Author: Brian Tarno; Major: Criminology and Sociology; Minor: Legal Studies

During the spring of 2021, I was entering my junior year of undergrad. I thought that I knew my career goals: I would graduate, go to law school, and then start my own private practice. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about the realities of working at a law firm. The pandemic had made securing internships during 2020 nearly impossible. With restrictions easing, I decided it was time to get hands-on experience before committing to law school. I called and emailed dozens of local firms, prosecutors, public defenders, and judges. They were looking for law students or weren’t looking for interns at all.

In February, I remember my high school mock trial coach, Tim Watson, recently opened an office in Fayetteville. I doubted he would remember me, but I called his office, the secretary told me to bring in my resume, and she would let him know I called. A month later, Tim called and offered me an intern position. Tim had another attorney working in his building, Darren Gibbs, who also offered me a position as an intern – on the administrative side. After months of disappointment, I had finally secured two internships that would allow me to gain hands-on experience.

I started working for Tim and Darren in April. My tasks were simple at first: I filed paperwork, shredded confidential documents, and watered the plants. I quickly graduated to working on Discovery (the process of gathering documents during a civil or criminal trial), reviewing evidence, and reading over founding documents for businesses. I got assigned a case in May. It was a civil case both Tim and Darren were working. It was a case they took on contingency – meaning they only get paid if they win. My main tasks were to review the evidence and find anything that could help (or hurt) their chances at trial. I reviewed hundreds of pages of documents and listened to over 20 hours of audio. The notes I took will help the attorneys at trial. The case is on the docket for November of 2021.

During the course of my internship, I met two private detectives/ process servers. A process server is a person that delivers legal documents for attorneys across the state. Billy Turnbough became a friend over the summer. He worked as a private detective on a murder trial and Van Buren. Billy told me a lot about that case and taught me a lot about proper police procedures. I enjoyed working alongside Billy on cases. Billy asked questions that I would have never thought to ask.

Between working with the attorneys on a litany of civil, criminal, and commercial cases and working alongside PIs, this summer taught me more about actually working in a law office than any class has. The work was hard, the paperwork buried me, and some of the cases were sad and disturbing – despite that, the internship affirmed my desire to go to law school. I have changed trajectory, however. Instead of immediately trying to open my practice, I will pursue a career as a general counsel for businesses. I do not want to work with messy divorces or hurt kids. In the meantime, Tim and Darren extended an offer to continue working at their firms until I graduate. Tim, Darren, and Billy have also all offered to write letters of recommendation.