Careers in Criminal Law
All of the courses I teach — criminal law, criminal procedure, and computer crime law — are part of the criminal law corner of the legal world. I always encourage my students to pursue their interests in criminal law, as I think careers in criminal law on the whole are vastly more rewarding than lives wasted in discovery disputes on behalf of large corporations careers in civil litigation practice (the latter being the primary competition). Less lucrative, granted, but vastly more rewarding.
My enthusiasm for criminal law practice means that I end up advising a lot of students on how to pursue their interests in criminal law. I know my own experience, and I’m happy to share thoughts on how to get a job at DOJ or a U.S. Attorney’s Office. But I know a lot less about becoming a public defender (state or federal), becoming a state prosecutor, or joining a private firm that does criminal defense work.
In light of that gap, I’m hoping readers who currently or relatively recently practiced criminal law might be willing to share their thoughts on how to get a job practicing criminal law. What kind of qualifications do you need? What kind of experience was critical to getting hired? Did you intern in the office? Did you know people there? How did you find out about job openings? If you are a solo practitioner, how did you get started?
If possible, please make clear whether your job involves state vs. federal practice, big city vs. smaller market practice, defense or prosecution, and any other details that you think might be helpful. Anonymous submissions are fine, of course. Oh, and I’ll try to check in frequently over the next 24 hours or so to try to approve comments relatively quickly. Thanks.
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