United States Attorney's Office, San Diego, CA

By Ryan Harrison Peeck

I am a Law Clerk in the Major Frauds section of the United States Attorney’s Office in San Diego. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is housed in two buildings in San Diego, the Federal Building and the AT&T building across the street.

Clerking here has been a wonderful experience and I have had the opportunity to do a lot of very interesting work. The Major Frauds section handles all of the district’s significant white collar crime and other complex criminal conduct aimed at wrongful economic gain. The section makes extensive use of all available investigative tools, including federal law enforcement agencies and grand juries.

My favorite project this summer resulted from being asked to write large portions of an appellate brief to the Ninth Circuit. Because I was entrusted with all of the research and writing for my assigned sections, I learned a great deal. I have also been fortunate enough to take a very active role in the cases being handled in my section, in addition to writing motions, memos, briefs, and researching.

Clerking for the U.S. Attorney’s Office has put me, more often than I expected, in the heart of the matters being handled. AUSAs working in the office excel at what they do, are passionate, and are also quality mentors. For someone seeking to hone his litigation and writing skills this has been a perfect match! I would strongly encourage anyone who wants a career in litigation, civil or criminal, to consider a clerkship with a U.S. Attorney’s Office.