Take 5 with Landen Acosta
As soon as finals wrap up, UW Law students travel near and far for summer employment opportunities that offer them a chance to move beyond the classroom and see the law operate in practice. Their jobs span the gamut of law firms, government offices, nonprofits and private businesses throughout the country — and abroad. They collaborate with practicing attorneys, work with clients and delve deep into real-life legal work.
Throughout the summer, we’ll check in with rising 2L and 3L students to see the impact they’re making through their work and to invite them to reflect on how these experiences shaped their personal growth.
This week, we met up with Landen Acosta, a rising 2L.
UW Law: Where are you working this summer?
Landen Acosta (LA): I'm working at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender's Office.
UW Law: What type of projects are you working on?
LA: I work on a lot of motions that contain legal research, like motions to suppress evidence and motions to dismiss. And I also help the attorneys prepare for trials.
UW Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?
LA: No, I'm originally from Phoenix, Arizona.
UW Law: How long will you be working at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office?
LA: I'll be here for another couple weeks — my last day is August 14. So, it will be for about nine weeks.
UW Law: Do you work as part of a team, and if so, how many people do you work with?
LA: Yeah. I work in the felony unit, and I have an attorney that I report to. His name is Mitch Peterson, and he's been a public defender for a couple years. It's been cool helping him and the other attorneys in the felony division with projects they’re working on.
UW Law: Have you had any type of networking opportunities since you've been there?
LA: I've gotten to go to some events with the public defenders and meet them and ask them about what it's like to be a public defender. It's different when you talk to someone who's working there and you're an intern because you get the uncut version of what it's like to work there. That's been one of the most valuable things about working here.
UW Law: Are there other legal interns working there as well?
LA: There are. They're across the different units. There's the county court division, there's the felony division, and then there's the capital crimes division. And I might be missing a division or two in there, but I think there are about 50 legal interns total for the whole office.
UW Law: What motivated you to look for a position in Miami?
LA: Miami's somewhere I could see myself practicing long term. I have family out here, and I love criminal law too. So, it was an easy pick for me to come here and experience what it's like to work in the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office, and live in Miami for a while. And I've loved it here. It's been fun.
UW Law: If you could plan any type of event or outing for you and your coworkers, what would you do?
LA: I'd probably say go to South Beach for the day, be on Ocean Drive and Collins. It's just classic Miami.
UW Law: Have you had any “aha” moments about the law or legal practice during your time working there?
LA: Yeah, I think one of the biggest “aha” moments I’ve had here was my first time going into court and getting the rundown from my boss about the cases he had and putting names — like real people — to cases.
Being in law school, you do a lot of issue spotting and learning the substance of criminal law. And you're doing a lot of hypotheticals. But coming here and seeing a real person being charged with a crime and getting to sit down with that person and go through the facts, and watching the body-worn camera and taking the deposition of the officer who arrested them makes it feel like, “Wow, this is why we go to law school — to help people where the law really affects them on a personal level.” So, that was the biggest “aha” moment for me.
UW Law: What do you think has been the steepest learning curve you've had in your position thus far?
LA: There's a lot that goes into criminal procedure. Learning how a courtroom works, seeing how the attorneys have to navigate working with a specific judge based on their preferences or temperament. And also learning how strategic criminal procedure can be when you file motions at a certain time, or in terms of negotiation, such as when you're dealing with a prosecutor and trying to get a plea deal for your client. I think that’s something that they can’t prepare you for in law school — you really have to learn it on the job.
UW Law: What's one positive surprise you've had since beginning your summer employment?
LA: When a lot of people think of criminal law, they think of it as a depressing area of law because you're dealing with people who are accused of crimes. And a lot of times, it’s the worst period of their lives. You’re also going into jails, and you're seeing stuff that a lot of people would say, "I do not want to be going into a jail as part of my job.” But I feel the help you're able to give someone really outweighs what people think of as depressing. I find the help I've been able to give some of Mitch's clients has been rewarding.
UW Law: What’s the most lawyer-y thing you've caught yourself saying since you started your employment?
LA: The most lawyer-y thing I've said — and when I said it out loud, I was like, “Man, I'm really learning the lingo” — was "This one factor of the case isn't dispositive," or "It isn't a dispositive factor.” And that's a total lawyer-y thing to say.
UW Law: Has anything in your role differed from what you expected going in?
LA: I would say probably not. I didn't try to think too much about what I was going to do or what my tasks were going to be. I was just going in with an open mind.
UW Law: What's one habit you've picked up, good or bad, during this job?
LA: When doing defense work, you need to have the mindset to hear the entire story and all the details before you make a move on anything. Whenever these attorneys talk about a case, they’ll say "These are the facts, right now, as we know them, but we need to do a deep dive and a further inquiry to make sure what someone is alleging someone else did really is the truth." So, that’s something that's rubbed off on me.
UW Law: Has this experience changed your career goals or clarified them?
LA: I would say clarified, for sure. Criminal law is something I can see myself doing in the future after I graduate. Criminal law was my favorite class in law school, so I came in with a lot of high hopes that I was going to like criminal work, and being here has definitely clarified that for me.
UW Law: What's one mistake students should try to avoid during their summer job?
LA: Don't be afraid to talk to the attorneys in your office about things. And make sure you build relationships with them. I think if you have genuine connections with the people you work with, it can go a long way. It'll just make your time more enjoyable in the office, and if you want to come back and work there, they'll be your biggest advocates.
UW Law: What has been the most rewarding aspect of your summer experience so far?
LA: The clients and everything the office does. The public defender is all indigent-accused representation. So, it's all for people who can't afford an attorney. You're working with people that really need help. Being able to file motions on their behalf and be their advocate in court is a huge, huge honor. And getting to shake their hands afterwards, when you've gotten a good result for them on a case, is very rewarding.
UW Law: Do you have any other plans for the summer outside of your employment?
LA: I'm going to Europe for a little bit to visit some family in Spain. So, being able to do that will be cool. Then I'm going to come back and get ready for school.
UW Law: What's one interesting fact about you that people may not know?
UW Law: You know those running GUs, the gels that runners eat during their workouts? I collect those flavors. Whenever they come out with a limited edition or something like that, I'm on eBay finding people who sell them because I got to try them all. When I tell people about it, they're like, "Seriously?" But yeah, I've probably spent so much money on those.