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Summer Experience

Penn State Law

Megan Dougherty

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— Megan Dougherty, J.D. candidate for the Class of 2023 at Penn State Law in University Park, received a summer fellowship through the Peggy Browning Fund, a non-profit organization that helps future labor lawyers through fellowship opportunities, an annual workers’ rights conference, and regional workshops. Dougherty’s fellowship gave her the opportunity to work with Beins, Axelrod & Keating, P.C., a union-side labor firm in Washington, D.C.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.  As an upcoming 3L student at Penn State Law, Brett Atanasio was ready for a challenge. He began his search for summer work at the National LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Career Fair in Chicago. At the recommendation of his mentor, Brett met with the representatives at the fair from WilmerHale.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Regulatory law is a complex field, one with which Penn State Law second-year student Jonathan Moore is very familiar. Prior to coming to Penn State Law, he was the manager of corrective actions/corporate compliance for an aerospace manufacturing company in Kansas. There, he led audit responses against several regulatory governmental agencies, and developed and performed hundreds of training sessions, many of which are still used today. His unique background led him to a summer internship with Prince Law Offices, in Bechtelsville, Pa.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Second-year student Brandon McCune knew that he wanted to gain as much diverse experience as he possibly could in his summer internship. As an undergraduate, he was passionate about working to prevent sexual assault and human trafficking, and that is ultimately what pushed him to pursue his J.D. at Penn State Law.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – As a biology undergraduate, Beth Ramos, now a third-year Penn State Law student, realized that she wanted to work with people, not in a laboratory. She went on an alternative winter break trip, where she worked in a community kitchen, and what she saw made her want to be able to help people in unfortunate situations. That brought her to Penn State Law, and inspired her to look at a career in public defense.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The idea of being general counsel for a sports league or team has been at the top of third-year student Allison Wells’ mind since she started at Penn State Law. She knew that the position she held the summer before her last year of law school was critical to set her up for her future career path in such a competitive field. Turning to an online database that contains a large percentage of the sports industry’s open positions, she set out to find the right one for her. Wells was happy just to get the interview with U.S.A.

Summer Work 2014

Keana WilliamsKeana Williams '15 discovers litigation confidence 

Because of her business background, Williams entered law school wanting to go into corporate and transactional law, without ever considering any type of litigation, even corporate litigation, but her summer intern experience changed her mind. 

 

Matthew Regan '15

Matthew Regan '15 entered law school loving the entertainment business. However, the rising third year JD/MBA student knew media law jobs are tough to get, and if he mentioned it to anyone, they treated him as if he was dreaming too high. Nevertheless, with much academic perseverance and networking his dream came true, and he obtained a summer internship with DreamWorks Animation’s Business and Legal Affairs team.

Summer work profile: Forrest Smith ’15 summer associate with Babst Calland

As a 2014 summer associate at Babst Calland in Pittsburgh, Forrest Smith practiced and honed a variety of legal skills. From writing memos, briefs and motions to researching and assisting at depositions, Smith experienced it all. The firm, Babst Calland, is comprised of over 100 lawyers in five locations.

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Dahmann“Working at the Drug Enforcement Administration has been such a rewarding experience…what appears to be a simple legal research question can affect every single DEA employee, including agents in the field, locally and abroad.”
Kristina Dahmann,
Summer Law Clerk, Drug Enforcement Administration 

Finding meaningful work during the summer is important for law students to gain on-the-job experience and build connections with other associates and legal professionals. Every summer, Penn State Law students work diligently in the United States and abroad. They explore career options and user their new legal skills to address a variety of problems. Here is a look at some of our student work experiences in a variety of legal environments.

Summer Work 2013

Summer Work 2012

Summer Work 2011

Summer Work 2010