Summer Internship Review

Really enjoyed the virtual internship. I was able to make great connections, not only with other students, but partners and associates - particularly helped by the personal buddy that i was able to contact before the internship and during it. The presentation was challenging but a good way to improve my skills and work as a team.

I definitely felt valued. While there was a limitation because the scheme had to be made virtual, the graduate recruitment team was enormously generous in various ways despite this. Also, the constant interaction with, and the genuine interest they showed, made me feel particularly valued during the scheme.

I didn't personally need too much guidance from the firm directly, as I fortunately had a great team i could go to as my first point of call for any support i needed. At the same time, I know we were very able to contact the firm in whatever way was convenient if we had any problems, and they made this very clear.

Working in a team, in a virtual manner, has definitely improved my collaborative skills - particularly being able to expose each of our own respective strengths and using them appropriately. My commercial and legal knowledge was also greatly improved, as well as general networking skills which are appropriate for anything.

Very well structured. A structure of the week was given before it began, with clear time slots. This also included clear time where we could work on our group presentation. Any updates were given to us the night prior, and everything run on time which was extremely impressive as a virtual program.

Atmosphere was extremely positive and energetic. The only limitation was some stress surrounding the presentations, but this was of course necessary. I was though particularly impressed by how calming and reassuring the partners in the presentation were, which instantly made my group relax. All other peers on the group were very chatty and fun.

I think the firm invested as much as it reasonably could have given that it was a virtual experience. There were talks from all levels, from the most senior to trainees. All these provided new insights into work not only at DLA Piper itself but as a lawyer more generally.

Again, while there were obvious limitations with the scheme being virtual, the large amount of people we were able to converse with (potentially more than would have been possible in person) ensured that we received a very rounded and comprehensive understanding of working at the firm, on all different levels of seniority.

This was difficult considering it was virtual, but i was impressed by how people from all levels of seniority and departments all retained the same genuine interest in us as prospective trainees, as well as the same positivity and sense of humour. I am confident that this is similar to what i would have experienced in a real life scheme.

At this stage, I was very confident in my decision to be a commercial solicitor. This definitely solidified this further however, as I was really intrigued by the real variety in law that can be practiced. Hearing individuals explain why say x practice area interested them personally was really enlightening and a personal highlight.

I was paid more than adequately considering I was working from home. Indeed, I wouldn't really call this work, as I was being given the value myself. To note, the salary given was the same despite me being at home that i would have been given per week had it been in London, which was great and really appreciated.

I was linked up with my own personal buddy who was a trainee in the firm that had been in exactly the same position as me. I was able to contact them as much as i wanted, having multiple calls, while they also put me in contact with other people.

We were able to take part in a networking 'speed dating'. This allowed me to meet lots of different people from DLA. Importantly, this was very casual, so we could ask very genuine questions concerning work/life balance or any trivial questions that wouldn't have been as appropriate in front of the entire cohort.

We had lots of talks about the employee networks, such as IRIS, Mosaic and LAW. Beyond this, there was discussion about the graduate programme and the various bonding initiatives that come from this. There was some reference to some sports teams etc. when actually at DLA itself - perhaps there could have been more discussion on these.

Definitely. DLA clearly puts an enormous amount of effort into its graduate recruitment. My constant interactions with them have really solidified my decision in this career path. And, to clarify, this is often by not illustrating only the good things, but also potential negatives of the career - and i really appreciate this more authentic and genuine outlook that is provided.