Taylor Carman is a junior on the UGA Equestrian team. She is majoring in Criminal Justice and had the opportunity to participate in an internship with Attorney Norman Butler during the summer of 2016.
This summer, I had the opportunity to intern for Attorney Norman Butler in Charlotte, North Carolina. This was my second summer interning with him, and it was more than I could have ever asked for. It is very rare for people to get legal internships without already being enrolled in law school, and it is even more rare to be as involved in the day-to-day activities that I was this summer. I was given the opportunity to see the ins and outs of the criminal justice system, and it solidified my desire for a career in the legal field.
Every day, I would get to the office around 8:30 in the morning and attempt to organize the thousands of miscellaneous pieces of paper that scatter the back room in the office. Court officially starts at 9 AM, but the judges tend to run late almost every day. As we would stroll over to the courthouse around 9:15, Mr. Butler would give me an overview of the many interesting characters we were going to encounter that day. On an average day, my boss would have to deal with three to eight different cases, and I was right by his side for all of them. After he handled all of his cases for the day, we would head back to the office for the rest of the afternoon. We would sift through court documents, review security tape footage, visit his clients in jail, go through autopsy photos, or search for case law that could help his client in an upcoming trial.
Throughout my eight weeks of interning this summer, I was able to experience things that some people will never encounter in their entire life. I can now say that I’ve had conversations with judges, been to federal court, attended an evidence review in the basement of the police station, witnessed an entire trial from beginning to end, and spoken to a psychopathic murderer in a small jail room.
This summer of interning was something I wouldn’t have traded for the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the UGA Athletic Department. This leadership grant gave me the opportunity to move one step closer to law school and my dream job as a criminal defense attorney. There are so many people in Charlotte and nationwide that need the help of attorneys, and my experience this past summer has given me a sneak peek of the real world.
