Committed To The Cause

You get what you put in; the more effort that is dedicated to a task the greater the results. This is the case with school, sports, and not surprisingly my summer internship with the legal bureau of the New York City Police Department. The work I have done thus far has been incredibly enlightening on what the day to day life of an attorney might look like as well as providing me with a greater understanding of if a legal career is something I might still be interested in (which it is). However, there are at times assignments that I must complete that are absolutely mundane. These assignments can be anything from searching open-source social media for third party recordings of events or reading case law in preparation for a later assignment that requires me to understand what I might be looking for and why. These assignments are by no means exciting, however, I have realized that by treating these assignments with the same vigor I do the assignments that are very interesting I have not only improved the quality of work I am presenting to the attorneys but have also learned a great deal about the law. This realization is not some grand epiphany, for as previously mentioned I am well aware the end result is more often than not the result of the effort put into yielding that result. Rather the point of this commentary is to note that the positive effects of making the conscientious decision to apply the same tenacity to each assignment regardless of my interest. This steadfast commitment has not only improved my productivity when tasked with dull and repetitive assignments but it has also made the assignments themselves more engaging.

Life is too short to simply go through the motions. My summer internship is even shorter. The time I have to really explore the legal profession in the capacity my internship allows is fleeting and I want to make sure I gain the most experience as possible. I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by attorneys who have gone above and beyond with providing insights and lessons in the legal profession. The commitment to completing both the ordinary and the exciting assignments with equal zeal has demonstrated to my superiors an unwavering interest in what the Police Action Litigation team seeks to accomplish every day. I have found that this commitment has led to more responsibility, more interesting assignments, and greater mentorship from the attorneys.