Personal Contribution

Overall I feel like I was able to complete a large amount of work and contribute a great deal in the City Attorney’s office. The main project that I completed was the organization of and participation in the marijuana task force, culminating in 3 ordinances that I wrote by myself which were recently passed into law. This summer Connecticut passed a bill that legalized recreational marijuana. I took over the research and organization of the marijuana task force. I looked into what other towns in similar situations did in terms of legislation. I then studied the specific laws and restrictions that legalized recreational marijuana (~300 pages) and created a comprehensive summary. All this research and documentation was compiled into a binder that I shared with each member of the task force from different departments across city hall. We met to discuss potential problems and create a course of action. Finally, I drafted and finalized 3 new ordinances that were recently passed, meaning that those are the current laws. This experience really helped me understand the process of solving problems and creating real legislation to solve those problems. While this situation was a small problem with an easy fix, this understanding could help me create real, tangible change.

Another big thing I was able to contribute was an understanding of some of the basic theories of leadership. While many people understand why these theories are true, they have never studied them or put a name to the theory. While working on depositions for a particular case, I was able to share with my boss the theories that we have learned as well as certain aspects of these theories that I was observing in the other lawyers. This understanding can help a lawyer deeper understand the ways that other lawyers are asking questions or treating the deposed person. If he understands the actions of these people he can better phrase his own questions in a way that will help him achieve the answers he needs and avoid falling prey to other lawyers’ tricks. While I will not be around for the actual trial, I can imagine these understandings will become even more important in the courtroom.