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Read a book about how to manage your small practice, marriage, children, and personal life. And then pass the book to me because I also need to read it🤦🏻♂️.
I would actually recommend getting familiar with different mental illnesses and meds, particularly schizophrenia. You will encounter a lot of this (at least I have every county I’ve worked in) and you need to learn how to interview someone who isn’t really functioning well and it’s not easy getting them to help with the case sometimes. Understand addiction. Understand how illegal drugs are sold and used. Understand poverty and how it affects decision making and options. You will be more of a social worker than a lawyer most of the time.
Get ok with losing 99% of time time. It’s ok, you rarely have anything to work with. You’ll relish the victories - it keeps you going.
Accept that everyone- cops and defendants and witnesses-lies at one point or another. So it’s NOT just defendants who lie they ALL do. It’s built into the criminal justice system IMHO.
Get comfortable with no one liking or respecting you, including your clients. And the judges. Courtroom staff. It’s important that being liked is NOT important to you.
It was the most rewarding time of my life. It cost my health dearly psychologically, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for the WORLD. I have so much trial experience - I had a homicide 2 years out of law school. I’ve tried insanity cases, defended child rapists - I’ve seen the worst of society. But it also gives you a life perspective very few other have - and few things stress me out anymore now that no one is dying or going to jail for the rest of their lives.
The most accurate presentation I’ve ever seen of PD/DA life is in Better Call Saul.
Know your sentencing rules and matrix inside and out. Learn about the various treatment centers available in your county, if there are any. Know how some convictions have collateral consequences like license suspension or loss of student loans.
My finally recommendation is once you get there - if you don’t love it or if it isn’t your passion - get OUT after you’ve got 3 years in and get back to litigation. It’s hard to survive on the paycheck. Now that I’m in-house I get paid 3x more to do do 3x LESS work. My work though is fairly meaningless and there’s no excitement for sure. Once I’ve paid off my loans and am settled financially I would definitely consider going back to a PD or DAs office but not in a large city or larger town. Im too old to handle 40 preliminary hearings a day.
Read the Central Park 5, read a book about honoring your boundaries and rest, then spend a day at the city jail. The rest will come with the practice. If you can, get a mentor who is still passionate about the work and has been doing it for at least a decade (hard to find).
I started off my career as a PD, no book can prepare you for that but knowing early how to carve space for yourself first will save your life.
Love this YES. Spend a day in The city jail waiting visitors lobby too. Be respectful of the guards because they can make your life easy or hell.
Former PD her (15 yrs, now in house). I don’t have any book recs, but recommend focusing on self care. Are you coming from a firm?