Khaled Al Tarazi

Professor Robinson
2/14/2016
Informational Interview
For my first informational interview, I managed to get into contact with
Greg Montieth, a former demon deacon that is currently working as a
public defender in Charleston, SC. I managed to get in contact with Mr.
Montieth through messaging him via LinkedIn after finding him in the
WFU Career connectors group. I was really pleased I managed to
interview My Montieth through Skype as I think that this is the best way
to communicate as you can get the most interaction, and I learned a lot
from this interview.
Like I mentioned earlier, Mr. Montieth was a demon deacon who went
to law school at DePaul because he wanted to enhance his career
opportunities. He wasnt really sure about what he wanted to do after
completing his undergraduate degree and so he pursued his interests in
law, found himself having to choose between being involved in private or
public practice, and is now a successful public defender doing what he
loves.
Information gained from the interview certainly impacted me in a
positive way. The field of being a public defender is similar to what I
imagined as I previously knew that public defenders represented
criminals and the defense. However, I gained so much new knowledge
about all of the specific details of the field, such as casework and the
investigative process. While I am intrigued by the work of a public
defender, I am not sure if it is a potential area of interest for me, at least
not yet. That being said, I am still interested in law but I am not sure
which particular field of law would best suit me. I dont think I would want
to be a courtroom lawyer, yet I am not completely sold on the private
practice of law, but law school and being a lawyer teaches you a different
way to think and this carries weight with me. I could figure out which field
of law best suits me by shadowing or interning in separate fields to find
the best fit.
Furthermore, learning about different aspects of what working in this
field involves, like the investigative process that Mr. Montieth was
explaining to me was also particularly useful for me. Mr. Montieth
explained that doing this extra due diligence was a makor key in him
becoming successful in his field as oftentimes in his investigations he
finds somethings that differs from the police report and this can become
a key piece of information later on in the process of criminal defense. Mr.
Montieth also explained the importance of communication with judges in
this field as it is important for an attorney to be able to communicate

effectively with a judge and possibly reduce sentences.

The position of working as a public defender aligned with what I
know of myself in terms of values, beliefs, and personality in the sense
that it is a position that helps people and positively impacts others lives.
Because of this aspect, it does interest me, but being a public defender is
not for everyone, and unfortunately I dont think this would be the best
position for me. This is not because the position is not fascinating
because I really enjoyed the interview, but because I am still figuring out
what type of law I may want to practice, whether that be private, or
federal or local government work. Also, not everyone is going to want to
be around criminal defendants whether it is right or wrong this is just how
it goes. As for personality, interests, and beliefs, it seems like it could be
a fulfilling job for me, but on the other hand my morals may get in the
way, as I would not want to defend someone who I think is guilty of the
crime, even though that is the public defenders job. So, it would be
imperative for me to stay and keep as unbiased as possible.
Obviously Mr. Montieth was a great learning source and he gave me a
lot of useful information. As someone with over 15 years experience in
this field, I felt like he was a great person to interview and a lot of the
new information I learned reinforced my belief that I have to find
meaning in my work otherwise it wont be as fulfilling for me. More
information I want to learn about this position is more on what public
defenders do daily, possibly through a shadowing or internship
opportunity. I also want to learn more about what people in the field find
meaningful and how best to prepare for a career in law.