The Poehls/Hobbs District Attorney Practicum offers students a year-long opportunity to receive courtroom experience while working in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as a certified law clerk.
During their externship semester, students may conduct actual felony preliminary hearings, misdemeanor jury trials and juvenile adjudications. This courtroom experience comes after a semester of intensive advocacy training specifically focused on preparing the students for the types of courtroom work they will handle as DA externs. While the externship is in a prosecutorial office, the experience is beneficial for anyone interested in work as a courtroom lawyer including prosecution, criminal defense and civil litigation.
The program is competitive and interested students must submit an application the semester before they start the trial advocacy class. Based upon student applications and their performance in the interview, Professor Poehls selects the 12 students who will be admitted into the following semester’s trial advocacy class. In the first semester, students earn three graded units in the trial advocacy course. In the second semester, students can earn either 4 or 6 pass/ fail units (depending on whether they choose to work two or three full eight-hour days a week) for the DA externship and one graded unit for a DA Seminar class that meets twice towards the end of the semester.
Please click the link below for the District Attorney Performance Evaluation Form.
DA Externship Performance Evaluation - Once submitted, the form will be sent directly to Professor Poehls and you will receive a copy.
Faculty Advisor: Susan Poehls
Please click here for more information about the program.
Apply Now
Applications are currently being accepted for Fall 2024. The deadline to apply is April 4 at 12:00 p.m. Please visit the Experiential Learning Fair website to apply.
There is an information session on March 27, 2024 from 12-1 pm in AC-202.
If you have questions or would like more information about the program, please contact John Henry.
Alumni Voices
"The Hobbs Clinic really brought me out of my shell in terms of public speaking, having a professional and commanding presence, and thinking on my feet.
These qualities allowed me to stand out to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office during a competitive hiring process. I use the skills and lessons the clinic taught me on a daily basis."
-David Chen
"With Hobbs, I was given extra practice on how to develop my own theory, plan my examinations, and run my own trial without coaches.
All of the techniques Professor Poehls taught me on the team and in her class worked, and I'm proud to say I won two of my three licensing hearings that summer."
-Christina Catapang '13
"I was lucky enough to be hired as a post-bar law clerk for the L.A. D.A.'s office, and I know it was in large part because of all the experience I already had under my belt from the Hobbs/Poehls program. On my first day in the preliminary hearing unit in CCB, I walked into the office and 15 minutes later I had a D.A. hand me a file and ask, "You can do this, right?" I was nervous, but I was instantly taken back to Round 3 from class. I smiled and said "Sure, I'll do the prelim." The training from class has really come through, and the "Magic Words' are second nature now. I'm more prepared than some of the Grade 1 D.A.s that are freshly hired. Trust me, if you want to be in the D.A.'s office, take this class!"
-Wendy Orellana
"I absolutely love my career as a gang prosecutor, and I know that I’m a prosecutor because of the Poehls- Hobbs practicum, the program’s outstanding reputation in our office and in the general legal community is unparalleled. There is no better way to boost your credibility as a trial lawyer than to complete a hands-on practicum like Poehls- Hobbs.”
-John Chang '06
“The Poehls /Hobbs DA Practicum gave me real in-court experience and confidence before I even graduated law school. Being able to include it on my resume and talk about it in interviews distinguished me from candidates with traditional, cookiecutter backgrounds and experiences. It helped me get an offer from the U.S. Attorney’s Office with relatively little post-graduate experience. I highly recommend it to any student who wants to one day appear in court during his or her legal career.”
Kelly Laroque '21