Sara Clothier thought she’d hit the jackpot when she accepted a job as an assistant prosecutor in St. Lawrence County, back when DA Mary Rain first took office.

It was early 2014. Clothier was coming back to the place where she grew up after law school and time spent working in New England. "I was just thrilled to have this opportunity to not only be home, but with a great full-time job doing what I always dreamed of," Clothier said.

But it didn't last. Clothier resgned this summer, joining a steady stream of lawyers who've stepped down or been fired from the St. Lawrence County DA's office during Rain's tenure.

Once a training ground

At a legislative meeting in early December, representative Joe Lightfoot said the county was having a hard time finding applicants to fill these empty jobs. (There are currently five vacancies, out of a staff of 11 attorneys and legal interns.) "We can’t find assistant DAs to take vacant positions," Lightfoot said. "I believe we’re up to now 15 resignations or terminations. I think that speaks volumes."

But it used to be that St. Lawrence County held a certain appeal for young prosecutors, said Kim Wolf Price, director of career services at Syracuse Law. It was known as rural area where lawyers could pick up experience — and fast. "Your cases may be more interesting or more complicated more quickly; you’ll get more responsibility quicker," Wolf Price said. "It’s a small office and whatever happens, your office has to handle it."

In the last decade, at least five Syracuse grads have come to work in St. Lawrence County.

A reputation under fire

But Wolf Price said word has spread that there may be something wrong in the DA’s office. Over the last year, St. Lawrence County DA Mary Rain has been accused of using her power to target political enemies and of leaking confidential testimony. The state court system ordered sweeping changes to its legal intern program in June, requiring extra supervision, after one of Rain's interns prosecuted a felony case by himself, violating the court's existing rules.

When asked if Syracuse would still advise young attorneys to take positions in St. Lawrence County, Wolf Price hesitated. "Well, certainly we’re not going to — we can’t make those decisions for them," she said.

An ADA steps down

The workload was intense when Sara Clothier first started as an assistant DA — up to 200 or 250 cases compared to the 70 she considered normal. Clothier said the office was disorganized, and there were public spats between Rain and county lawmakers over office space and money for new staff.

But Clothier said the work environment soured this spring, after a county judge publicly chastised the DA for allowing her intern to tackle a felony prosecution on his own. "I would have discussions with other ADAs and we would wonder, is the governor going to come in here, shut down the office entirely and do an investigation?" Clothier said. "Are we going to be suspended because we work here at this office?"

In interviews, several law school career counselors said it’s possible for an assistant DA to keep their head down and keep working in the midst of turmoil, but it’s not always a good idea. In the end, Clothier decided to leave.

Rural areas scramble for talent

That’s what Jill Backer, an assistant dean at Pace University downstate, said she might have advised. "Especially if it’s a young attorney, we counsel them to get out of those situations," Backer said. "It can be a very tough thing. While that attorney might be completely above board, to have a black cloud hanging above their employer might be difficult for them going forward."

Backer said there may be less incentive for young attorneys to tough it out now that the economy’s stronger. The legal job market has finally bounced back from the recession in New York State and around the country. "Offices in and closer to the cities have been doing more hiring than they were in the five years before," Backer said. "So they are absorbing more of the population willing and wanting to get into the criminal defense and prosecution areas."

That means rural prosecutors — who often pay less — have to compete with urban areas for talent.

A word of advice

Sara Clothier didn’t flee to the city when she quit her job at the St. Lawrence County DA’s office this summer. She found another position at Legal Aid, and she stayed here.

Clothier said the county still has a lot to offer to young attorneys, but there’s some serious work to do. "Until that office is properly staffed, properly supervised, properly organized and properly working with the legislature and law enforcement together, the problems aren’t gonna stop," Clothier said.

One place to start is with an independent review to determine how many prosecutors the county really needs. The next step, Clothier said, is figuring out how to keep them.