Author Archives: susanlawstudent

Susan Zuiderveen

Susan Zuiderveen is a third-year Cooley student serving on an externship.  This is the eighth post in Susan’s outstanding series.

As my externship is coming to an end, I am very sad and I am also amazed.  I am sad because I have met so many wonderful people that I have enjoyed working with and will miss seeing every week.  I am also sad because I have enjoyed being in the criminal court system.  It was wonderful to spend time in the environment in which I hope to work after graduation.  It confirmed that I definitely want to be in the criminal court system as a prosecutor, and it only made me more excited to get started in my new career.

I am also amazed at how much I have learned.  I set three goals for myself at the beginning of the externship, hoping to achieve some knowledge in each area.  The first goal I set was to observe different attorneys to learn skills of effective persuasion in a trial.  In my externship, I have seen several attorneys in many different types of trials including civil and criminal.  I was also able to observe five different prosecuting attorneys in different trials.  It was a wonderful opportunity to see so many different styles and skills of all of the attorneys.  Not only did I learn skills of effective persuasion, I realized that effective skills come in many different styles and personalities.  Each attorney had their own unique way of arguing and persuading, and I was able to observe many different approaches.

The second goal I set was to gain a basic understanding of the court documents and the paper flow in the court system.  By digging into the files and doing my research project, I became more famililar with the paperwork and the filing system used.  But I also learned the human side of the paper process.  I delivered current court documents to staff during the day as as they were needed.  This allowed me to get to know all the individuals and their roles in the paper flow.  There are so many people involved, each playing a crucial role.  I gained an appreciation for the number of people it takes to process and file all of the many documents into the correct files.

My last goal was simply to meet people in the criminal court system.  When I first set this goal, I only thought of it in terms of the people that work in the courthouse every day.  I  never imagined that I would meet so many different people in so many different roles in the court system.  Not only did I get the opportunity to know the judge I am working for and her staff, but I also met and got to know the other three judges and their staffs as well.  I spent time with sheriff deputies, parole officers, attorneys, and court clerks.  There are so many people involved in the court system, and it was wonderful gaining an appreciation for the different roles that are needed to make the system work.

Looking back I am truly amazed at how much I have learned in such a short time in my externship.  This externship exceeded all my expectations and goals and made me feel more confident and more excited than ever to graduate and start my career.  Even though I am sad that my time at the courthouse is ending soon, I don’t feel like it is ending forever.  I feel more like it is just being put on hold for a few months until I can return!

Susan Zuiderveen

Susan Zuiderveen is a third-year Cooley student serving on an externship.  This is the fifth post in Susan’s series.

I just finished observing my first murder trial.  I was very excited and looking forward to seeing the trial and learning everything I could.  I expected to fill my notebook with all the things I didn’t know or things to research.  I did take notes on the great questions asked and the different styles I observed from the two attorneys.  But the most exciting thing I took away was that I already know how to do so much of what I observed in the trial.

The trial was complicated with many players involved and many witnesses called to testify.  When there were witnesses that didn’t remember details from six months ago, the prosecutor when through the process of refreshing their memory.  It was the exact process I learned and practiced in my trial skills class.

There were also several pieces of evidence that were admitted in this trial.  I watched intently as the attorneys laid the foundation for each piece and admitted them as evidence for the jury to consider.  Again, both parts of a trial I have practiced repeatedly in my trial skills class.  Even when I watched the attorneys move the podium to face the jury during their opening and closing arguments and then move it back when a witness was testifying, I wrote down “attorneys moved the podium like I learned in class.”

I went into the trial expecting to write down everything I didn’t know.  But instead, I walked out at the end with the confidence that I already know how to do so many aspects of a trial, even a complicated murder trial.  I encourage everyone to sit in a courtroom and watch trials you may be interested in.  You will be amazed at how much you have learned and how confident and well prepared you will feel!

Susan Zuiderveen

 Susan Zuiderveen is a third-year Cooley student serving on an externship.  This is the fourth post in Susan’s series.

Now that I am several weeks into my externship, I have one regret.  I regret that I was not able to spend more hours per week at my externship.  Because I am a non-traditional student and I work full time outside of school, I was not able to take off more than twelve hours a week from my job to be at the courthouse with my field supervisor.  I wanted to write this to encourage everyone to plan in advance and dedicate as much time as you possibly can to do an externship. 

The time I have spent at the courthouse has been invaluable.   I have been able to observe all parts of a criminal and civil trial and I have learned an incredible amount.  However, I have not been able to view anything start to finish because I am only there part-time.  By viewing different trials in small sections I am missing out on a key learning opportunity.  Trials are stories, and how the attorneys tell the entire story to the jury is so important.  By only seeing small portions it is as if you are seeing small sections of several movies none of which are intertwined.  How the attorneys tell the story and intertwine all the facts is such an important skill to observe.  This can only be accomplished when you are able to watch the entire story.  I believe this is relevant for all types of externships, not just one in the criminal courts.  Seeing the story play out from start to finish is a valuable experience for any law student, and it allows a better understanding of the entire process.

My externship is definitely one of the highlights of my legal education, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage of doing one in your area of interest.  I also want to help others avoid having the same regret I do!