The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office has announced the creation of a new Volunteer Attorney Externship Program.
Under the program, attorneys will have the opportunity to receive practical courtroom experience while allowing the District Attorney’s Office to expand services to the public at no additional cost.
Participants will be assigned misdemeanor caseloads and will work under the supervision of experienced prosecutors. Each volunteer attorney will commit to at least six months of full-time service to the District Attorney’s Office. In exchange, the attorneys will gain valuable trial experience in developing courtroom skills.
The Volunteer Attorney Externship Program will help the District Attorney’s Office continue to serve the public without additional strain to the county budget.
District Attorney Joyce Dudley will administer the oath of office to Kevin Weichbrod, the first attorney in the program, on Sept. 30.
Weichbrod attended Santa Barbara High School and graduated from UCSB in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in physics. During his years at UCSB, he worked in the physics lab, where he gained a physics research award, before deciding to attend California Western School of Law.
During his legal studies, Weichbrod was an officer of the Environmental Law Society, interned for the Intellectual Property Group at the law firm of Higgs, Fletcher & Mack, and was awarded by the Public Service Honors Society for his work at the Madge Bradley Restraining Order Clinic. He is certified to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
— Rosemary Moll is the assistant to Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley.