SENIOR PROJECT CONFERENCE SHEET
Name: Donny Hiers Conference Date: 10/19/2022
Project Title: Law Firm Job Shadowing
SMART Goal I set for this conference:
Research at least four different websites regarding the topic of research paper & information
discussed in the last job shadowing session.
Steps I took to accomplish my SMART Goal:
Website & Link
“Municipal court” (vs magistrate)
https://www.sccourts.org/municipalcourt/
“What Do You Have to Do to Become a Lawyer?”
https://www.alliant.edu/blog/what-do-you-have-do-be
come-lawyer
“Third-Offense DUI in South Carolina”
https://dui.drivinglaws.org/resources/third-offense-dui
-in-south-carolina.html
“DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A PUBLIC DEFENDER
AND A PRIVATE DEFENSE ATTORNEY”
https://bk-lawgroup.com/blog/differences-between-a-
public-defender-and-a-private-defense-attorney/
Summary of topic
This article breaks down the purpose of municipal
court, which is where most small crime hearings are
held, for things such as tickets, minor domestic
violence, bail & bond, and more. All these types of
offenses are held in municipal court, and many
people usually do not receive jail time, and if they do,
it is usually no longer than 30 days.
This article breaks down the steps that it takes and
the typical path for becoming a lawyer. As well as
this, it discusses the process of normal 4 year
college followed by law school, the skills it takes,
what undergraduate majors are preferable, and
more.
For context, my mentor had a client who was calling
for a consultation on a 3rd time DUI offense, so I
wanted to research the possible consequences for
said offense. On a third offense, it is possible you
could get fined, see jail time for a certain amount of
time, or be assigned to the Alcohol and Drug Safety
Action Program.
I was curious about the effectiveness of a PD
compared to that of a private attorney, and wanted to
learn more. The representation you get with a private
attorney is that a private attorney gets his cases
based on if he or she wants to take a client on or not,
whereas a public defender has hundreds of cases,
which they do not have time to get the best possible
deal for all of them. Basically, the amount of attention
you get varies based on which one you choose.
Employability skills that I worked on this month and specific ways I have improved. How have you shown
growth with the goals listed above? Do you need to make any adjustments? Which skill has been the hardest
for you to practice and improve? Why? I have shown growth in the goals above because I hit the benchmark at
which I set out to do during last month’s conference. As for employability skills, I haven’t exactly gained any
new skills, however, I am gaining more knowledge on the field of law and am broadening my understanding of
what it takes to become a lawyer.

What I have learned since my last conference: Something I learned since the last conference is the importance
of setting SMART goals when it comes to SP. To be honest, I’ve set them for other classes, in Scouts, and
more, and never found them to be particularly useful. I say this because I always hit my goals usually and am
so determined when I set my mind to something, that I always get it done. However, it helps with SP because I
can have something to work towards during the months to come.

SMART Goal I am going to work on for next month: Check in with the public defender’s office about possible
job shadowing & start introduction of paper.