Adelade Edgington Tests the Legal Waters in Olney

When Adelade Edgington returned home from college for the summer, she wanted a chance to find out what a legal career is really like.

This summer, Ms. Edgington is getting that opportunity as an intern for City Attorney Dan Branum, assisting with research, drafting documents and learning how local government and the legal system operate behind the scenes.

Ms. Edgington, a rising senior at Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station, said she is considering attending law school after graduation but has not yet decided what area of law she might pursue.

“It’s the reason why I’m doing this internship — to kind of figure out if law is the route I’d want to go, but then also what kind of law,” she said, after watching Mr. Branum advise the Olney City Council at their June 8 meeting.

Her work with Mr. Branum has exposed her to a wide variety of cases because of the broad nature of his small-town practice.

Ms. Edgington said she spends time conducting legal research, preparing first drafts of documents and learning how attorneys use specialized databases and records systems to locate deeds and other public documents.

“I’m really learning a lot of things,” she said.

One of the most memorable experiences so far came when she shadowed Young County Judge Wynn Graham during court proceedings.

Because she had already researched some of the cases beforehand, Ms. Edgington was able to watch the legal process unfold with a deeper understanding of the issues involved.

“We had two probate cases,” she said. “I knew a little bit about them because I had done research for them, and then got to go to court and see them actually play out, and that was really cool.”

Ms. Edgington said the internship has provided opportunities that many college students do not receive while working for larger firms in metropolitan areas.

“My friends, a lot of them are working at big firms in Fort Worth, but they’re not really getting to do much or see anything because they’re so low level,” she said. “Being in Young County has been great because everybody’s really excited that I’m here and wanting to show me everything.”

That hands-on experience is helping her answer the questions she hoped to explore this summer.

While law school remains a possibility, Ms. Edgington said the internship is giving her a clearer picture of the profession and the many paths a legal career can take.