From clerkships to clinical assistantships to working as summer associates at firms, summer legal work helps students gain practical skills and experiences that benefit them during law school and beyond. This is the last profile in our 2013 series featuring the summer job experiences of UW Law students.

Antonia Ferguson ’15,
Policy Intern, Office of Governor Scott Walker
Legal Intern, Office of State Representative Scott Krug

Describe your summer work experience.
My summer work at the State Capitol touched on so many different areas, and I learned a lot. I divided my time between two internships: as a policy intern for Governor Scott Walker and as a legal intern for Representative Scott Krug. Both positions involved a variety of responsibilities—from data entry to answering phones to writing briefings and memos.

What is the most interesting thing you worked on over the summer?
Our offices are equipped with speakers that play the debates live from the assembly and senate floors, so I could hear arguments on a number of hot bills. This was especially interesting and helpful when I assisted the governor’s legal team with some research on a couple of issues. For example, after new abortion legislation was blocked by a lawsuit earlier this summer, I looked into what states with similar laws were doing. Having heard the debate around the bill when it passed was useful in my research.

What classes were particularly useful in preparing you for the work?
Constitutional Law helped prepare me for my job in the governor’s office, since most of the legal projects I worked on dealt with whether or not enacted or proposed legislation was constitutional. Also, many constituents called Representative Krug’s office to inquire about criminal charges they were facing. My course in criminal law helped me interpret relevant statutes and answer their questions.

How do you think this work experience will shape the rest of your time at UW Law School?
I’m looking to take more courses relating to policy, constitutional law and legal writing in upcoming semesters. This semester I’m doing an externship in the governor’s office, and I hope to return to the representative’s office next summer. And over winter break, I’ll do some research for Professor Snyder at the State Capitol in Pierre, S.D.

Submitted by Law School News on June 7, 2016

This article appears in the categories: Articles, Summer Job Series