Dayton Docket

You won’t find the federal building in Dayton at the top of anybody’s vacation spots list.

But for three Dayton Law students, a summer there has been more memorable than any trip.

Christin Dale, Anthony Satariano and John Lintz have spent the summer as externs for U.S. District Judge Thomas Rose.

“It gives them an idea how the real world is working,” Judge Rose says.

The federal court externship is just one of those available to Dayton Law students.

“I think it’s a great experience that everybody should take advantage of,” Dale says.

During their time at the court, the students have been able to observe the inner-workings of the justice system.

“We’ve gotten to witness all kinds of things from pleas to sentencings to pre-trial meetings,” Satariano says.

But the externship has been about more than just seeing. The three have also gotten hands-on experience by helping research and draft opinions.

“We really give them work,” Judge Rose says. “We give them legal problems.”

Dale says the externship has helped her determine which area of law she’d like to go into.

“It has given me the opportunity to observe different types of law being practiced and to research different types of law, helping me narrow down what I do want to do and what I don’t want to do,” Dale says.

Satariano says the time with Judge Rose has shown him what life in the courtroom is like.

“I really want to be a litigator and I want to be in the courtroom a lot and this has helped a lot with that,” Satariano says. “I’ve gotten to watch lawyers all day, so I’ve been able to see what works and what doesn’t work.”

For Lintz, who was an elementary physical education teacher for 10 years before going to law school, he’s been able to see the variety a career in the law can offer.

“It was the same thing all the time,” Lintz says about his time teaching. “There was a certain way to teach kids how to skip and teach kids how to gallop. With the law there’s a lot more creativity.”

Together the three have had an experience that will stay with them long after summer ends.

“I think the externship program is amazing,” Satariano says.

Adds Lintz, “It beats galloping and skipping and overhand tossing.”