Welcome

Hello! My name is Simone Dvoskin, and I'm an incoming sophomore at Novato High School. This summer, I took an ROP/STC Internship class sponsored by the Marin County Office of Education. I interned at the Law Office of Matthew Pavone, where I worked as a legal assistant. This blog is one of the final projects in the class course, where I'm documenting what I did at the law office, what I learned at my internship, and what I will take away with this experience.

I have learned so much from this internship. I've learned about an attorney's duties, what goes on in a professional office, and how a small business functions. I've also gained a few skills from being an intern, such as learning how to make labels, how to copy documents, and how to send faxes.

My Resume

Simone Dvoskin

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OBJECTIVE

To acquire an internship that will teach me valuable skills and provide me with experience in a professional environment.

SKILLS, INTERESTS, & ABILITIES

• Computers: Can work both PC and Mac; can type up to 58 words per minute, know how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, most web browsers, and iMovie; also skilled in Docuware (Toshiba) Scanning
• Languages: English, Russian, intermediate Spanish
• Arts: Writing, Singing, Acting
• Organized, prepared, efficient, and a conscientious worker
• Motivated to participate, listen, and learn
• Punctual at school and at work
• Careful and thorough researching skills
• Follows all instructions and directions patiently
• Follows through on all important details
• Makes thoughtful, practical decisions
• Attentive to details and accurate with facts
• Somewhat of a perfectionist

EXPERIENCE

2009 ROP/STC Internship Program

Novato, CA

Law Intern

Position: Legal Assistant at the Law Office of Matthew Pavone

• Filed information both on the computer (Docuware Scanner) and hardcopy
• Replaced old pages for new updated pages in reference books
• Typed letters to clients and copied/faxed them
• Answered phone (when necessary)
• Learned about the responsibilities of a lawyer

2009 City of Novato, CA

Novato, CA

Writer: Article

Object in Novato Time Capsule

• Essay depicting daily life in Novato in the year 2009 in a high school student's perspective and how I portray Novato fifty years from 2009

2009 Russian River Watershed Association

Ukiah, CA

Writer: Journalist

"Mercurial Nightmare"

• Won Environmental Column Contest
• Will be featured in newspapers around Russian River Watershed

2006 International Library of Poets

Writer: Poetry

Published in "Timeless Voices"

• Won poetry contest
• "Happiness," my poem, is featured on first page

2006 Addiction Hair Salon

San Francisco, CA

Assistant to Hairdresser

• Washed dirty graduated cylinders, brushes, and paint containers
• Swept hair off of floor and prepared foil
• Folded towels
• Marked product prices

1997-2003 Maya's Piano Studio

Novato, CA; San Francisco, CA

Student of Piano

• Learned how to read sheet music and how to play accurately
• Learned how to play "Fur Elise," "The Entertainer," and many Tchaikovsky pieces

1997-2000, 2005 Morning Stars Musical Theater

San Francisco, CA

Actor, Singer, Dancer

• Jiminy Cricket in "Pinocchio"
• Participated in various annual concerts, such as the theater's four-year anniversary show, the Veteran's Day Concert, and «Домисолька» (Do-mi-sol-ka in Russian)
• Was part of the main cast of «Муха-Цокотуха» (Buzzy the Fly, a Russian opera) as the Ladybug

EDUCATION

Summer of 2009 ROP/STC Internship Program Class

San Rafael, CA

Law Internship accompanied with ROP class to teach about careers

• Learned how to ace interviews, how to make the most of my work experience, and how to handle work-related problems calmly and efficiently
• Learned how to be an effective employee
• Classes at Marin County Office of Education

2008-present Novato High School

Novato, CA

Currently an incoming sophomore with a 4.0 GPA

• Participated on the girls' tennis team
• Member of California Scholarship Federation
• Took Ninth Grade Honors English; Accepted into Tenth Grade Honors English, Honors Chemistry, and Honors World History

References available upon request

Internship Description

This summer, I interned at the Law Office of Matthew Pavone as a legal assistant. I worked closely with Matt's paralegal, Laura Benge. She helped me get acquainted with everything in the office, explained my duties, taught me about the office, and introduced me to new projects. While interning, a few of the things I did on the job were copying and scanning documents, filing (both on the computer using the Docuware Scanner and hardcopy filing), organizing binders in chronological order, and setting up new files.

During my first day of the internship, I was introduced to many law books. My first assignment

was to update reference books by taking out old versions of specific pages and replacing them with new, updated pages. Since there were a ton of books in the office, the updates were sent at different dates, and therefore this job continued throughout my internship. In addition, I had several other ongoing projects during my time with Matt and Laura, such as Docuware filing and creating indexes and/or labels for files.

