With another week in the books, it is becoming all too apparent that the summer is starting to come to an end—unfortunately. I cannot believe that I have already spent eight weeks at Rumberger, and I am greatly looking forward to the next two weeks that will get me ready to knock it out of the park at the mock trial.
While we have been preparing for the mock trial for some time now, this last week really kicked things into gear. This was the first week of our scheduled practices and coaching with our coaches in our respective offices. Over the week, I worked with Suzanne Singer and Scott Sarason on the direct examination of a witness, and partners Melissa Softness and Gigi Cordova assisted with the cross examination. To say this was a learning experience would be an understatement.
Each of the four partners brought their own style and experience to assist with making my direct and cross the best they could be. Of course, they are only helping and it is ultimately up to me to figure out what my “style” is and what evidence I’d like to present to the jury. There is still a lot of work to do for the mock trial, but things are starting to shape up. And, they better be because the mock trial is only a week away at this point!
Beyond preparing for the mock trial, I also had the opportunity to attend two depositions and a hearing last week. The two depositions were being defended by RumbergerKirk attorneys, and until then, I had only seen depositions that our attorneys had taken. It was nice to see the “other side,” so to speak. It was also interesting to watch these depositions because it was pretty clear that the two deponents didn’t really have much to offer the Plaintiff’s attorney. It wasn’t that the lines of questioning from the attorneys were incorrect, it was more that these two witnesses didn’t actually know much useful information. At least, I thought so—but I am still a new attorney in training, so take that with a grain of salt!
On Friday night, we went to the Florida Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies baseball game. Despite the Marlins losing, it was still a great time and I enjoyed getting to know everyone just a little bit better. Every associate from the Miami office was able to attend along with Mercy Martinez, Miami’s Administrative Assistant—who was definitely the chaperone! This event was definitely one of the highlights of the summer!
Until next time . . . just two weeks left!
