There are no ordinary moments

Boot camp: day 1, the morning:
The materials for the Criminal Law Clinic (CLC) are actually labeled "Boot Camp." Kid you not.

The eight of us arrived at 9am to begin our 3-week whirlwind preparation to earn our Student Practice Order, which is apparently required before we can be "unleashed" on the unwitting poor and, until we get there, defenseless. Our professors introduced themselves and we reviewed basic materials about criminal process and court structure in NY.

At 12:30, we all headed to Chinatown to lunch at Shanghai Deluxe (coincidentally, one my favorites). The profs went around the table, asking us our greatest fear in the CLC. Several of my classmates are actually pursuing prosecutor jobs, which was a cause of concern for them... and a source of surprise for me. I have always felt like there are those that prosecute, and those that are public defenders. That never the twain shall meet. Kneejerk value judgment aside - it seems to me like it would be difficult to negotiate between those two "mindsets." But of course there must be a variety of viewpoints within each group. Nonetheless - to find out that nearly half of our merry tribe of student public defenders intended to become prosecutors was a smidge surprising.

I expressed my concern about trying to find my own style as a woman in the criminal courts - and how my orientation toward the academic and (likely) more soft-spoken presentation style will fit into this world that (from my few months of observation over the summer) seems to be dominated by fast-talking , brusque "gunslinger" types.

My fortune cookie read: "There are no ordinary moments."