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What Comes Next?

I've been back at my internship for about 3 weeks now and I absolutely love it. I get along really well with all of the attorneys, paralegals, and secretaries in the department that I work in and the work that I get to do is interesting, engaging, and sometimes just downright fun. Ever since I started in this department a year ago I have felt like I am learning a ton on a daily basis and that hasn't changed since I've been back from the barzam, which is great. Another cool thing that I've noticed happening is that the senior attorneys in the department have been including me on discussions about various new cases that have been filed and asking my opinions about whether I think there's enough evidence to proceed, what I think about the defenses being raised, etc.

All that being said, it's scary to think about what happens just a little over a month from now. There is no guarantee that I will have a job once bar results come out, no matter what the result ends up being. The other interns with the office, who are mostly working in the misdemeanor and traffic divisions, are hoping to get hired as full time attorneys so long as they pass the bar. They have basically been running dockets and doing the same kind of work that the attorneys in those divisions do so it would be a very smooth transition for them should they get hired. I on the other hand have been doing research and writing because I'm not authorized under the student practice act to appear in court on the cases in the division where I work (felony division). I do break away when I can to go do some court work in the traffic division, so it's not totally foreign to me, but should I get hired as an attorney after the barzam results I will definitely have a bigger adjustment to make.

While I do want to be a prosecutor, and I know that I can't just start off in the big leagues where I am currently interning, I have been thinking lately that spending another year where I am would be fabulous. There's plenty of work to keep me busy for at least a year and in talking to my direct supervisor this morning it sounds like they will have to hire another intern to replace me after the bar results because there is too much work for the department to not have my position filled. So I'm trying to figure out exactly what I should do and how I should approach this. On the one hand I know I want to be a prosecutor and I don't want to fall way behind the rest of my peers meaning that if I'm offered a full time position I almost have to start in October to be on track for moving up with everyone else, etc. However, I love where I'm at right now and I think staying in my research/writing job longer would benefit my career down the road. While a full time attorney job would definitely pay more, this is likely the one time in life where I can get by on what I make at my current job and where I don't need to worry about benefits, retirement, etc. Also, staying in my current position would take the pressure off of trying to get hired in a class that has 6 other interns vying for positions. I have no idea if it will be easier to get a full time position in the spring or even next fall, but if I get to stay where I am then that provides at least a little job security for the time being.

I also have no idea how to ask to keep my current position after the bar results. I don't want the higher ups to think that I don't want to be a prosecutor or that I'm only asking because I'm paranoid about not having any job in a few months, but I also don't want to just sit around hoping for a permanent offer come October. Anyone have any thoughts/advice on how to proceed? I've been thinking about talking to my direct supervisor about this to see what she thinks before talking to the people higher up the chain that actually have the power to decide. But I want to make sure I have a well thought out reason/approach before I even talk to my direct supervisor.

Thanks for the help :)

Full post as published by [ Useless Dicta ] on August 27, 2009 (boomark / email).