By Zaria Graham 

This summer, I had the pleasure of interning at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. To preface, the United States Attorney is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation that involves the United States. In the Western District of North Carolina, U.S. Attorney Dena King leads a number of Assistant United States Attorneys and support staff in both Charlotte and Asheville. I cannot speak highly enough of this experience, which was simultaneously challenging, rewarding, and eye-opening. Despite the serious nature of the work, I am able to say that the ten weeks I spent at the United States Attorney’s Office were also fun. It was hard to go back to school!

As an intern for the office, I was able to work on a number of exciting projects. These projects included writing a sentencing memorandum, a prosecution memorandum in preparation for grand jury, and a brief on a particular issue requested by a judge after trial. I also helped with projects that were more investigative — for example, watching police officer body-worn camera footage to note any possible Fourth Amendment issues that could have occurred during a traffic stop and surveillance footage of a robbery, noting timestamps that may be useful for playback during a hearing.

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By Kayla Britt

Did you know that there are a variety of websites where you can find government jobs in North Carolina? Whether you are interested in federal, state, or local government, these resources are readily available to you!  While this list is beneficial to all attorneys in our state, it is particularly useful for law students and young lawyers.

State of NC

This website provides a list of careers with the state of North Carolina. Jobs range from the different North Carolina Departments (i.e., Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of Revenue, etc.), Administrative Office of the Courts, Innocence Inquiry Commission, Office of State Human Resources, district and superior courts across the state, and magistrate positions, just to name a few.

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By Terri Jones

In Part 1, you were introduced to the past Chairs of the Government & Public Sector Section. I had the privilege of interviewing seventeen past chairs of the section. In addition to telling us what they remember most about their time as chair, they also responded to these three questions:

What impact has the GPS Section had on your career in public service?

What do you tell law students about careers in public service?

What could the GPS Section do that it has not done already?

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By Christine Marolda

This past summer, I interned with the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. I first learned about the Commission at a meeting of the Campbell Law Innocence Project, where Gregory Taylor was the guest speaker. Mr. Taylor was exonerated by the Commission’s three-judge panel after spending seventeen years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Taylor’s case was immensely impactful, and I am grateful that he and his attorney came to speak at Campbell that day.

Months later, I saw that the Commission was looking for a summer intern. Because of my interest in investigations and post-conviction relief, I immediately knew this was how I wanted to spend my first summer as a law student. After sending in my application, I attended an interview before being offered the position. I began working at the Commission the week following final exams in May and finished my last week in July. Read more

By MaryAnne M. Hamilton

I spent part of this past summer interning with the North Carolina Department of Justice, in the Land, Groundwater and Waste section of the Environmental Division. I was pleased to have this opportunity to combine two of my core interests – public service and environmental law. I am very grateful to the North Carolina Bar Association Government & Public Sector Section for supporting my interest in public service with a $1,000 scholarship to help cover my expenses for the summer.

I am a law student who has entered law school after changing careers, and the impulse to serve others drove my decision to go to law school. I joined the Navy after high school because I was drawn to its ideals of service and leadership. My time in uniform built the foundation that allowed me, a few years later, to build my own business as a freelance editorial manager, writer, and editor. In choosing law school, I returned to those ideals; I was seeking a way to deploy my writing and research skills in service to others, and to society at large. Working with the Environmental Division allowed me to combine that impulse to serve others with my deep personal concerns about environmental issues, including climate change and the vast amount of waste humans create.

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