My New Internship

On Monday, March 14, I became the new Government Intern at Becker & Poliakoff, PA in Tallahassee, Fla. When I was offered the internship, I honestly did not know what to expect. I visited a law firm once when I participated in the Widener University School of Law JURIST Academy in Wilmington, Del. during the summer of 2010, but I did not see any non-law school students interning there.

After one week of interning, I must say that I have learned A LOT! I work closely with the government specialist, Cedric McMinn, and I have learned so much from him in such a short period of time. I learned about the administrative duties that go along with working at a law firm such as scheduling appointments with legislatures to discuss bills that are important to the firm's clients. I am also abreast of the major bills that are up for discussion and voting in the Florida Legislature and I am able to navigate around the Capitol.

Yolanda and me at the annual National Association of the Bahamas Gala in 2007.

On March 21, I spent the whole day with one of my supervisors, Yolanda Cash Jackson, at the Florida Capitol. Yolanda is a shareholder of Becker and Poliakoff, and she is one of the most powerful and influential lobbyists in Florida. She is a Bahamian-American from Miami (like me!), and she is a graduate of University of Florida's College of Law.

I got to see her in action as she discussed bills with different legislators that she knows on a personal and professional level. As I watched her in action, all I could think about was how much her career mirrored the things that I was learning in my public relations courses.  I noticed that with each client she utilized the five communication skills, which are listening, writing, speaking, counseling, and promoting. She listened to what each legislator had to say, she counseled them on talking points that they could use when they presented their bill, she promoted the bills that were important to her clients' issue, and wrote down things that were mentioned to her, so that she could go back and conduct more research.

After spending the day with Yolanda, I really became interested in becoming a lobbyist. It was the first time I saw how law and public relations actually worked together without conflicting with each other. I also thought about how comfortable Yolanda looked doing her job. It seemed as though she was having a regular conversation with the legislators, and much to my surprise, they were willing to listen. I quickly realized that each time she met with a legislator, they felt completely at ease with her, and they were very candid with her about their reservations or un-readiness about the contents of the bill, or why they had a favorable attitude toward the bill.

Although it was a really long day, overall, I really enjoyed my day at the Capitol and with Yolanda. I enjoyed my day so much that I did not want to leave and go home. And when I did come home, I wanted to put on a suit and go back to the Capitol. Spending time with her really opened my eyes to a career where I can utilize my public relations skills and still be an attorney.