By Caleb Simpson
What was the first Lavender Law® Career Fair that you attended, and did you find employment as a result?
The first Lavender Law® I attended was in the summer of 2021, just before I entered my second year of law school. Before attending the career fair, I was determined to find a public interest law internship to partake in before the culmination of my law school career. As a result of my attendance at the 2021 Lavender Law®, I became a summer 2022 legal intern with the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office. At the career fair, I had the pleasure of speaking with the hiring unit from the district attorney’s office with the intent of inquiring about their Summer 2022 Internship program. I spoke with them about my interest in advocating for victims of sexualized and domestic violence especially LGBTQ+ victims. After the career fair last year, I was contacted by a member of the legal hiring unit from the Kings Country (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office. He strongly encouraged me to apply for the district attorney’s internship for the summer of 2022. Candidates who had been interviewed at the Lavender Law Career Fair were given priority early application for the final internships; I was interviewed for placement in the Internship program at the end of August, 2021, and received a job offer!
What has your internship experience been like, and what are your job duties?
During my time at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office thus far as a Summer 2022 Legal Intern, I assist the felony Assistant District Attorney in the Domestic Abuse Bureau. That includes, but is not limited, to helping the ADA with investigations, witness interviews, preparation of discovery, and legal research for domestic abuse, sex crimes, and elder abuse cases. This internship position has helped me acquire the knowledge and experience working with victims of violent crimes, in addition to honing my legal writing and research skills in a fast-paced environment.
How do you think attending the career fair helped you find success at that point in your career? How was the networking atmosphere at the conference?
I firmly believe attending the 2021 Lavender Law® Career Fair helped me find success at that point in my legal education, when I was just about to enter my second year of law school and was seeking internship positions. Even though the 2021 career fair was virtual, I could still network with people, which I didn’t have much experience in doing as it was my first networking event as a law school student. Although my law school had most first-year classes held in person, students were required to sit apart from one another both during and after classes, wear masks at all times while inside, and were only allowed to sit with one other person while inside the building. While this was done for the safety of students, these restrictions made it incredibly difficult to socialize and network with not just my fellow students but also with professors and other individuals in the legal profession. The 2021 Lavender Law® Conference & Career Fair was the first time I could speak in depth with other law students outside of my program, as well as older members of the legal profession, without the fear of aiding a global pandemic. I would describe the networking atmosphere as welcoming and exciting, and I’m looking forward to experiencing my first-person conference this summer!
How did you prepare for the career fair?
Due to the virtual platform of the 2021 Lavender Law® Career Fair, I did not have to prepare as much aside from ensuring I was well-dressed, and my resume was completed accordingly. Since this year’s conference is in person, I plan to have printed out physical copies of both my resume and business cards, in addition to uploading my resume to the virtual resume database the LGBTQ+ Bar has established.
What are your summer 2022 and future career plans?
I absolutely plan to attend the 2022 Lavender Law Conference in Los Angeles due to the success of my previous attendance last year, and I will be seeking a full-time position in a public interest prosecution office or in a family law firm, ideally a firm that focuses on LGBTQ+ clients and victims of child abuse and sexualized violence, and domestic violence after I graduate from The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.