Mike's Summer Job!

Well, as the summer draws to a close, I wanted to take a minute to share the place I was lucky enough to call my summer job here in New Hampshire. I had no idea how my summer at the City of Portsmouth, NH's Legal Department would turn out (since I am not a native New Englander, and since I had no prior experience in municipal law). However, the experience was undoubtedly the best I have had since entering law school. This first picture shows my home base, Portsmouth's City Hall, though the many tasks I was assigned kept me on my toes and moving all throughout Portsmouth.

As you can see, I also was very lucky in terms of my office; I did not exactly receive a cubicle to work in! My wonderful bosses made the Law Library my personal office, where I had plenty of room to spread out. All this space proved to be a wonderful asset, because although I entered the internship knowing nothing about the workings of Portsmouth, NH, I was soon put to work dissecting zoning maps, analyzing sewer plans from the 1800s, and examining countless other documents that taught me much about a city I have truly come to love.

As you may have noticed, my desk was flanked by two very large windows. And, as you can see in these photos, the top floor office really treated me to some fantastic vistas of the City. This photo gives a glimpse of the "South Mill Pond" in the foreground (a tidal water body that drains completely at low tide), as well as some hints of the turbulent Piscataqua River beyond. The structure visible at the far left of the photo above is one of the two bridges that connects Portsmouth, NH to Kittery, ME. The blue building peeking out from behind the tree on the far right is the sprawling Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which currently services nuclear submarines!

Scrolling down, you can see a bit more of the panorama I was treated to on a daily basis. As you can surely tell, even the Mill Pond itself is a gorgeous water body. It was a very calming and soothing place to work, and I felt very fortunate (and often unusually productive) on a daily basis.

This photo shows the rest of the view from my window. Here, you can see the other portion of the Mill Pond (where, as you can see, the tide is beginning to go out in the distance). In the background, you can also see some of the buildings which comprise the Portsmouth "skyline." City Hall is set atop a hill that overlooks the downtown from across the pond, so I had a great view of many of the businesses, streets, and homes that we were addressing in our daily work. While working on large, national-scale legal issues certainly has an appeal, I also discovered a real attraction to contributing in matters where the effects are local and immediately tangible.

And, finally, I should point out this gorgeous building, which is the Portmsouth Middle School. In addition to the countless other kind and welcoming gestures my bosses made throughout the summer, they secured me a key to this school's band room so that I could walk (or drive) across the pond at lunch to practice trombone whenever I wanted. In all, I am extremely sad to say goodbye for the school year, but I certainly feel special to have spent this summer in Portsmouth, NH!

Now, the summer might be drawing to a close, but there are plenty of photos from earlier (and more recent) adventures that we are just getting around to posting. Stay tuned for more updates in the near future!