During her 1L summer, Funmi Akinmulero was selected to participate in the Judicial Internship Opportunity Program which was created by the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation.
This program was created in an effort to diversify the pool of law students on the judicial clerkship track and consists of a six week summer judicial clerkship in which students work closely with judges in chambers and in the courtroom on a variety of projects.
Akinmulero was selected to clerk for Judge Marguerite D. Downing, who handles dependency matters in Los Angeles Superior Court.
During her time clerking, Akinmulero’s duties included researching various sections of the California Welfare and Institutions Code as it applied to California Bench Codes, drafting recommendations for the continued use of psychotropic drugs and editing judicial scripts.
She also observed numerous proceedings at the Los Angeles Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California which is the Federal Court of Los Angeles.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how significantly prepared I was for my clerkship with Judge Downing due to the research, writing and professional skills that I had acquired during my first year at Drake Law School,” she said. “The experience was remarkable!”