Summer Experience: Laura Powers ‘28L This summer, Laura Powers worked as a law clerk for Slovensky Divorce and Family Law in Roanoke, Virginia.

Laura Powers ’28L, far left, with her team at federal court.

Laura Powers ‘28L is a second-year law student and is originally from Golden, Colorado. She currently serves as an Academic Excellence Fellow, VP of Service for WLSO, and a staff writer for the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. She is getting married this fall and plans to start her legal career in the Blue Ridge Mountains of either Virginia or North Carolina. This summer, Laura worked as a law clerk for Slovensky Divorce and Family Law in Roanoke, Virginia.

How did you find/get this position?

I worked as a Court Appointed Special Advocate in the foster care system before law school and wanted to work at a primarily family law focused law firm to build on that. I would love to stay in southwest Virginia long term, so I narrowed my search to Family Law Firms in Roanoke. I found Slovensky, which is owned and managed by an amazing female attorney and only does family law—it felt like a perfect fit. I applied early in my first semester and based on my background, they hired me!

Describe your work experience.

I had the opportunity to work on a number of things like drafting divorce complaints and property settlement agreements. I performed legal research on things like name changes for minors, and I attended numerous custody and visitation and child support hearings. My biggest project was serving as the lead intern on a Hague Convention International Child Abduction case that we tried in the Western District of VA Federal Court. These cases are rare, complicated, and they operate on an expedited timeline, which meant I got to work on the case from start to finish.

What were some skills you developed this summer?

I learned a lot about trial prep, what works in a courtroom and what doesn’t, and how important it is to know your judge and your jurisdiction. I developed my research skills as well as my collaboration skills. Working as a team with tight timelines and complicated information is no joke! I also developed my client facing skills. Watching other attorneys interact with clients was such a learning experience since everyone does it a little differently.

What was your favorite aspect of this summer work experience?

Apart from the people I worked with, who were truly wonderful, the best part of the summer was winning the Hague Convention case I mentioned earlier and reuniting a five-year old child with her mother after 18 months apart. It was indescribably gratifying to know that the hours I put in researching case law, organizing documents, and drafting motions led to that happy outcome.

Has this experience helped you figure out post graduate plans, and if so, how?

As much as I learned from and enjoyed my experience, I do think my internship showed me that Family Law is not quite what I am looking for. I am looking for work with broader advocacy and policy impact, where the stakes extend beyond any single case to the systems shaping many people’s lives at once. Knowing that will undoubtedly guide my future career search.

How do you think this experience will shape the rest of your time at W&L Law?

This internship has shown me what is important for the actual practice of law. While everything we learn as law students is extremely valuable, not all of it has real world application, which will shape the way I prioritize my time and energy during the school year. Along those same lines, it also showed me that classes are only one part of law school and that there are a lot of other opportunities, like competitions and student organizations, that help shape you into an attorney people want to hire.