Organization Overview and Culture

While I was interning at the Law Office of Matthew Pavone, the actual office was within a suite shared by two other lawyers. Although the suite was shared, the two other lawyers had nothing to do with Matt's office.

Matthew Pavone is a criminal, civil, and litigation lawyer who also does mediation. Another lawyer who is in the suite, Daryl Weinroth, is a trust and estate lawyer. The final lawyer sharing the suite is Scott Lueders, a family lawyer.

In addition, Matt has a paralegal/office manager, Laura Benge. Scott has a

legal assistant, Melanie. Daryl has two part-time legal assistants/secretaries, Ann and Erin. He also has a paralegal, Robin, who comes in when she is needed.

Since this is a professional office, there exists a dress code. However, under Matt's office, the dress code is casual. Most articles of clothing are okay except for torn denim, short shorts and skirts, and other unprofessional-like clothes.

The office, in itself, is medium-sized. When you walk in, you find yourself in the middle of the office, with Ann/Erin sitting at their desk (depending on what day it is since they come in during different days). Beyond the short, straight walkway, if you walk to your left, the first door you see (on the left) is Daryl's. Walking a little beyond that, you'll find (on your right) Scott's office. Past Scott's office, on your left, is the small conference room. The conference room is shared by all three attorneys, and there's a

sign-up sheet to use it. Going back to the front of the office, if you walk to your right, there are two doors, one on your left and one on your right. The left door is the opening to Matt's office,

and the right leads to Laura's office, which I shared with her during my internship. Past these two doors, the hallway ends and there's an open space. On your right, you would find Melanie at her desk, and on your left, you would find Robin. Going to the end of the room, you would reach the fax machine and copier/scanner.

In Laura's office, we have twelve full file cabinets, her desk and her computer, my desk and my laptop, and many office supplies. I spent most of my time divided between her office and the copy machine. Sometimes I went into Matt's office, but only to get books that I needed to update or if I needed to deliver him something.

Career Path to the Top

I've learned that there's a lot you have to do to become an attorney. First of all, you have to have a high school diploma, a four-year college degree, and a three-year Juris Doctorate from law school. Besides this, practice within the legal profession as an associate is highly recommended by my supervisor.

When I went to interview Matt Pavone for a class assignment, I asked what is the typical career path for lawyers, and he replied, "There are within the legal profession a wide variety of things you can do with a law degree, so there's no typical career path once you become a lawyer." What this has taught me is that there are so many options to choose from when deciding which branch of law to go into. Some law students don't even practice law, but just worked for the degree to think and approach problems in a specific way, like an attorney does.

I've also learned that the five most important skills for being a

lawyer are: critical reading, critical writing, organization, good people skills, and depending on what kind of lawyer you want to be, critical speaking. Critical reading is important to be able to break down what you read and try to establish a viewpoint, "...to be able to deconstruct it and figure out what the argument is made up of and what its weaknesses and strengths are, whether it's fully supported by its evidence..." (Matt Pavone). As a matter of fact, it's similar to a persuasive essay, which is my favorite type of essay, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to like doing this. Critical writing is important for basically the same reason, except instead of breaking down someone else's writing, you're writing your own and presenting it in a persuasive way so you will win the case. Organization is a key skill to have when in the legal profession. Mental organization is very important when it comes to critical reading and writing because of "...your ability to take a mass of information and to separate what's not relevant from what is relevant and organize it into a way that is persuasive..." (Matt Pavone). Besides critical thinking and critical writing, critical speaking is very important (depending on what branch of law you're in) because you have to be able to prepare your argument in your head and be ready for any kind of rebuttal, like in a debate competition. It's an important skill because public speaking is referred as "...next to death, people fear public speaking more than anything else in the world" (Matt Pavone). Good people skills are also important because you have to know how to deal with others, whether it be clients, judges, court reporters, employees, etc. These skills let lawyers get their jobs done effectively and efficiently.

The way to get to the top, since there isn't a distinct career path, is to live life, explore, and learn new things. When interviewing Matt, he told me this and said that a famous lawyer he wrote to when he started to be interested in law told him the same thing. The great fact about being an attorney is that no two cases are going to be the same, in most cases. There will be some different, new aspects that will need researching to fully understand, so the trick it to just get out there and keep your eyes open.

How you earn your position in the “big-leagues” is up to you and your experiences. If you persevere and work hard, while also looking for new opportunities that come your way to learn, you’ll make it in a heartbeat. I think this is the most common career path to the top of a legal profession.

