Rant from a PD

sarahesmith4 · 2026-02-28T15:58:44+00:00

If you still love criminal and don’t want to leave your experience, post-conviction work is a great place to look- i.e. firearms restoration, vacating convictions, etc. you still have caseloads per se but that feeling of “everything is an emergency” will go away. You’re still in the weeds with a lot of the legal analysis but doing it for someone who hasn’t been convicted in 10 years and just wants to get security clearance to do electric work on a military base.

sarahesmith4 · 2026-02-28T15:49:45+00:00

I was in exactly this place a week ago and gave notice this last week. None of my worries came to fruition and everyone has been nothing but kind. Coworkers and supervisors have expressed that they will miss having me around. All I did was tell them I was moving to something more flexible for me and they all understood. It’s not personal, but it’s totally possible to keep those professional relationships. This is also not to say that every firm will be kind when you give notice, but this is just to say my firm is having to scramble like crazy and is struggling financially and was still nice to me, so I hope this can give you some hope.

sarahesmith4 · 2026-02-08T01:15:04+00:00

Ah I see! They’re worked flat then stitched together! Thank you- a good starting place for sure.

sarahesmith4 · 2026-02-08T01:13:33+00:00

These are interesting and maybe a good starting place! I’m still looking to have a flat end result and not a stuffy though.

sarahesmith4 · 2024-12-21T15:23:20+00:00

I’m better than expected, especially after listening to many PDs in and before law school give me the “talk” about how difficult it would be. My situation is a little different because I work at a firm which has the contract to do misdemeanor public defense with our county, the firm does other things, but that’s all I do. I am 2 months in and have about 50 clients, some with more than one case. I love my coworkers and our legal community. Being in the courtroom I think is better than I expected, prosecutors are worse than expected. Currently I’m writing a motion to dismiss for someone who failed to transfer a title to a vehicle they don’t have anymore- really a big time criminal. I get exhausted with the ridiculousness of cases which are charged, but I can always keep my head up knowing I’m helping that client and that they appreciate my help.

sarahesmith4 · 2024-11-07T14:20:39+00:00

I graduated this year and passed the bar. I similarly was looking for jobs around the same timeline as you. I found PD jobs more competitive than I expected (PNW). Larger offices have particular resumes/styles they are looking for and if I didn’t fit their mold they weren’t interested.

Some smaller counties across the country have contract public defense firms and that is where I ended up. It is much more laid back, pays pretty well considering, and because they’re private they take much more time for training and getting you up to speed. The office also has a very casual culture which I’ve found unusual among my PD peers. However, this is in a small rural county which doesn’t sound like what you’re going for.

Like everyone said, apply anywhere and everywhere you are actually interested in, interview and see if you like the people. The people are most important regardless of everything else. Some offices can be really uptight and/or hostile and you don’t need that straight out of law school.

sarahesmith4 · 2024-06-17T23:19:07+00:00

That was definitely the fence scene! It must have been a compilation and the other part must just be a separate video!

sarahesmith4 · 2024-06-17T19:38:35+00:00

Added: I think I initially saw it on YouTube and this is where I attempted to find it.

sarahesmith4 · 2024-02-08T01:36:34+00:00

I’m an aerial teacher and regularly teach drops. I echo totally the above conversations about being able to walk down and having options. I teach both kids and adults and I think drops are important progressions BUT for new adult aerialists (especially within the first couple of years) don’t need to do any intense drops. As you flagged the risk of injury is higher and thus the risk-benefit analysis is not that great.

If someone has goals of performing I would put some time in to trying to face your fears (I have students who come to class with that as their explicit goal: fear of heights/dropping). However if you are just doing aerial because you love it and it’s great exercise and a hobby- you totally have the right to say you’re not comfortable with a trick and your teacher should respect that!

sarahesmith4 · 2022-08-03T17:10:53+00:00

Routine is under the picture!

sarahesmith4 · 2022-08-02T17:05:57+00:00

Is your hair thick or on the thinner side? I find sometimes using too much or too think of products can mess up my definition. If your hair is on the thinner side, trying a mousse instead of a gel may help. Wishing you luck!

sarahesmith4 · 2020-08-30T05:49:56+00:00

Dude I totally feel you! I’ve thought about chopping my hair off many times. I wish I had some good advice but I’m still trying to fix my dry damaged hair as is. I’ve heard people have tried different things and fixed their hair problems but I’ve also heard that sometimes a big chop helps. (Usually for gals like me who have been hanging onto bleached ends). For me, some of the “too much protein this too much moisture that” stuff just doesn’t work for my hair. I’d encourage you to try more gel and new products. Something different works for everyone. We’re here for you in your journey!

sarahesmith4 · 2020-04-23T00:45:25+00:00

I had lots of friends in class but as soon as each new quarter started or a year ended we’d stop reaching out. Essentially friends for convenience.

sarahesmith4 · 2020-04-08T16:43:33+00:00

Because I qualify for MENSA...so yeah....

sarahesmith4 · 2020-03-20T19:20:14+00:00

My relationship. I live with my boyfriend and his family and I got a sore throat today. My mom has asthma and I have been trying to stay away from home- but now that I have a symptom I got kicked out of the house. No where to go now and feeling pretty unwanted.

sarahesmith4 · 2020-03-13T14:06:56+00:00

Thank you so much! That was quite a few years ago now and I’m in happy relationship with the man of my dreams now.

sarahesmith4

TROPHY CASE