Paralegal Review

Very enjoyable experience - both the staff and fellow interns were extremely friendly and the content of the scheme was interactive at all times

DLA made it clear from the start that this scheme was seen as a mini job and anything we provided to the company as part of our time was highly valued. I received many thanks for any work I did and also comments and guidance throughout my time in terms of how best to improve.

The right level of guidance was provided for the interns to feel welcome and secure but also enough independence was required to really gauge ability.

I have already used some of the skills I learned during my time and the tips we were given were invaluable and very practical, not just to legal work.

Everything was planned to the hour. We were given frequent reminders and escorted wherever necessary. The whole process was extremely simple from my perspective (due to the exceptional efforts of the firm in making this so). I cannot daily the structure of the process - at no point did anybody seem confused as to what was going to happen.

The whole process was very enjoyable and the firm made it as relaxed as possible. There was still an air of nervousness but I think this was due to the fact that the stakes were quite high, so was to be expected. Overall everyone seemed to be more relaxed as the process went on.

From my personal vue, at any given time where we were involved in training, we were the priority and were given full attention. Members of staff would regularly stay beyond their allotted time in order to further explain or answer questions which I found admirable, considering the pressures of their jobs.

As discussed in a previous comment, it was made clear that for the majority of the scheme, we should treat it as a job and perform as such. Therefore, the tasks I performed and the skills I learned are synonymous with the working world and I have definitely found that this is the case since returning to work.

We had a number of sessions relating specifically to the culture of the firm, as well as other speakers explaining their own personal experiences. The final two weeks of the scheme backed up everything that was explained in the first 2 weeks and by the end I fully understand the specific culture of DLA

Whilst I was already confident that I wanted to pursue a career in law, I wasn’t quite certain which firm would be right or which location. The 3 week process made it very clear to me that I made the correct decision in selecting DLA and the culture and work of the firm is the reason why

All travel expenses were reimbursed as well as a very generous £20 reimbursement for evening meals during our first week in London. Lunch was always provided and a couple of evening events were also fully paid for. We were also paid a very competitive sum for our time on the programme.

Networking was a fundamental part of the process. Every single day there were opportunities to meet and talk to new people and learn from them. Not only that, but it was great to be involved with a number of other interns and network with them too. It was clear that the interns on the programme had a similar work ethic and personality.

The opportunities were of a wide variety. I had a number of small group or even 1 to 1 discussions with a several employees as well as being involved in larger group discussions and events. The environment was always appropriate for the networking opportunity and there were both formal and more informal opportunities.

When we returned back to our individual offices in the second week, several employees made it clear that there were sporting teams and other opportunities to be involved with, and were happy to open these up to us during our internship. It seems that this is the case regardless of the office you were based in.

100%. Whilst I haven’t bern involved in many experiences of this nature I can say for certain that this was an extremely fun and informative experience. You definitely get out of the experience what you put into it, but if you do throw yourself at all the opportunities that are available at DLA, you will want to be there for longer than the 3 weeks.