I got my 1st prosecution job because of what was on my resume, namely, my name.

I was in Zimbabwe, right after the Rhodesian War had ended, and someone suggested I apply with the A.G.'s office to be a public prosecutor. So I walked down town to the Earl Gray Bldg. in Salisbury (now Harare) and into the office of the A.G. of Zimbabwe. I filled out an application and attached my resume. The receptionist left the room, and then returned a few minutes later, and said, "the atty. general will see you now."

I then met the Atty. Gen'l of Zimbabwe, an Irishman named Brendan Tracy. He looked at my resume, and read off my name, "Terence Joseph Breen. That's a very Irish name."

"Yes sir, it is," I said, "In fact, it's as Irish as Brendan Tracy."

"That's right," he said.

"In fact," I added, "the two Irish revolutionary heros, Dan Breen and Sean Tracy, were best mates."

"That's right!" he said. "Well, as soon as I get you approved by the minister, you are hired."

It was yet another time that I thanked God I was not an Englishman.

When I returned to Tex., I had an interview with a D.A. I will call "Bill." He noticed I grew up in Ariz., and for about an hour he reminenced about the trips he made for several summers as a kid, to stay with his aunt and uncle in Flagstaff, Ariz. He told me about the Indians, the Pow Wow, and his Indian arrow head collection. I gathered they were the happiest days of his life, and he associated them with me, so I got hired.

Later a bud of mine applied with Bill. Bill made an appointment to interview my bud, and then forgot the meeting date, and stood my bud up. Bill felt bad about this, and rescheduled the meeting. When he learned my bud had been in the Marines (as had Bill) the job was his.

I think Bill hired all males for similar quirky reasons. Females were hired because of their looks.

Later he decided to "professionalize" his hiring by having a hiring committee screen applicants, and then give him a short list of 2 or 3 people we thought would be best. I was on the committee. We spent hours interviewing people, and discussing their virtues and flaws. Finally we winnowed our selection down to 2 people. I went to see Bill and told him we were ready for him to make the final selection.

"Oh gosh! I forgot about the committee! Some girl came in this morning, and I thought she'd work pretty good, so I hired her," he told me.

And she did. The fact was, this guy assembled a great staff. They were a fun bunch to work with, and they really cared about the work.

I have never been asked during an employment interview about my class standing, my GPA, whether I was in Moot Court, or anything else having to do with law school. Those accomplishments seem to pale compared to the really important things: having an Irish name, being stood up, being a former Jar-head, having good looks, etc. With you, it might be your football background that lands you a job, or perhaps your prospective boss's favorite uncle is named Joe. You just never know.

Good luck, and hope this helps.

Good to know the Irish don't want to be English!! How about British?

Technically, Ireland is one of the British Isles. I don't know of any Irishman, however, who considers himself "British."

I'm Scotch-Irish, and do not consider myself to be british. Nor English.

Isn't that like saying you're Texan, not American? BTY for the record I'm 1/2 English, 1/2 Welsh, (my mother even had to speak welsh as a child) with a Texan wife of Irish descent (maiden name Flanagan) and my sister was born and lived in Scotland until she was three so she was Scots. But by my thinking, albeit warped, any Celt of the British Isles is still British. And I'm here to take any of your declarations of loyalty to HRH Queen Elizabeth.

I'm just proud to be a Texan and an American.

Wow John, who do you root for during the World Cup?

Someone is going to be upset with any answer I give so I'm unable to answer that question! In fact, my son plays soccer so I support his team.

I've always told people I'm half Scotch, half soda. Then again, I don't mind telling old jokes, or even bad ones.

Robert McGlohon

A football coach in the frozen North wants some advice on getting a job as an assistant D.A. in Texas, and you characters go off on a tangent about the Irish being Brits! What has that to do with his Question?

I tried to give him some practical advice. Obviously, if you are serious about wanting to be a prosecutor, you ought to be up on your Irish history--that is just common sense. So to help you get started, Joe (and all you 3rd year law school lurkers out there), here is a link to a page about Dan Breen
searcs-web.com/breen.html. And here's a link to the lyrics of a popular song about Sean Treacy's last battle: [URL=http://rebelchords.tripod.com/songs1900-1969/seantreacy.htm

Perhaps a better way to study that aspect of Irish history is to go to an Irish pub, buy a beer, and request the band to play "Tipperary So Far Away."

Hope that helps.

And I hope the rest of you can give some equally practical, down-to-earth advice for the man.

Thank you.

