Wow, we are finally here, the last week of the Summer Associate Program. It is bittersweet, because it has been such a joy to experience the culmination of all of our efforts at the mock trial. I will be sad to say goodbye to my new friends and colleagues here in Orlando. I am so grateful to everyone at the Orlando (and Tampa!) office who helped me prepare during the last two weeks for the mock trial: partner Patrick Delaney and associate Alex Melvin who coordinated the mock trial, and to partners Chase Hattaway and Joe Metzger for taking the time to participate as judges. A big thank you to Sara Kallop, my wonderful mentor, and Blake Bonsack, Madison Temple’s mentor in the Tampa office – as well as partner Rob Blank for stopping in to offer advice. Also, a special thank you to attorneys Sally Culley, Graham Marcus, Hannah Klonowski, Madison Buckley, Mary Hudson, and Darryl Gavin for taking the time to chat about the case and assist in my crash course on evidence. I could not have asked for a better experience leading up to the mock trial. Beyond that, I am very grateful to have had such a wonderful team of mentors and attorneys here in the Orlando office to learn from and work with during the course of the summer.
Besides the mock trial, we had some excitement this week at the courthouse when Coleman and I went to an evidentiary hearing. I won’t name names, but someone’s keys may have gotten locked in their trunk. So . . . we may have retreated to a restaurant for some air conditioning and refreshments until the key-fob-bearer arrived and were able to retrieve the keys! It was an unexpected delay, but it made for a surprisingly fun pit-stop that evening. In the last two weeks, I finished most of my projects, sat in on meetings, and then it was full steam ahead for the mock trial.
Monday, the day of the mock trial, was a blur. I represented one of the defendants, Mr. Rufus Pennington. I will forever maintain that my client was not to blame! During the trial, I presented an opening statement, cross-examined the (very convincing) actress, Barbara Giacobe playing the Plaintiff, and performed a direct examination of a witness played by RumbergerKirk’s very own Director of Human Resources, Karen Garcia. It was all very new to me, but I felt more prepared after our workshops and through as much practice as I could manage. It was so much more fun than I ever expected.
At the end of the mock trial, we returned to the office where they presented the awards and I was shocked. I won the Writing Competition! Additionally, Madison and I won Best Team at the mock trial! Madison also won Best Advocate, and it was well deserved. That said, everyone did a phenomenal job! I felt privileged to practice alongside everyone and to learn from each other. I will admit, I was probably more nervous than anyone else when it came to the mock trial, but the nerves faded away once I was inside the Ceremonial Courtroom in the Orange County Courthouse. I am constantly surprising myself as to what I enjoy doing, and every experience has made me feel so much more comfortable and excited about life as a litigator. Afterwards, we all gathered for a lovely cocktail hour, a wonderful dinner in Winter Park, and then the summer associates all had a night on the town to celebrate! It was a night to remember, and I’m so glad I got to share it with Ashley, Andy, Paige, Madison and Coleman.
Overall, this has truly has been a fantastic summer experience. Very busy, and a lot to learn, but always worth it. Thank you to RumbergerKirk for making it all possible and for encouraging my growth, my professional development, and for encouraging me to simply be myself.
