California Public Utilities Commission (Administrative Law) - Judy Walters

I found my 1L summer job as a legal intern to Commissioner Rachelle Chong at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) through HastingsCareers. I applied by sending my application materials (cover letter, resume, writing sample) to the contact person. I think I heard back from them in a month. I had an interview with them the week after spring break, and I heard back from them in a couple of weeks.

My summer was very chill. I liked the people that I worked with, which included a team of lawyers who advised Commissioner Chong on all of her decisions. I was given pretty meaningful work, and learned a thing or two about telecommunications. I think they hired me because I had a mass communications degree from Berkeley, and Commissioner Chong went to Berkeley and graduated as a journalism major. So it helps if you have something like that in common with your potential employer. I also got along great with my co-interns. The CPUC hired a lot of law students this summer, and many of them were from Hastings. I met people that I didn’t meet during my 1L year at CPUC, and it was good to see them outside of the law school context because it seems like they are more real. But I digress… My job duties included a lot of researching for a couple of big memos, such as telemedicine and why California is still having a hard time with extending is broadband network into rural areas. The other big memo was regarding copper loop retirement. I was also given some short term assignments that required me to familiarize myself with agenda items that Commissioner Chong needed to vote on for the bi-weekly commissioner’s meetings. Granted, there was that long cite-checking assignment that was grueling and tedious, but because I did it with the other interns, it wasn’t so bad. Plus, that kind of cite-checking helped me when it came time to do journal editing.

Because of my summer at the CPUC I now have a pretty cutting edge note topic, and I feel like I have an advantage over my other 2Ls because I already have working knowledge and some research on it, and I have lawyers who I can contact at a moment’s notice to ask for advice. (They work down the street on Van Ness and McAllister. One of the biggest perks of working at the CPUC was that it was a great commute from the Tower. The other big perk was that it was one of the only 1L jobs that paid… very little, but more than nothing.) In addition, I think working at the CPUC helped me get onto the journal COMM/ENT. It showed that I have experience and am genuinely interested in communications issues, and I’m really glad that I have some more people I know in the legal community doing work that interests me. They are so accessible, we lunch with them anytime I asked, and they are still available now. And I decided to take Administrative Law so I can learn more about administrative agencies like the CPUC. Working there helped me understand Administrative Law now.

Also, they extended me an offer to continue working there throughout the school year, although I had to politely decline with my journal obligations on top of OCIs. And they appreciated the interns there a lot, always telling us how we do good work for them and how efficient we are. I felt very appreciated, and they even gave us a little placard commemorating our experience there, along with a recommendation letter written on fancy paper that looks really legit. And I have the assurance of knowing that I can always go back to the CPUC after my 2L year, so OCIs wasn’t stressful at all. In sum, I think I’ve gained a lot from my summer experience at the CPUC, and I would recommend it to anyone interested communications issues and enjoys a kick-back work environment.


-Judy Walters