Summer Intern Review

The three week summer internship placement was very enjoyable. There was a variety of activities arranged for us by the Grad Recruitment team; the induction week in London consisted of a variety of talks by high level partners including Simon Levine. Then the two weeks in our chosen offices where we spent each week in a different department. The team were lovely and very welcoming and it was exciting to meet such a wide variety from trainee to managing partners.

Everyone on the internship was amazing, my fellow interns were friendly and lovely to be around and the employees couldn't have been more welcoming. In each seat you got assigned a line manager and everyone had a 'buddy' in their office. Every employee was more than willing to talk to us and offer tips and our buddies really helped make me feel integrated into the team.

Our line managers and supervisors were more than willing to have a conversation about my progress and work at any time. The work they provided was high level and real work that a trainee might do, my manager offered constructive feedback at the end of each week and really showed that they wanted us in their teams. Anything that we could get involved with they invited us to and questions were practically demanded not offered!

Everyday was full to the brim of activities and work for us to do. In the induction week our timetable was scheduled to the hour and we were never left with nothing to do. In the two week placement we were given assigned tasks such as research, drafting letters and real trainee work. If you finish one piece of work then you just ask for another so you are always busy.

There was quite a high level of responsibility with the assigned tasks, we had to make sure everything was to a high standard and try our best at every task. The work was always checked and most of it was research tasks and summaries that could be checked over. The main responsibility for me was participating in any task with enthusiasm and asking questions.

The work I was exposed to will have a wide variety of benefits in my life. In my further studies the work I have done would be work you would also complete on the LPC so will provide me with an advantage. The networking tips and practice will also greatly help me in my future career. We also had a variety of talks all aimed at helping us beyond the internship. The work experience in the office had helped me become more confident and shown me exactly what I would be doing as a trainee and how law works in practice.

The atmosphere in my office was brilliant, I am in a regional office and the people were just fantastic. I have never met such a wonderful friendly bunch who are all so happy to help you and offer feedback whilst completing their own work at the same time. The staff were brilliant and if you just relax and let them see the real you it really helps you get to know everyone.

Overall the organisation of the internship was great. In the two week placement we had a calendar where events were inputted, the work was well organised and the events were too. The induction week was also very structured. One comment would be that more information about the three weeks prior to the internship would have been nice so that I could prepare more as all we really knew was what time to be in London on what date. Just a tad more communication would have helped me feel more confident however overall it was a great feat to organise so many of us and offer so many activities.

The investment of the firm was huge, many of us commented on the first week how much the firm devoted their time and energy into us as a cohort. The many talks and training events particularly in the first week were obviously well thought out and the time invested by partners by incredible.

The future prospects at DLA Piper are very appealing. The most attractive feature of the firm is its people. The friendliness of the trainees, associates and partners really make you want to work there. In terms of prospects we do not know how many training contracts are available and as everyone on the internship is so talented and lovely it is hard to see how they will choose. The advice we have all received is try your best and be yourself.

There were organised social events which was useful for getting to know the cohort. We had a few dinners and drinks receptions where we could also meet the current trainees. In my office we also had an unofficial social which was fun and allowed us to get to know the trainees on a more informal basis. The whole internship was a very social affair with lots of networking.

In my area my living costs were average and so were the socialising costs. A few of my fellow interns stayed in hotels/airbnb's. The costs were reasonable and being compensated for the time spent at the internship really helped. Most of the events were firm organised and therefore paid for.

We did not experience the nightlife where we worked apart from a dinner one evening where we went out with the grad recruitment team, partners and fellow interns.

There were a variety of activities that we were able to get involved in. The unofficial social, a charity event and a dinner as well as smaller internal activities. These were all fun and it was nice to be included by the team. Due to the nature of the work it was nice not to have too many external activities especially when we had a higher workload.