by researching a range of topics from child custody and child support to expectation of privacy and sentencing.

What aspect of the externship has been the most beneficial to your law education?
The researching and writing aspect has been the most beneficial to my legal education because I have been writing objections and motions that I did not have an opportunity to practice in my Legal Profession class.

How has the externship experience impacted your future career plans?
It has had a fairly significant impact on my future career plans. I am currently in the Intellectual Property Track and this externship combined with my participation in the Public Defender conference has opened my mind to the possibility of ultimately working in the field of criminal law.