Every law student must decide what type of law they want to practice - and what type of lawyer they want to be. Since day-one at Oregon Law, Alex Dionne JD ’21 has pursued the answer to these questions. 

Dionne is a student leader. She is President of Moot Court and an Oregon Child Advocacy Project Fellow. Dionne has also secured a job post-gradation as an Honors Attorney for the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ). 

In Dionne’s first semester of law school, Associate Professor Jennifer Reynolds gave a piece of advice that stuck with Dionne through her years in law school. Reynolds recommended that students find out what works for them and to study how they will best learn. Dionne says it can be hard to stop comparing yourself to others, but it is valuable to be able to reflect on how you learn and build a study habit that fosters that learning style. 

“This advice goes further than just studying for exams,” Dionne said. “There are many times in law school when tuning in to myself and shutting out the noise has been beneficial. I’ve made decisions about summer jobs, classes, studying, and time commitments by really clarifying what I need and want. It can be hard to turn off the noise and stop comparing. I wasn’t always successful, but when I could make decisions based on what was best for me rather than what everyone else was doing, it has turned out well.” 

Externships are another decision where Dionne had to clarify and decide what kind of experience she wanted for herself. Dionne says when she was looking at law schools, she wanted a program that valued experiential learning and community commitment. She chose Oregon Law because of the clinical opportunities and community-based partnerships.  

Dionne has externed in two different District Attorney’s Offices. During her rising 2L summer, she externed with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Seattle, Washington. This past semester, Dionne externed with the Benton County District Attorney’s Office in Corvallis, Oregon. 

Externship and clinical experiences have gone a long way in defining Dionne’s experience at Oregon Law. Preparing to graduate in spring, Dionne says that she has enjoyed having practical opportunities that provide real insight into the practice of law and life as a lawyer. Both experiences supplied an in depth look at what a career in prosecution would look like. 

Now that Dionne is months away from starting her career, she knows what it will take to succeed.  

“My externship experiences have been the best part of law school,” Dionne said. “You can read books or listen to practicing attorneys, but until you are doing the motion work, making the charging decisions, or questioning the witnesses, you don’t know. Experiential learning, like my externships, is invaluable for law students because it lets you ‘practice’ being a lawyer!” 

Outside of her externships, Dionne has had experience practicing being a lawyer in her Oregon Practice and Procedure course with Retired Lane County Circuit Court Judge Karsten Rasmussen, JD ‘83.  

The course is a mock experience that focuses on the practical aspects of legal practice. Through this course, Dionne was able to craft and argue an Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 21 motion and argue it in court.  

Dionne says that the learning process for the class was difficult because there is little guidance on getting the “correct” answer, but that is because there is no correct answer. This project mirrors the real world and helps build strategic thinking, so when Dionne is faced with no correct answer outside of class, she is prepared to work through it. 

“I am so thankful for this entire experience because taught me how to think critically about motion practice, and also gave me a chance to argue in court before I was representing any real clients or cases,” Dionne said. 

Through her journey at Oregon Law, Dionne discovered she wanted to do litigation. She did not know what avenue to go down, but she had a chance to explore subjects, go to various events, and talk to practicing attorneys before choosing criminal law. 

In her upcoming position as Honors Attorney for the DOJ, Dionne will immediately handle her own caseload and can work on some of the most pressing issues facing the state. 

Oregon Law fosters each student's search for their lawyer identity because there are chances to explore different subject areas that light a passion. 

“Oregon Law asks students to research and analyze the issue, but never dictates what the ‘right’ opinion should be,” Dionne said. “The culture I've seen is one of fostering exploration and analysis.” 

By Rhianna Comito, School of Law Communications