When we hired law student-interns several years ago, the firm changed for the better. The interns brought idealism and enthusiasm, a high level of energy and curiosity. For OIG partners, mentoring our interns was joyful and satisfying. Especially during a pandemic, we were gratified to look at the long view while considering the next generation of attorneys.

Two of our interns – Alice Donahue and Justina Yassa – just graduated from UC Davis Law School. We’ve found it’s been even more gratifying to hire these young women into the firm.

Both Alice and Justina bring a global perspective to OIG and a tendency to step up when they see help is needed. Alice, who also interned at immigration and asylum organizations during law school, can conduct investigations in French, Spanish, and Portuguese as well as in English. Justina, the first generation of her Egyptian family to graduate from law school, volunteered at Workers’ Rights Clinics through Legal Aid.

We asked Justina and Alice what they liked about their jobs, and thought we would share their thoughtful responses:

Justina: I love the work and my colleagues, and I feel empowered and inspired to work at a woman-led firm. As a POC woman myself, I appreciate that Amy and the partners are incredibly accomplished women who offer a wealth of mentorship and opportunities for professional growth, and also help me create strong working relationships with the other attorneys in the firm.

During law school, I took many litigation-focused courses, and saw the limitations of viewing facts from only one perspective. I’m grateful for how neutral investigation work allows me to be more well-rounded and holistic in my approach to cases. Our work is analytical and narrow in scope, but OIG does an incredible job at balancing fact finding with offering empathy and compassion to everyone involved in a case, and this has been a powerful learning experience for me.

Alice: I love working with OIG for the chance to see workplaces throughout California and to speak with people from all different walks of life. I enjoy the neutral investigative work because with each case I learn more about human nature and conflict resolution.

Before law school, I earned a Master’s degree in Latin American studies, with a focus on comparative literature and international human rights. I became fascinated with the power of storytelling to heal conflict. The work that we do at OIG – listening to people’s accounts and then writing a report that shows a bigger picture – helps bring understanding to conflicts, which is powerful.

I am also so grateful for the internship opportunity I had at OIG before being hired as an attorney. I’ve learned so much from the partners’ dedicated mentorship.