Senior Renée Girard spent six weeks working in Judge Teri L. Jackson’s office. Photo courtesy Superior Court of California.

Amanda Crisci | Co-Spread Editor

In this last edition of this year’s Summer Profiles, we explore Renée Girard’s experience working as an intern for Judge Teri L. Jackson. Last winter, Jackson visited Menlo to share some of her experiences working in law as a black female judge. Girard was inspired by Jackson’s speech and decided to apply for the internship opportunity. In order to have this job Girard had to apply and contact Jackson directly. “I contacted her and set up an interview to meet with her in her chambers. It was pretty competitive because the other interns applying were experienced law school students,” Girard said. Her internship was for six weeks this summer and was a very interesting and enriching experience for Girard.

Coat of Arms: What was your role? What type of work did you do? 

Renée Girard: I helped to support Judge Jackson and the law school externs with cases and research. I attended court hearings and trials—some examples being a DUI case, harassment court, police brutality, asbestos/mesothelioma, probate, jury selection, & ex partes. I learned how the state judicial system functions and observed first-hand the work of a superior court judge. I also got to sit in on settlement conferences and observe the Judge throughout the courthouse. I met with Judge Jackson regarding rulings and court matters and was able to learn her view of different cases and was able to discuss her rulings on specific matters. 

COA: What is one unique experience you had there?

RG: I had a lot of unique experiences in the Judge’s chambers because I was able to hear her opinion on specific cases while she also asked my opinion on rulings she had made. Having the opportunity to work with Judge Jackson and to meet District Attorney Nancy Tung was inspiring because I was able to see how women in the field of law present themselves in court and the way that they radiate confidence when speaking. A specific unique experience was when I got to observe a case that was receiving a lot of attention from the media about the custody of frozen embryos. I was able to discuss my opinions on the case with fellow law school externs and other judges, which gave me the opportunity to hear varying opinions and ideas based on the many areas of law that the case touched upon. 

COA: How long have you been interested in politics?

RG: I’ve been interested in politics for a long time. I have been very involved with Model United Nations since I was a freshman and I have had experience working for the Congresswoman Jackie Speier and working with the United Nations this past summer. I’ve always been interested in advocating for others and see myself pursuing a career involving politics and law in the future. Ideally I want to study the intersection of philosophy, politics, and law because I think that they are interconnected in the way that ethics play a large role in our communities and global societies. 

COA: What is the biggest skill you learned/improved during your time there? 

RG: I think that although it was intimidating to be working with externs that were much older than me, I was able to learn so much from them in the way that they critically analyzed cases and helped me to understand California laws. I think my confidence in a professional environment developed as well because while I was interacting with judges, court clerks, attorneys, and San Francisco citizens I was able to observe public speaking skills within a high pressure professional environment. While it was daunting at first, the experience has proven to be invaluable as I start to narrow down what I want to study after Menlo. 

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