Name: Naomi Ostrander

Year: Senior

Majors: Political Science, International Studies, Global Health Studies

CFS Program: Field Studies in Social Justice

Employer: Blake Horwitz Law Firm

Coming into CFS, I only had a vague idea of what it was like to be a lawyer. Now, after eight weeks of working at the Blake Horwitz Law Firm I can confidently say I know what it’s like to be a lawyer and that this is a career I want to try and pursue after graduation.

Going into this internship I wasn’t sure what exactly I would be doing and if I would even enjoy the work I would be doing. I think a lot of fears people have around interning is that they will be doing typical intern things like grabbing coffee, making copies, etc; and I was definitely not immune to these thoughts. However, once I began my internship at the Blake Horwitz Law Firm these fears quickly flew away. Not only was I being given meaningful assignments, but the attorneys also gave me the opportunities to learn from them. I was challenged from the beginning to think critically about the various cases the attorney’s handle. Although there were days when I had to make copies and deliver documents to the courthouse, there was never a day when I left feeling unfulfilled by my assignments. Everything I worked on was important to the firm and the attorneys were very upfront about why they needed help with an assignment which not only helped me learn more about law, but also made me feel needed at the firm.

Additionally, while at the firm I not only had the opportunity to work directly with attorneys and clients, but I was also able to talk with currently laws students and learn more about law school. This was incredibly helpful for me since I am a senior thinking about going law school in the future. Being able to interact with people currently in law school was so great and really helped me think critically about which school I would like to attend since all the law students went to different schools. Furthermore, through my conversations with them I was able to meet other law students. I was even able to grab coffee with a current law student at Northwestern, all because of the connections I made at the Blake Horwitz Law Firm.

Overall, this internship was invaluable to me not only as a career development tool, but also in terms of networking and learning more about what law is really like during all stages of a lawyers’ development and career. I would absolutely do CFS again and I cannot wait to continue doing law and legal services after graduation!