NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES
Suzie Oh

A freshman from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Suzie Oh applied to the Washington Internship Program on February 3, 2006 in search of a summer internship in law. Suzie is fluent in Korean and also studied Spanish for three and-a-half years. A permanent resident of the United States who traveled extensively in Europe, Thailand, Korea, and the United States, Suzie attended Lake Forest Academy in Illinois before college, and on the university level she was a member of Emerging Leaders, served as a Sexual Assault Adviser, was a model at the Lunar Gala Fashion Show, and in high school was captain of the cheer-leader squad. She belonged to a Cultural Diversity Club and helped with a Homelessness and Hunger Project at Northwestern University in Saint Louis, Missouri. She took many law classes and participated in a civic education project at Northwestern University. She also worked at the University of Chicago with a researcher in radiation and cellular oncology. Suzie was scheduled to live at WIP’s Logan House on 11th Street, N.W., but her internship started early in June before the new townhouse was completely furnished, so she stayed through August at WIP’s International House on 16th Street, N.W.

                Neighborhood Legal Services has two offices, and Suzie worked part-time at the one on Forth Street, N.W. There she learned much about what attorneys do. Working with a staff of over twenty lawyers and staff members, Suzie was one of twelve interns, only two of whom were undergraduates. Neighborhood Legal Services handles just civil cases, and Suzie often went to the D.C. Superior Court to file documents in the clerk’s office and pull case jackets for research. She also wrote brief articles on various cases – especially ones that were success stories – for publication in the organization’s monthly newsletter. Suzie accompanied lawyers to trial. Occasionally, Suzie helped with translations. Although Suzie enjoyed observing interactions with clients and the entire legal process, the tasks she was assigned were limited by the fact that she had not been trained in law school for many of the assignments that were given to older interns who had completed more advanced study of law.

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