Interns offset court costs by working for free
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BENTON-FRANKLIN COUNTIES, Wash. - Working for free hardly seems like a dream job. For law students interning with the office of the public defense, it's perfect.
"I wasn't interested in being the coffee girl or anything," said Maggie Riley.
She just finished her first year of law school at the University of Washington. Now she's working as an intern. Maggie gets on the job experience while lessening the burden for attorneys with huge case loads.
Many local cases are prosecuted and defended using your money.
There are consistently more than a thousand cases handled each year in District Court for both Franklin and Benton counties. There are four-times that in Superior court every year.
Both counties have just under 40 attorneys handling thousands of cases in the Office of Public Defense. Having an intern has proven to be valuable and now the program is opened up to even more candidates.
That expansion now includes students who've completed just one year of law school versus two. The work Maggie can do would have earned a paralegal nearly $50,000 a year.
Eric Hsu, Public Defender says,"She is helping write legal briefs, helping with legal research, supporting our staff attorneys so that they can do their work better."
Maggie can work for free. Getting paid in experience while saving the taxpayers.
She said, "I'm very much in the thick of things and I think some of my friends are a little jealous who are locked up in the offices a bit more."
This is saving the counties about hundred grand a year by not hiring two paralegals.
Eric Hsu said,"It's an absolute win, win situation."
Finding ways to get the job done while helping students get closer to their goals.
Interns are in the office for eight weeks at a time and work 40 hours a week. Then the position turns over to another student.
The Office of Public Defense is also working with Charter College students. They are being offered a paralegal internship for the first time this summer.
"I wasn't interested in being the coffee girl or anything," said Maggie Riley.
She just finished her first year of law school at the University of Washington. Now she's working as an intern. Maggie gets on the job experience while lessening the burden for attorneys with huge case loads.
Many local cases are prosecuted and defended using your money.
There are consistently more than a thousand cases handled each year in District Court for both Franklin and Benton counties. There are four-times that in Superior court every year.
Both counties have just under 40 attorneys handling thousands of cases in the Office of Public Defense. Having an intern has proven to be valuable and now the program is opened up to even more candidates.
That expansion now includes students who've completed just one year of law school versus two. The work Maggie can do would have earned a paralegal nearly $50,000 a year.
Eric Hsu, Public Defender says,"She is helping write legal briefs, helping with legal research, supporting our staff attorneys so that they can do their work better."
Maggie can work for free. Getting paid in experience while saving the taxpayers.
She said, "I'm very much in the thick of things and I think some of my friends are a little jealous who are locked up in the offices a bit more."
This is saving the counties about hundred grand a year by not hiring two paralegals.
Eric Hsu said,"It's an absolute win, win situation."
Finding ways to get the job done while helping students get closer to their goals.
Interns are in the office for eight weeks at a time and work 40 hours a week. Then the position turns over to another student.
The Office of Public Defense is also working with Charter College students. They are being offered a paralegal internship for the first time this summer.