Guinness solves every problem, as any good irishman knows. It's a fine drink in cold weather and then there is always the hard stuff with a fine peat flavor when the syrup just doesn't cut it anymore. "Cheers" to the topic police!

[This message was edited by John Stride on 02-10-06 at .]

Guinness might be the answer, especially if taken orally, but I'd prefer a bowl of Colcannon with A Mairead Nesbitt CD playing in the background any day of the week.

Terry, thanks for filling me in on your experiences with the interviewing/hiring process.

Terry

Fun aside, you made a good point with your personal history. So many times, if not usually, everyone who is interviewed is qualified. It is the other items the winning applicant brings to bear that make the difference; e.g., personality, humor, different approaches, experiences, ideas, interests, and just plain "clicking" with those conducting the interview. In my pre-law life I had considerable experience being interviewed, and post-law I have had experience from the other side of the table. Picking the right employee is just as hard as picking the right employer. I say, within reason, dare to make yourself stand out.

My office mate, the one from WYOMING - he wore a buckskin fringed jacket to his interview and he was hired anyways. Said he was channeling the vibe of Spence. He's bitterly upset as of late b/c no one will go hunting with him. Looks like his locally planned coup de tat (whatever) has been foiled by a similiar attempt at the higher federal level.

I clerked for the 1st Court of Appeals before coming down to Galveston. I had the clerkship lined up in the fall of 3rd year. However, the plan was always to come to a DA's office.

I had a strange experience when applying to offices last spring. I learned that the smaller offices are easier to communicate with and are more willing to explain their hiring process.

Bottom line: I would agree with whoever said it, put your applications out every where. Sometimes the openings come up so quick there isn't time to post them, so the offices rely on the resumes they already have to fill the positions quickly.

Not to mention, you may end up with an amazing opprotunity that you had no idea existed.

We�ve just been through the hiring process here. I was completely amazed by the number of really outstanding resumes we received. The above comment about trying to stand out a little bit is very good advice. A sense of humor is a real plus. Also, don�t exaggerate. Don�t tell a prospective employer that your dream since you were in third grade has been to be a prosecutor, when your law school transcript clearly shows that you chose to take Discovery Avoidance Techniques III and Advanced Corporate Legal Shenanigans in your third year instead of Tex. Crim. Proc. and Crim. Law II. You WILL be asked about your work with the criminal defense firm; provide an honest answer about what you learned from that job and why that line of work is not for you. If you aren�t successful right away, know that there are many prosecutors who started out doing other types of law, even�yikes!�insurance defense work at a megafirm.

P.S. And whatever you do, be very careful about your references. A lukewarm recommendation letter can be fatal�as was the absolutely glowing one from an extremely defense-oriented ex-judge.

Yes, I'm a weenie lurker. I'm a recent lawschool grad and I had a couple of follow up questions on this topic:

1) I interned at a DAs office in another state. They had Public Defender's offices as well. The ADAs and PDs fairly frequently swapped sides, just depending on opportunities in either offices. Is that sortof looked down on in Texas? They didn't talk much about having the heart of either a prosecutor or a defense attorney in that state. It was all about the skill of arguing whatever side you were on.

2) What is the hiring process in Texas generally? I.e. if an opening is posted, does it take a pretty long time before they start interviewing? Of course, I'm asking in general terms. I'm sure all the offices are somewhat different.

Thanks!

The tone of a DA's office is set by the elected DA, and is influenced by the others who work there. Some outfits follow rigid hiring policies, while others, like my old boss, "Bill" fly by the seat of their pants. Some think that a prosecutor should rather live under a bridge before defending crooks, while others think that being a former def. atty. gives one an extra dimension in fighting crime (I think most fall into this catagory). Some think being Irish is a big plus, while others think, "who needs another pain-in-the-butt Irishman around?"

This is how I look for a prosecuting job. I send a resume with a cover letter to the elected D.A. of every place I might like to live in, and in my letter I tell him I expect to be in his town in the next couple of weeks, and will drop by. Then I go on a road trip, and visit each place. I don't make an appointment--I just drop in. If the elected is unavailable, usually there is someone you can talk to. And you chat about whatever they ask.

Most of the time there are no vacancies when I drop by, but as one elected DA told me, "as the boss, I'm the last to know when a vacancy is about to come up."

This is a way of being ahead of the curve when a vacancy does come to one of the offices you visit. Moreover, often you will learn about neighboring DA's offices, or places to avoid. And it's a great way to see Texas.

TDCAA has a book listing the elected D.A.s and C.A.s, as well as their staffs, and the counties they represent. You can use this to find the name and address of the elected DA's you want to visit.