2020 UK & Ireland Virtual Intern Review

I found the virtual internship highly enjoyable and engaging. The firm is really down to earth in its approach to even formal experiences such as the internship. The recruitment team were very welcoming and made everything as relaxed as possible and were extremely understanding when any issues came up either with scheduling for the assessments or technological malfunctions. The internship was stressful at times; however, as there were assessed components which were time-constrained. Nonetheless, the team and the assessors made things as comfortable as possible for us and were genuinely fun to interact with.

The entire experience reflected the care and effort that the firm placed into preparing the internship program and the value they placed on us. We had senior members of the firm ranging from heads of practice areas to the Global Co-CEO [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] address us, which demonstrated the significance of the program and us as interns to the firm.

The firm offered several avenues for guidance that were extremely helpful. All the interns were assigned buddies and I personally had the email and phone number of my buddy to ask any questions throughout the internship. We were also able to interact with several trainees throughout the internship through trainee drop-in sessions. The sessions gave us access to firm trainees who completed the Summer Internship program and offered us guidance on the final pitch exercise.

As a non-law student, the internship offered valuable insight into the practice areas and commercial issues facing a global and highly successful law firm. I think this will help me in my future career as a trainee and solicitor. Specifically, the practice area sessions allowed me to interact with practising solicitors and partners and further my understanding of different areas of the law which I found very useful. The assessments were also focused on team working, presentation and writing skills, all of which are soft skills that I developed through the generous feedback from the assessors.

The internship was very well structured. Throughout the five days of the virtual internship, the recruitment team organised various speaker and panel events that ran seamlessly. The only area that was lacking was the Q&A sections of any talks as they were conducted on Zoom, so I didn't get a chance to ask a question throughout the internship. The communication from the team was also very clear, where the team sent us daily emails updating us on the program for each day of the scheme which allowed us to organise our schedules around the final presentation.

The general vibe of the internship is really similar to what I experienced in the Spring insight scheme with the firm, friendly and warm. Everyone I interacted with, including the recruitment team to the associates in the London office, was very open and willing to offer guidance and answer any questions. Even the formal assessments were relaxed and welcoming, with the assessors being friendly and aiming to challenge us but not intentionally making the process difficult.

I think the firm offered significant guidance and helped me develop my understanding of their practice areas and culture. But the structure of the program did not really allow for personal training due to its short duration and the large cohort they were dealing with.

I think the internship offered a snapshot of life as a trainee in the firm, simply because it was only five days. However, the general working culture and friendly attitude were very obvious from interacting with the lawyers. Overall, the internship offered a good idea of what a full-time role would be like given the constraints on meeting in the office and sitting with specific practice areas as we would have done before the lockdown period.

I think the internship gave a very clear indication of the firm's culture, with several sessions and speakers focusing on the firm's four values and their significance. We also had several speakers talk to us about the firm's efforts and commitment to diversity and inclusion through its recruitment process and their dedicated support networks such as [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] for the LGBT+ community and [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] promoting cultural and racial diversity in the firm.

I was already certain of wanting to become a solicitor before joining the internship and the internship helped reinforced my career interests and desire to become a solicitor.

The firm organised several sessions that allowed us to meet with trainees, associate and partners throughout the firm's UK offices. Understandably, however, the networking sessions were somewhat limited because of the dense schedule of the internship and the time restrictions.

The events were very relaxed and informal, with the firm's lawyers being very friendly and open with their experiences with the firm and their line of work.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the scheme to a friend because it offers a true insight into the life of a solicitor and is overall an enjoyable introduction to DLA.