Prologue

A legal internship is a very essential part of realising one’s capabilities and interests in specific fields of law. While some law schools provide mandatory internship opportunities for all their law students at the end of every semester, others mandate it once or twice throughout the law program. The benefits of a legal internship encompass observing practical applications of laws in courts to learning and developing critical skills of legal research, self-reading and interpretation of statutes, practical case analysis, and practical discussion of cases and statutes, with the benefit of improving the spoken skills of law students. While it is crucial for law students to engage in legal internships more regularly and as much as possible, securing a credible legal internship in a top law firm can be challenging. Senior advocates and lawyers consider various aspects while deciding the fate of an internship opportunity for a student. These criteria can be identified from one’s resume, such as the student’s overall activity and participation in skills-developing events such as debates, moot court competitions, and research publications. They greatly influence decision-making when deciding based on resumes and CVs so submitted. However, not only law firms offer legal internships; other sources, such as corporate houses and legal institutes, as well as legal research institutes, provide such opportunities. In this article, we shall delve into understanding the stepwise approach to securing legal internships in top law firms and the relevance of engaging in legal internships. Are you a law student looking for an internship in a top law firm? You are covered!

Steps in securing a legal internship at a top law firm in India.

While legal internships are necessary, it involves thorough preparation and proactive efforts in attaining the best searches. It ranges from identifying your interests to placing your applications and following up; all steps are crucial and need relentless efforts. Here’s how you can learn the processes and become a top-notch legal intern, doing what you love in a top law firm.

1. Identify Your Interests: The first and foremost step is always to realise your interest and passion in a specific field of law. This involves studying relevant laws, mostly those you learn in class so as to equip you better with your rough knowledge of the same. Besides, you can get this idea of the relevant fields of interest by attending seminars, participating in competitions, and having discussions on such subjects. This can be criminal law, corporate law, constitution law, or intellectual property law. A cordial realisation of this interest helps to accordingly guide you in the next step to be taken in securing this course.
2. Check and decide if you need a long-term or short-term internship – When tendering your applications for legal internships, make sure to maintain your clarity on the nature of the internship, whether long-term or short-term, virtual or in-person. Meanwhile, short-term internships play a similar role; long-term internships are mostly preferable. This does not only inculcate the skills of research and thereabout; it also reflects the profession and ethical capabilities of maintaining good professional relationships with senior advocates. Besides, it gives in-depth knowledge in specific areas of law and ensures a great deal of motivation to continue such practices.
3. Decide and consider your availability. When making an application, make sure to know how much you can give to that course you are about to take. This is because law firm internships require a lot more time. Therefore, you need to be sure about the timings and your availability once you are given an opportunity by the internship office.
4. Understand your skills. Understanding your particular skills is important when making an application for a legal internship in a law firm. This involves knowing your strengths and weaknesses so as to make your targets for improving yourself when given the chance. It is always advisable to go for internships with specific goals, such as improving your research skills, improving your reading and understanding skills of statutes and laws and becoming familiar with case analysis. This helps one to focus on shaping such areas and perfecting them so as to realise a positive change after the end of the internship duration. Besides, focusing on your skills development can have other benefits, such as;

• Legal writing skills,
• Legal research and data analysis skills,
• Contract drafting and analysis,
• Familiarisation with legal software,
• Case management skills,
• Negotiation skills and,
• Trial preparation.

5. Look for good internship opportunities. Now that you have made the initial efforts and necessary preparations, the next step is to look for a good internship opportunity. While there can be several internship opportunities available at your disposal, not all are credible with all these benefits mentioned above. Therefore, finding the right internship opportunity that suits your interest is so crucial in making the impact you require. One may research online platforms that make updates on internship opportunities by checking on their websites and making subscriptions for emails to get the latest updates about the same. For instance, Lawshiko and LiveLaw regularly offer internship opportunities, which may be an avenue for exploring such demands.

Other internship opportunities can be found on these sources:

Internshala: This is one of India’s leading legal internship providers today. They advertise on internship opportunities as well as job opportunities across the country. The internships include both paid and unpaid, online and in-person internship opportunities.

Lawctopus: This also provides top internships in NGOs and top law firms in India. It provides both online and in-person, paid and unpaid internship opportunities with great credibility. It has observed a great deal of recommendation in recent times from numerous interns across the country.

LawBhoomi: Just like the above, LawBhoomi provides internship opportunities to law students with other events such as competitions and seminars. It also offers an online certificate course with great relevance for boasting CVs of law students and gaining extensive knowledge on specific laws of interest.

6. Prepare your resume and relevant documents. While preparing your documents for submission, remember that these documents help speak on your behalf in the absence of your physical presence. Therefore, ensure to make the best documents as possible and update your resume with the most recently completed achievements. Ensure to complete all credible resources by way of mentioning on your resume to boast your chances of consideration. It is from these resumes and other documents that you may be shortlisted for interviews and thus, a poorly drafted resume diminishes chances of shortlisting for the intended purpose.
7. Check the Process to Apply for Internship in Law Firms: After spotting a particular source updating your Resume and other relevant documents, check and verify the process of making an application. On several instances, law firms and organisations prefer online submission of applications through emails, which involves attaching Resume, passport-size photos and other relevant documents such as writing samples and letter of recommendation from your institute for verification and consideration purposes. Therefore, check and make sure to follow the required process for making such applications to avoid future hardships in your consideration.
8. Submit your applications on time for the internship. While making your submission of the application, ensure to comply with the deadlines for the same submission. In most cases, submissions after deadlines are not considered for shortlisting. Therefore, make sure to submit all required documents on time. Besides, make sure to crosscheck your details before you complete your submission and correct all errors and mistakes discovered before making the final application.
9. Follow-up and preparation for interviews: After making your application, your job is not done yet. Make sure to follow up at appropriate times so as to stay updated on the stages and workings of the internship office. This can be done by making a subsequent email while being polite and maintaining the utmost professionalism. Remember, you are the one on the need site and asking for help from a helper. And make sure to always remain ready for an interview anytime you are called upon. Remember that your readiness for interview starts immediately from the time of completing your application submission.

Conclusion

The above steps are crucial in securing a perfect internship at a top law firm in India. It is always important to remain focused on the particular skills one wants to improve and make perfect. Besides, ensure to exhibit flexibility and curiosity to scan several opportunities and avoid relying on a single source so as to have options in decision-making. Regardless, prioritise your interest in developing your passionate skills and knowledge of law.

 

By Charles Anyama Kalisto