Interm Paper for State's Attorney's office

Tiara

July 28, 2011

Interning at the Cook County State's Attorney's office has truly been a pleasant journey. I entered into this internship looking to broaden my perspective and get hands on experience with working with attorneys. I've had the opportunity of gaining so much knowledge about family law in regards of Child Support. Family Law is definitely a field I knew nothing about. Now that I have successfully completed this internship I am no longer ignorant about how Family Law works. Not only did I learn about family law, I also learned about the security and safety, professional development, accounting, and the motivation processes.

The safety and security system at the cook county state's attorney's office is very stern. There is a process Employees and interns have to go through. The process requires a federal background check, Finger printing, two Identifications cards. (Interns only) there is security all over the building. Front entrance, back entrance, side entrance, and the basement. Being able to see security everywhere I go in the building makes me feel very secure. Clients can not enter any of the offices or Restrooms without a key. Interns can not enter the building before eight o'clock. In order to be able to enter the building before eight the employees have to swipe their cards on the elevator so that the elevator can lead them to their destination. Employees and interns handle a lot of confidential information. It is our job to make sure the information remains confidential. For example, there is a sheet of paper in every client file known as the Child Support Data Sheet. On the child support data sheet is the petitioner's and the respondent confidential information such as social security numbers, addresses, phone number, etc. the Law clerks, Interns, and attorneys have to fold the paper in half so that the petitioner can not see the respondent information and so that respondent can not see the petitioner information.

In the coorpte world Professionalism is a must. You have to be professional at all times because you never who are watching you. In my office everyone were dressed very professional and acted in a professional manner everyday. Knowing how to network Is a professional skill that is well needed. I attended a networking workshop with the attorneys. The networking workshop was a great success. Networking creates a pool of contacts to provide leads, referrals, ideas and information for a job search and career. Networking may seem like hard work, it's easy to put off however, networking is also vital to your career. Whether you are looking for a new job, intend to stay with the same employer or want to change jobs, successful networking is key. Regardless of your industry, the basics of networking remain the same: make connections, listen well and follow