Since May 26, 2009, thirty-four Legal Studies students have immersed themselves in the TFAS experience. From attending classes to holding summer associate positions to attending guests lectures and panels, LSI students kept busy this summer.
As one of the newest programs at TFAS, LSI caters to students who have completed their first year of law school and provides legal experience in the form of internships at organizations such as the Washington Legal Foundation, the Department of Justice, the D.C. Attorney General’s Office and the Bureau of National Affairs, Patent and Trademark Division.
LSI students were also given the opportunity to attend guest lectures, site briefings and events at area legal institutions. Among others, students heard from top lawyers, lobbyists, policy-makers, a federal claims court judge and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
The group attended a closing ceremony on Tuesday July 28 in the Gold Room in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and the Honorable Trent Franks, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona’s Second District, served as the keynote speaker.
“Your presence here today truly encourages me,” said Franks. “I am encouraged to see that there are young legal minds who will take the time to attend a program meant to teach the principles of leading in a free society.”
University of Kentucky law student and intern at the Department of Justice’s Office of Tribal Justice, Matthew Douglas, gave a testimonial during the ceremony.
“Even with all of the positive things that I had heard about LSI, from the very beginning my expectations have been exceeded,” said Douglas.
“What I learned this summer is that networking is about building relationships by helping people out. The most successful people I met this summer were those who seemed to recognize that you can’t become a successful lawyer without the help of others. One of the major reasons for their success is that they have adopted an attitude of generosity.”
He concluded by saying, “With that in mind, I not only would like to thank our mentors for their service, but I would hope that every student in this room, will try to emulate them when they are in a position to do so.”