The Transition Into Prosecution Program is the prosecution-based educational program for assistant district attorneys, assistant solicitors-general and other prosecutors who are admitted to the practice of law on or after July1, 2005. The Transition Into Prosecution Program was approved by the Commission on Continuing Legal Competency of the State Bar of Georgia on September 1, 2005 pursuant to Rule 8-104 of the Rules of the State Bar of Georgia (hereafter St. Bar. R.) for use by state and local prosecutors in the State of Georgia to meet the requirements of the Transition Into Law Practice Program of the State Bar of Georgia.
The purpose of Transition Into Prosecution is to take newly admitted attorneys who enter prosecution and develop them fully into functional prosecutors with the practical skills, judgment and professional values to enable them to prosecute in a highly competent manner.
Transition Into Prosecution consists of two components: a one-year mentoring period and the Fundamentals of Prosecution Course.
During the first year following admission to the Bar, the new prosecutor is assigned an experienced prosecutor from his or her office who will guide them through a series of activities and experiences contained in the Model Mentoring Plan of Activities and Experiences For State and Local Prosecuting Attorneys. Each mentor is an experienced prosecutor who has been a member of the Bar for at least 5 years and meets the highest professional and ethical standards. Prosecution mentors are nominated by the elected head of the office and appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia. The elected head of the office has the option to adopt the Model Mentoring Plan as approved or may modify the plan to develop a specific plan of activities to be completed over the course of the twelve months of mentoring which is tailored to meet the specific needs of the office. If your office elects to develop a modified plan, it must be submitted through the Training Division of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council to the Program Administrator of the Transition Into Law Practice Program of the State Bar of Georgia for approval prior to the start of the mentoring year.
The Fundamentals of Prosecution Course is a 20 hour continuing legal education program conducted annually at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia. The Course has been approved by the Commission on Continuing Legal Competency as a substitute for Enhanced Bridge the Gap and Fundamentals of Law Practice Programs that newly admitted attorneys are required to attend as part of the Transition Into Law Practice Program.
