Summer Intern Review

In the induction we listened to several insightful talks from senior leadership of the firm on various topics. At the beginning of our time in each of our practice groups we were set a list of objectives that we had to complete. These objectives included tasks such as attending client meetings or conducting contract review. My work was not restricted to these objectives however, as trainees would give you other interesting tasks on top of those.

I have developed my legal drafting skills as I have had the opportunity to draft documents that I have never encountered before. I have also particularly improved on my presentation skills as we were given an insightful talk on presentations and we were given a chance to put what we had learned into practice as we had to conduct a simulated pitch for a client. I was much more confident presenting because of this talk.

Getting to understand the business was made particularly easy by the readiness of everyone around you to answer questions. People from all positions in the firm were more than happy to set aside time to go for a coffee and have an informal chat about the business and life at the firm. The issue of understanding the trainee role was made particularly easy by the fact that we were all assigned a trainee buddy and by all accounts the trainees have been fantastic at helping interns to settle in and better understand life as a trainee.

The company culture was clearly one of support and collaboration and you see a real dedication to this as supervisors and trainees were always happy to help with any task-related issues I was facing. The atmosphere was really friendly and you could see a real dedication to making everybody feel comfortable and welcome. As mentioned earlier, partners were very accessible and ready to talk about any issue and they were genuinely interested in you as a person.

We were given an insight session almost every day of the internship - all of the firm's practice areas were covered in these. In each of these practice area insights I really came out with a better idea of what the practice areas do and what it is like to work in them. I enjoyed this as I really felt more educated on what areas of law I might be interested in in the future.

Yes

I would say that the main point is getting to know people. There are so many people at the firm who want to get to know you and want you to show an interest in them and the work they do. I would also recommend really investing time into your presentation so that you feel as prepared as possible because some of the questions that you get asked afterwards are particularly difficult and you need to be prepared.