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Every summer, law students at William H. Gates Hall head out to law firms, government offices, nonprofits and businesses across the country. For a few short months, these students work side-by-side with practicing attorneys, getting a firsthand look at the ins and outs of the legal profession. It’s a chance to move beyond theory and see how the law plays out in everyday life.

This new series catches up with rising 2L and 3L students as they briefly step away from their work and share their thoughts, surprises and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

This week, we met up with Katie Ziglin, a rising 2L.

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�鶹���� Law: Can you tell us where you're working this summer?

Katie Ziglin (KZ): Yeah, I'm working for the King County Prosecutor's Office in the appellate unit.

�鶹���� Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and, if not, where?

KZ: No, I'm from Phoenix.

�鶹���� Law: How did you find out about this employment opportunity?

KZ: I found out about it through school. I also knew of it because I previously worked as a paralegal in the office.

�鶹���� Law: What type of projects are you working on?

KZ: We're working on cases that go to the appeals court, and some of the projects involve the validity of search and seizure warrants, prosecutorial misconduct and felony murder cases with self-defense. Things like that.

�鶹���� Law: How long will you be working there?

KZ: Ten weeks.

�鶹���� Law: Do you work as part of a team, and if so, how many people do you work with?

KZ: Yeah, I work with about 10 people.

�鶹���� Law: What type of networking opportunities have you had while working there?

KZ: I've been able to talk with experts around the office who work in different units, such as the sexual assault unit, the homicide unit, the economic crimes unit and the felony traffic unit.

We've also been able to take a few field trips. We've gotten to go to the medical examiner's office and the APHIS office, which is where they do fingerprinting for King County and analyze fingerprints and forensics. So that was cool. I also got invited to a Mariners game, but I had a wedding the same weekend.

�鶹���� Law: If you could plan any type of event or outing for you and your coworkers, what would you do?

KZ: Definitely another Mariners game to make up for the one I missed.

�鶹���� Law: What do you think will be the most memorable part of this experience for you?

KZ: I think going to the medical examiner's office. We got to go and see how they handle investigations into deaths concerning public health, public welfare and public safety in King County — that can be a sudden, unexpected or unnatural death. So, we got to see how they evaluate bodies and crime scene photographs and medical evidence. That was really interesting.

�鶹���� Law: What's one superlative you would give your office coworkers as a whole?

KZ: Maybe Westlaw Whisperers because they're really good at legal research.

�鶹���� Law: What's one positive surprise you've had since beginning your summer employment?

KZ: Maybe just how kind everyone is at my work, not that I'm surprised that people would be kind.

�鶹���� Law: Pop quiz: When was the building you work in — the King County Courthouse — completed?

KZ: I'm going to say 1927.

�鶹���� Law: Close — 1916. What's the most lawyerly thing you've caught yourself saying outside of work?

KZ: Every year, my friends make a fantasy football league. And this year, I named my team “The End Zone Adverse Possessors.” I thought it was really funny and clever, but no one else thought it was funny.

�鶹���� Law: What would you recommend every visitor to Seattle go or do while visiting here?

KZ: I would recommend seeing Paradise at Mt. Rainer. I went this summer, and it is appropriately named.

�鶹���� Law: How did �鶹���� Law best prepare you for this employment opportunity?

KZ: Definitely the legal writing and research class. I'm doing a lot of research and writing in my externship, so that's been really helpful.

�鶹���� Law: What’s one thing you wish you knew before starting your summer position?

KZ: How fast 10 weeks go by. I thought it'd be a long summer working, but it's gone by really, really fast.

�鶹���� Law: Another pop quiz: How long did �鶹���� Law alum Norm Maleng serve as the King County Prosecuting Attorney?

KZ: 30 years?

�鶹���� Law: Close again — 28 years. Do you have any other plans for summer after your externship ends?

KZ: I'm going to Brazil with my partner. He's really into wildlife photography, so hopefully we’ll be photographing jaguars in a region called the Pantanal. It's south of the rainforest in the wetlands area. The jaguars come to the rivers a lot to hunt caiman, which are like little alligators.

�鶹���� Law: If you could have a cameo in any legal TV show or movie, which one would you pick and what would your role be?

KZ: It's not really a legal TV show, but Madam Secretary. I would be legal counsel in the show.

�鶹���� Law: What has been the most rewarding aspect of your summer experience so far?

KZ: I think being able to see progress that our office makes with people who come into contact with the criminal legal system. It's been rewarding to help people try to make their way through the system and try to make the experience less intimidating as possible.

�鶹���� Law: What's one interesting fact about you that people may not know?

KZ: I once won a hot pepper eating contest in first grade. I had about 15. A bunch of third grade boys were doing it, and I just couldn't let them win.

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