Public Prosecutors Program

Selected students are placed with the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia, headquartered in Roanoke with staffed offices in Charlottesville and Abingdon. The district has seven divisions of federal court, one of only four districts nationwide with as many divisions. Seven percent of the district's land is national park or forest, including the Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Students are also placed in offices of the Commonwealth Attorneys for the counties of Rockbridge, Allegheny, Botetourt, Roanoke, and the cities of Roanoke and Buena Vista.

These offices enjoy active law student intern programs. During the academic year, twelve third-year W&L law students work in the prosecutor's office for the equivalent of one day each week. Intern projects include legal research and writing assignments in addition to participation in witness interviews, meetings with law enforcement personnel, trial preparation, and courtroom proceedings. Students who have satisfied the requirements of the Virginia State Bar Third Year Practice Rule are given the opportunity to participate in a trial. An effort is made to give each student projects representing different areas of the office's work.

Supervised on site by John L. Brownlee, U.S. Attorney, and Commonwealth Attorneys Donald Caldwell, Randy Leach, Joel Branscom, Bucky Joyce, Chris Russell, and Edward Stein.