How My Internship Does/Does Not Fit My Future

Ever since I read my first book that featured a lawyer as a character, I had been intrigued by this profession. The first book that I read with someone as a lawyer was Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon, with Carla Santini's father being an entertainment lawyer. Two summers ago, I read The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty, where all of the main characters' parents were lawyers. That book also featured a transcript of a hearing, which really interested me. Finally, this year in English, we read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, where the main characters' father, Atticus, was a lawyer. With these three books, I ended up being so fascinated by law that I decided to research and try it out, which led me to this internship.

As with books, movies with law aspects caught my attention as well. I became fascinated with the legal system because of the movies Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2. I really enjoyed watching both of Elle's testimonies when she figured out a way to stump her opponents and win her cases. Erin Brockovich, which I saw in my Health class, was also a good film about a legal issue, especially since the paralegal, not the attorney, solved the case. And of course, since we

read To Kill a Mockingbird in class, we also saw the movie. Atticus's defense was very appealing, especially his closing statement (in both the book and movie).

Originally, I was thinking of going into entertainment law. As I mentioned above, in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mr. Santini was an entertainment and media lawyer. By the description of the author, I felt very fascinated with this occupation. However, now that I've had a chance to talk with Matt Pavone about law, I've realized that I might enjoy other branches of law too.

Mr. Pavone told me that no matter what kind of lawyer you are, you're going to see that whatever you explore will help you out one way or another. Because there's a wide variety of legal professions, and many different situations in each branch, you might start to study fish one day and then end up using that information for a criminal case you

have that has to do with something pertaining to fish.

I have learned a lot from this internship, including what it takes to become a lawyer. To start off with, you should have a twelve-year high school degree, plus a four-year college degree, and finally a three-year law degree, otherwise known as a Juris Doctorate. Besides this, it helps to have practice as an associate at a law firm when you're in your second or third year in law school. When going to law school, it's important to choose your location wisely. If you get into

a top five or top fifteen law school, you can go work basically anywhere. Any school in the middle of the scale will most likely have to be based on the location where you want to work after you finish your law studies because you'll want to practice in a law firm while you're in law school, and so therefore would want to live close by.

Of course, to get into law school, you have to pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), similar to the SAT in high school for getting into a good college. Also, it's important to have excellent grades and a high GPA to make it to college and beyond.

With the help of Matt and Laura, I've found that this internship has benefitted me tremendously in taking my next step for my future. I'm 95% sure that I want to be an attorney after I finish college, and this experience has caused most of this confidence.

Advice to New Interns

1. When setting up for your interview, speak clearly and confidently. If the answering machine was on and you left a message, call again later. Make sure they know you're determined for getting the internship.

2. Dress appropriately when coming to work, even for your interview. Wear comfortable clothing and accessories so you don't get distracted.

3. Ask questions! Your supervisors love it when you ask them questions. Rather than being unsure of what you were doing and then messing it all up, don't be afraid to ask a second or third time to make sure you fully understand the instructions.

4. Always strive for success. Don't procrastinate or distract others. Try to work as efficiently as possible so you can get the job done. Although it's an internship where you're meant to learn about your career, you were hired to work, so always make sure you know your priorities on the job. Be productive!

5. Keep track of your duties by writing reminders on Post-Its. It's very important to know what you're doing, and it's not good if you forget them. Always write down what you need to do. Take notes on the explanations your supervisor gives when introducing a new project.

6. Help out your supervisor! If you finish all your work, don't just sit there. It's a busy place, and if you finished your work it doesn't mean everyone else is finished. Part of working with other people is teamwork, so if you have nothing else to do, offer to help your coworkers out. That way the job will get done faster.

7. Always act friendly, even if you may not be feeling friendly that day. Bring positivity into the worksite, not negativity. That's especially important if you're meeting with clients or answering phones. You don't want to lose clients or customers!

8. Maintain healthy relations with your peers. Your supervisors have spent their time at the internship explaining your duties, which took time away from their own duties. They've also given you the opportunity to see a trial of what you might like to do in the future. When your internship is over, make Thank-You cards. You'll most likely need references later on, and it's best if you act kindly and politely so they can write good referrals for you.

9. Show up every day eager, motivated, and ready to learn! Also remember that punctuality counts! Dependability is very important at the worksite!

10. Last but not least, remember to have a good time. It's work, but if you're interested in this career, then you'll have an enjoyable time. You should never work in an area that completely bores you, so try to make the best out of your internship.