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The Fourth Circuit Public Defender’s Office offers many opportunities to law school students and actively recruits young legal talent to gain volunteer, Pro Bono or part-time work in the agency. Public Defender Matt Shirk recently sent three of his assistants to “Starting Line,” an educational and networking program for first-year law students at Florida Coastal School of Law, to talk with students about opportunities in his office and gain a better understanding about its role in the criminal justice system. William Tedford, Tricia Rado and Jason Gropper (photo), all FCSL grads, spent the evening alongside nearly 50 other local law firms and organizations talking with students.
“When I was a student at FCSL, I determined early on that I wanted to gain substantial trial experience,” said Shirk. “My first job out of law school was as an assistant public defender, a position I held for five years. In those years, I learned a great deal about criminal defense, indeed gained a tremendous amount of trial experience and was able to offer a critical, public service to Jacksonville. Our office will continue to provide outreach to law students at FCSL; we have greatly benefited by working together to provide opportunities for experience and that has certainly led to jobs for young attorneys.”
As a member of FCSL’s first class of students to start and graduate the program in 1999, Shirk has strong ties to the school. Since taking office as Public Defender in January, he has hired six new attorneys who also graduated from FCSL. Overall, 12 APDs in the Fourth Circuit office are products of the local law school.