NOTES FROM THE FIELD: SHANIQUA HARRIGAN '20

Shaniqua Harrigan '20 interned at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO SDNY) during the 2019 winter term. The following is an excerpt from her internship report.

This winter, I had the honor of working at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO SDNY). I gained first-hand experience, expanded my legal knowledge, and honed my skills by helping Assistant United States Attorneys and working alongside paralegal specialists within the Department of Justice.

I was assigned to the Securities and Commodities Unit where I was sponsored by the paralegal who was regarded as the alpha paralegal specialist within the entire office and primarily worked investigations that were parallel to those of the Securities and Exchange Committee. The cases I worked on focused on wire fraud, crypto currency, consulting and corporate corruption. Working in a very document intensive unit, I curated an infinite number of binders, wrote and served subpoenas, non-disclosure orders and transcripts and prepared additional trial materials and exhibits for court cases and hearings I would later attend. I not only got hands on experience while interning at the USAO SDNY, but also received impeccable advice on navigating the LSAT, law school, and law careers, which quickly solidified my interest in law and earning a JD.

I was fully immersed into the life of a paralegal: I served subpoenas, wrote transcripts and put together additional exhibits that were used in court, attended hearings, redacted confidential information from sensitive documents, wholeheartedly believed in organization and traceability thus, making numerous indexes by quickly familiarizing myself with excel, and delivered materials to attorneys during the middle of their trial. Getting to work on cases ranging from wire fraud to organized and violent crimes to murder, were all so rewarding and eye opening. They each taught me something different. Having the flexibility to assists attorneys and paralegals on other floors in addition to my own allowed me to soak up way more knowledge and meet more people.

Going to work every day at the USAO SDNY and seeing what it would be like as an adult post-undergrad and as someone who practices law, was a phenomenal perspective and informative transition for me. I know the USAO SDNY will play one of the most significant roles in shaping my perspective looking onward. It was motivating and captivating to work with such enthusiastic people who wanted, yearned and desired to come to work every day. Being part of such an invigorating and passionate environment, solidified that I want to continue figuring out the intersections of my interests in anthropology, government and law at Dartmouth and attend law school within the next few years. Without the generosity and support of the Rockefeller Center and Mr. and Mrs. David Squire, this opportunity wouldn’t have been possible, and for that I am eternally grateful.

The Rockefeller Internships Program has funding for Dartmouth undergraduate students to help defray the cost of living expenses associated with a full-time, unpaid, leave-term internships in the fields of public policy, public affairs, and social entrepreneurship.