UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Second-year law student Cierra Vaughn will spend the summer at Feinberg, Mindel, Brandt & Klein (FMBK) in Los Angeles, where she will intern among the 19 attorneys there who focus on family law, litigation, estate planning, and probate and trust litigation. The internship is a huge step for Vaughn, who seeks to enhance her career pursuits in family law.
Vaughn cites the firm’s size and extensive practice areas as reasons that drove her to seek an internship with FMBK. “The way FMBK has structured its practice areas to account for common issues that come up in divorces is forward thinking and provides convenient and personalized service to their clients,” she said. “These areas all closely relate to family law and often come up in dissolutions, so this structure allows the client to handle multiple issues stemming from a divorce all in-house at FMBK.”
FMBK is a larger family law firm in a major metropolitan area with a large presence in academia and the media, which appealed to Vaughn. “The firm seems to be constantly striving to be at the forefront of pressing family law issues and emphasizes continuous education and publications from their attorneys.”
Vaughn’s path to law school began with an administrative position at a Newport Beach, California, firm, which is where she was first introduced to the idea of becoming a divorce attorney. However, she said, “Had someone asked me while I was applying to law schools if I wanted to work in family law, I would have unquestionably said no.” Through her courses at Penn State Law, and finding her passion as an attorney, though, her goals have shifted.
“I realized that I needed a career in which I help people and feel like I am doing good,” said Vaughn. “People may not immediately think that helping people get divorces is helping the world, but, coming from divorced parents, I have experienced a situation where divorce did not divide our family. Instead, I witnessed my parents maintain healthy and respectful relationships despite their decision to separate. I plan on helping others do the same.”
Penn State Law’s home in University Park is a bit of a hike from Vaughn’s Southern California roots, but not large enough to escape the reach of the Penn State alumni network, with over 645,000 alumni worldwide. Vaughn was mentored by a San Diego-based Penn State Law alumnus who helped connect her to the Penn State name; a name that Vaughn said “Orange County and Los Angeles employers would recognize and respect.”
During her stint at FMBK, Vaughn will be shadowing the attorneys and seeking out cases that interest her and could use her assistance. As a future divorce attorney, Vaughn is applying to be a part of the Penn State Law Family Law Clinic, which represents victims of domestic abuse, and other individuals with family law disputes such as divorce and child custody cases, during her third year in law school. She is also an associate editor for the Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs.