Northwest Defenders Association, Seattle, WA

By Samual Eilers

I am a 2L at Georgetown University Law Center. I came to law school specifically to become a criminal defense attorney. This Summer (Summer 2010) I will be interning with the Northwest Defenders Association (NDA) in Seattle, Washington. NDA is a private, non-profit organization committed to equal justice and the defense of individual liberty. Its attorneys and staff represent clients in criminal and civil proceedings and work to improve the justice system. With investigators, paralegals and social workers, the attorneys defend adults and juveniles against criminal charges in King County Superior Court, King County District Court, and Seattle Municipal Court. NDA attorneys also represent parents and children in Dependency proceedings and respondents answering Contempt petitions.

I will have a limited license to practice law under the Washington Admission to Practice Rules (APR 9). Rule 9 Interns are supervised by an experienced NDA attorney. My supervising attorney will be Dave Roberson (L’91, Georgetown), who is the Deputy Director of NDA. At the beginning of my internship, I will undergo an intensive, week-long criminal law and procedure review, along with extensive trial advocacy training. Then, as an APR 9 intern in the District Court Unit, I will be fully responsible for the representation of adult clients charged with misdemeanors, including arraignment, investigation, interviews, motions, bench and petit jury trials, and sentencing. I will also have the opportunity to represent juveniles charged with misdemeanors and to second-chair felony trials. Finally, I will assist Felony Unit and Dependency Unit attorneys with various legal research and writing assignments.