The Law Student Internship Experience
Legal internships, whether they are with law firms, corporations, government agencies, or non-profit organizations, provide an invaluable opportunity for law students and those interested in the legal field to gain practical, hands-on experience. These brief periods spent learning the inner workings of the legal profession often serve as the gateway into a long-term and fulfilling career in the law. Interning in a legal setting is a great way to find out if the field you’ve chosen is right for you and if the particular branch of law is a good fit. The firm you intern with may offer you a position when you are admitted to practice or otherwise can make recommendations to other firms in the event that they cannot offer you a position . Not all law firms hire summer interns, but those that do often do so with the goals of new development, new lawyers, and valuable experience to recent hires in mind. Interning is also an opportunity to earn college credits, meet prospective colleagues and employers, and practice skills that you learn in law school. When you are seeking to advance your career, whether for a legal or non-legal occupation, hiring managers will look at your past experience as an indication of your abilities and value to their firm. Internships allow you to gain experience and add to your resume while building a network of potential future colleagues and mentors.
Researching and Writing
Research and writing are fundamental tasks that law students must practice throughout their time in law school, and they will continue to hone these skills for the rest of their careers. Interns are typically tasked with various writing assignments, including drafting memos and correspondence. Written work should be regarded as another form of oral advocacy: it is a professional symbol designed for a more critical audience to study with an eye toward potential liability. It should be clear and thorough, without being excruciatingly detailed. A research and writing assignment done well, with little to no revision needed, is a true badge of honor in the legal profession. Research and writing are at the heart of instructing an intern about the legal duties lawyers perform.
Managing the Case File
For a legal intern, maintaining a lawyer’s case files may be your largest task. Every case is housed within a specific folder or case file: a physical manila folder or a digital folder on the work computer. Generally, the paralegals are the ones who create and maintain a firm’s case files, sometimes with the interns’ assistance, but it is important to know what goes into maintaining case files so that you can take ownership of that task when necessary.
Lawyer’s Case Files are divided into two parts: open and closed. Open files are those where the matter, or case, has not fully resolved through legal means. Closed files are those cases that have been resolved. A file is typically closed after the case has resolved through court order and/or after payment has been made in full. Both open and closed files are required to be maintained for a certain number of years to comply with ethics rules and statutes of limitations, however, the file work required for maintenance is different.
Open or Pending Files
The lawyer will probably ask you for a status check on pending matters. In these cases, it is your job to be aware of all pending deadlines related to the case and to follow up with the client, opposing counsel, the clerk’s office, etc., as appropriate. The deadlines that you particularly need to be focused on are the trial date and the responsive due dates for pleadings. For example, if an attorney files a motion with the court, the responding party usually has 30 days to file a response. Reminders are helpful. Setting deadlines on a calendar helps keep track of what is upcoming. If there are any upcoming depositions, you should follow up with the deponent’s lawyer’s office. If a client is experiencing a missed deadline or acknowledgement, or is having trouble with a third party related to the litigation, you may be asked to act as a liaison between the client and the lawyer to facilitate the matter or the attorney may ask you to alert opposing counsel or the clerk’s office to an issue. Weighing the pros and cons of whether or not to forewarn opposing counsel is a ritual debated amongst lawyers. But if you are directed to give a heads up, do. This protects the client and minimizes delays.
Closed Files
During subsequent years, the closed file may require additional work. Most often, the closed file may need additional responsive documents related to the filing of a tax return, billing of costs and fees, or financial matters related to the litigation. For example, after a divorce is finalized, several years may pass before the parties need to go back to court to address things such as custody and child support modifications. In these cases, the firm filing the new action may want to obtain the old file to see how the issues were previously handled. The old case file will be sent to the new attorney as a courtesy to ensure that the new action is being addressed similar to how the first action was handled.
Overall, keeping track of your case work helps you get the job done more efficiently. You will also show yourself as trustworthy, dependable and competent, all things your supervising attorney wants to see in a legal intern. Moreover, maintaining the case files and communicating case information with the lawyers shows that you will be able to independently handle responsibility very soon in your legal career.
Assisting in the Courtroom
If you are interning with a government agency, there will likely be opportunities for you to accompany your lawyer in court. Because political aspects of the law do not affect court, this is great experience to have and it is suggested that you go if given the chance.
During these courtroom outings, you may take notes or prepare documents that your supervising lawyer dictates to you. This is an opportunity to ask your supervising attorney questions because lawyers often discuss various legal concepts during court that you may be unfamiliar with or mention rules you may have never heard of. The court is also a good environment to practice your lawyerly dialogue and make your first arguments. You will learn courtroom decorum here, by watching the district attorney and his or her staff interact with judges, opposing counsel, witnesses, and jurors in real time. You will get the opportunity to see how lawyers dress, act, and speak, as well as some of the intricacies of courtroom procedures. It is likely that there will be an intern from another firm, a paralegal, or a receptionist standing up to greet the lawyer at the front, if you have not already been introduced. Don’t let this intimidate you, as this is not a slight to you, but is likely the way this particular firm operates. Occasionally, you may get to introduce yourself to the judge along with other interns, or the lawyer may introduce you to the judge. If he does, introduce yourself as his intern and tell the judge whom you study under. With that said, don’t expect to be made a fool of; most lawyers can read social signals, and would not ask you to do something they think you are uncomfortable doing.
Client Communication and Interaction
As the name suggests, legal interns have to interpret and apply the law. While working on these important tasks, an invaluable component of the job is constantly communicating with clients. It is in this setting that legal interns are given a firsthand opportunity to observe how the legal professionals interact with clients.
In any legal field, strong communication is a must. Interns are expected to quickly grasp the technical and specific details of a case in order to explain them effectively to clients. While most communication revolves around what is explicitly spoken , it is also necessary to learn about non-verbal gestures and attitudes that can affect the overall impression of how the conversation is conducted.
Interns should learn how to immediately assess clients’ emotional responses to new legal developments or pieces of information-this is a skill that often takes years to develop and refine as a lawyer moves forward with a case. However, legal interns have to recognize that it is not always the right time to communicate sensitive information to a client, especially if they are feeling emotional about the matter. The experience gained by communicating with clients enhances the interns’ ability to read and understand situations, an invaluable skill set that could have a lasting impact on their legal careers.
Handling Administrative Tasks
The administrative duties undertaken by legal interns in a law firm are generally those of a paralegal: filing, creating and organizing files in a computer system, cataloging and indexing records, delivering and picking up files from file storage, printing and distributing documents and more. The key aspect of these tasks is they all relate to supporting legal work and the efficient operation of the office itself.
Working with Ethical Constraints and Professionalism
Maintaining the highest ethical standards is of utmost importance for legal interns, as it is in the practice of law. All interns here at RNN Law are trained and monitored closely by our attorneys to ensure our understanding, respect and observation of client confidentiality and conflict of interest rules. These legal ethics are not just a workplace formality; rather, they are part of the bedrock principle of protecting the attorney-client privilege. To that end, we at RNN Law are also taught to observe the highest professional etiquette . As we are being groomed to take over professional relationships with future clients, it is essential that we regard our relationships with all current clients with utmost respect and professionalism. Our professional conduct extends to all interactions, including our colleagues here at the firm. Our experiences interning at RNN Law will certainly enable us to be tremendously successful in future internships, jobs and careers. The work ethic and customer service skills that are part of the day-to-day life at RNN Law will help us to be poised and confident in any future position.