I spent the year of 2010 working at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office (SLCAO), and it was a unique experience to say the least. I had encounters with a wide range of people from a convict tried for 10 homicides to a Harvard Law graduate. Needless to say, I needed to stay on my toes in order to adapt to every type of situation at any given moment.
Most of the time I spent interning at the SLCAO, I was working the front desk of the Warrant Office. In this role, I dealt with police officers, witnesses, judges, and the attorneys themselves. Some days fights would break out in the waiting room and I would have to call in the security guards, and some days there would be a rush of over 10 police officers hoping to submit their cases and only one attorney working. My people skills were always in overdrive.
Having to work on such a sporadic and unpredictable schedule, allowed me to test my instincts. Thankfully, they were pretty on point. I had always underrated the need for instincts in the work place until I was dealing with angry men with guns and conflict on a regular basis. People skills easily go unnoticed, especially in school, but after having such a unique experience, I have made it a point to remind myself to keep developing my problem solving and conflict resolution techniques, because who knows when they may come in handy.
Most of the time I spent interning at the SLCAO, I was working the front desk of the Warrant Office. In this role, I dealt with police officers, witnesses, judges, and the attorneys themselves. Some days fights would break out in the waiting room and I would have to call in the security guards, and some days there would be a rush of over 10 police officers hoping to submit their cases and only one attorney working. My people skills were always in overdrive.
Having to work on such a sporadic and unpredictable schedule, allowed me to test my instincts. Thankfully, they were pretty on point. I had always underrated the need for instincts in the work place until I was dealing with angry men with guns and conflict on a regular basis. People skills easily go unnoticed, especially in school, but after having such a unique experience, I have made it a point to remind myself to keep developing my problem solving and conflict resolution techniques, because who knows when they may come in handy.