Many people who want to become lawyers wonder how legal internships work. Having a legal internship is a necessary step in the process of becoming a lawyer, so let's get into how law internships work and how to get one if you are pursuing this type of career.
What Are Legal Interns?
In its simplest form, law interns are people that work for a law firm or other legal professions for a fixed amount of time. Some legal interns work for pay, but all of them work for experience in order to help give them the necessary skillsets to move into a legal career.
Some of the functions of an intern include functions that attorneys, paralegals, and legal secretaries perform each day at their jobs.
How Do You Find An Internship?
One of the hardest parts about becoming a legal internship is finding the right place to apply for one. There is definitely a selection process to this because you want to make sure you seek out internships within fields that you actually want to practice law in. For example, Rachel Lader, an intern for Justice Acosta in the New York Supreme Court, made sure to seek out internships that would help her progress and refine her skills to eventually become a trial lawyer.
Like Rachel, making sure to pick and choose the right internship is important to helping you eventually land the type of career you want to land. Seeking out internships takes work and really involves you widening your social circles and making sure to rub shoulders with and communicate with people in the right sectors of what you are interested in. Get the word out on social media, let your friends know, and definitely let your family know as they may know people that you don't that can help you land an internship.
If you are unable to land a high-profile internship like was listed above, a great place to start is with small companies. Most small companies are looking for ways to save money, and hiring an intern that they don't have to pay, is definitely an attractive proposal. The reality is that most legal firms are small, so the chances of you working for a small firm are much higher than your chances of working for a big firm.
Another great place is to utilize the network of the university you attended. The career center at your university may have some ideas or connections for you to pursue in order to realize your dreams of landing a legal internship.
As you can see, if you want to pursue a legal career, landing an internship is a very important step on your road to becoming a lawyer. Utilizing your existing social networks, as well as broadening yourself to new networks is a great way to get your name out and make it clear that you are actively pursuing this type of opportunity. This will greatly increase your chances of landing the internship at the right firm which will help you get the necessary experience you need to succeed.
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