Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Judicial Externship

INTRO

Hello, I'm Chase.

Placement with Judge Jeanne M. Cochran of the Minnesota Court of Appeals

Brief Overview

Brief

Overview

Minnesota Court of Appeals is an appellate court

Reviewed records from district courts and wrote bench memos

Conducted cite checks

Conducted research to find supporting authority for legal issues

What I learned: the practical

Practical Skills Learned

There were predominantly three practical legal skills that I learned...

Bench Memo

Writing a Bench Memo

What is a bench memo?

  • Document written by law clerks for judges when end up deciding the case
  • What it explains...

Parts of a bench memo:

  • Cover page, Nature of Action, CTS Results, and Relevant Dates
  • Statement of the case & facts
  • Issues
  • Analysis
  • Recommendation

Cite Checking

  • Verifying correct citation format
  • Proofreading
  • Review

Research

Primarily involved researching prior cases to find ones that emphasized certain legal points that were trying to be made in the Judge's opinion or in a bench memo.

Lessons Learned: Big Picture

Outside of the practical skills developed, I garnered a better understanding of larger scale legal concepts.

Process of Appeal

The various stages in which an appeal can be made, the format in which the record is passed on to a COA Judge

How decisions at the COA are made

Decision-making

  • Debate with law clerks within Chambers
  • Debate amongst fellow Judges
  • Sometimes shifting opinions

What not to do as an attorney

Bad Lawyering

Various examples of poor lawyer performance

Skills Enhanced

Enhancement of Skills

Through the different tasks and projects assigned to me at the Minnesota COA, I noticed real enhancement in several skills essential to being an attorney.

Legal Research & Writing

Writing of bench memos, research summaries, and email correspondences stating my perception of current cases

Effective Oral Communication

  • Speaking with other law clerks as to my perception of cases
  • When Judge asks for my opinion
  • Watching oral arguments made before the COA

Analytical Skills

Projects I was tasked with required that I be able to process the facts of appealed cases and analyze the validity of their appeal.

Takeaways

Takeaways & Conclusion

  • (1) Enhancement of legal skills is predominantly done through repetitive quality work
  • (2) Merely observing how Judges orally express their thoughts can great example-based learning
  • (3) Talking through legal issues with other legal minds helps better understand legal concepts

Conclusion

The Minnesota Court of Appeals was a great placement for learning how to dig deep and analyze legal concepts. It was overall a great learning experience.

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi