Select an individual working in the legal field to interview. Contact the person to schedule a day and time for the interview, which should be conducted in person, phone, or video conferencing.
Draft at least ten substantive questions to ask your interviewee (see required criteria below).
Conduct the interview.
Take substantive notes of your interviewee’s responses to each of the questions you ask to create transcripts of the interview. You may also record the interview with your interviewee’s permission. This will be used to create a transcript of questions and answers.
Write a 2-page Reflective Summary of the interview, describing the key information you learned from the interview regarding your interviewee’s career, educational requirements for the position, the types of tasks or duties that are part of your interviewee’s position, and ethical issues your interviewee has encountered and how he or she has resolved such issues. In addition, describe whether this interview has confirmed your interest in pursuing this particular career and sum up what you have gained from conducting this interview.
Required Criteria: In addition to fulfilling the specifics of this assignment set forth in the above instructions, a successful project must also meet the following criteria:
Length of your Project should be 3–4 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font), excluding cover page and references page. You should have 1–2 pages of a Transcript, listing the 10 questions asked and summaries of your interviewee’s responses to each question and a 2-page Reflective Summary.
Your 10 interview questions must be substantive and designed to engage your interviewee and encourage him or her to provide plenty of information. Your questions must include the following topics:
Educational requirements for the position
A typical day on the job – daily tasks and duties
Ethical problems encountered and how your interviewee resolved such problems
Best aspects of the job and worst aspects (if any)
Suggestions:
Do not wait until the last minute to schedule the interview. Schedule it as soon as possible and make sure to build in time for possible rescheduling.
Interview someone who has a career that interests you so you can use this opportunity to learn more details about this particular position or area of law.
Contact your professor for additional ideas in choosing an individual to interview.
Really think about the questions you are going to ask and use the interview as an opportunity to learn more about the legal field.
* If you are a student in the Environmental Policy and Management degree program, please note that for purposes of this project, you may opt to interview a professional in the environmental policy and management field, such as an Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental Compliance Officer, an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency, etc.
