I am sure that many people when they think about the Cook County State Attorney’s Office they think of attorneys who are prosecuting defendants. That is the first division that came to mind for me. I honestly never thought about the State Attorney’s Office having a civil actions division. According to their website, the Civil Actions Bureau represents and protects the interests of Cook County, defends county office holders and employees in lawsuits and also represents the county when actions are brought to collect funds that are owed for taxes and fees. The website also explains that the bureau does not file lawsuits on behalf of individuals or advise the public on the law. The bureau is actually divided into three divisions: The Special Litigation Division, the General Litigation Division and the Transactions Municipal Litigation and Real Estate Taxation Division. The bureau recently expanded to include the Child Support Enforcement Division.
The Civil Division is another area where law students have the opportunity to participate in an externship program. I recently spoke with a 2L, Jennifer Bloom, who externed in the Civil Division this past summer, and is also currently working there. She explained to me that many of the civil suits that the office handles involve inmate allegations of civil rights violations but the office also defends the county against suits such as animal attacks, excessive force, evictions and child custody cases. Ms. Bloom said she worked for two Assistant State Attorneys in the Civil Division and spent a lot of time in court.
Externs in the Civil Division are able to attend depositions, settlement conferences and status hearings. Ms. Bloom explained that on a daily basis, she would perform whatever tasks needed to be done such as summarizing discovery, researching, abstracting depositions and preparing draft answers to complaints or replies to responses. The externs in this division are able to work reasonable hours because the attorneys are very aware of the fact that the law clerks are students who are not getting paid. Ms. Bloom stated that the attorneys encourage the students to put their school work first.
Ms. Bloom also informed me that externs who worked at the division in the summer also had the opportunity to continue working in the fall. The John Marshall Law School also allows these externs to receive school credit by working a certain amount of hours, and attending a classroom component. In the classroom session, the students learn about each other’s experiences and prominent ethical issues that arose in a particular field. Externing is a great way to get hands-on experience and the Civil Division is as valuable in learning those skills as the Criminal Division. The Civil Division is great because there is an opportunity to learn about so many different areas of the law. If you are interested in externing in the Civil Division, you should go tohttps://www.statesattorney.org/index2/civilactionsbureau.html for more information.
