The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. – STEVE JOBS
Law is a profession, and its primary goal is not the acquisition of money. A profession, no doubt, is a source of income. However, a profession differs from a trade in that it is required to be pursued for the love of the thing. Because of the opportunities provided by this field, there is fierce competition today.
Even As , An internship is an important part of the academic curriculum because it allows students to gain practical knowledge and experience that will help them excel in their respective fields.
Key Skills And Top Firms
- DRIVE AND ENDURANCE
- GOOD COMMUNICATION
- ATTENTION TO DETAIL
- TEAM WORK
- COMMERCIAL AWARENESS
- AN ENTERPRENEURIAL INSTINCT
- WELL ROUNDED PERSON
Every year, Big law firms hire thousands of interns, but tens of thousands apply for internships every month. The majority of internships are given to those who come through recommendations from highly placed people and shortlisted candidates forwarded by recruitment committees of a few well-known law schools.
WHICH ARE THE TOP LAW FIRMS? (TIER 1.)
- AZB & Partners
- Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas
- Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
- Khaitan & Co.
- JSA
- Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
- Trilegal
You can easily find email addresses and contact numbers for applying for internships at TIER 1 law firms on Lawctopus, JustDial, LAW SIKHO.COM, and other websites. You can also find email address of the HR of the company or any lawyer working in the firm on their own website. You can use them to send your CV and for follow-up.
Start applying at least 3-4 months in advance, and if you are not an NLU student, try to apply during the non-internship season.
Click here :
- https://www.lawctopus.com/
- https://lawsikho.com/course/legal-writing-for-blogging-paid-internships-knowledge-management-research-and-editing-jobs
There are some months when law firms receive very few applications for internships. This is the best time to intern, assuming you can take time off from college.
July, August, September, October, November, and, to a lesser extent, December are the months in question. Even big law firms don’t get a lot of applications in August and September.
During peak internship months, you may be better off interning at smaller law firms or boutique firms with smaller set ups, preferably on a long-term basis, where you are more likely to find a mentor and learn some hands-on work.
Should You Intern Off-Season?
- It will increase your chances of selection because fewer students are applying at that time, and your application will not be buried among NLU students as it would have been if you had applied elsewhere.
- It will improve the quality of work you will do in these firms because they are short on interns. The same work would have been assigned to someone more senior to you or with better credentials, but because you are interning at the time, these factors will have less of an impact on you.
- This will give you more responsibility and better opportunities to learn and grow professionally, as well as network with highly qualified individuals.
- You will face less competition in the firm in terms of making yourself visible to superiors/seniors and standing out from the crowd. It will be much easier for you to make a lasting impression on even your partners. After all, they, too, require assistance from time to time.
The Flawless Steps to get an Internship :
Step 1.
Search for law firms/organizations that are a good fit for you or that interest you based on who you are and what you’ve done.
Who you are includes : Which law school are you from, what is your class rank, what year are you in, and so on.
Previous internships, moots, publications, seminars, courses, and so on.
Step 2.
Look for the email addresses and phone numbers of the companies you’ve shortlisted.
You can find the Email IDs for internship contact details on the Lawctopus page, and you can also check the organization’s website. ( https://www.lawctopus.com/ )
If you can’t find an email address to which you can send your internship application, call the law firm’s office and ask if they have an email address for internship applications.
Step 3.
Send your CV along with a well-written cover letter (the cover letter should make the body of the email).
Cover letter that is tailored to the job: Do not copy and paste your cover letter and send it to a dozen law firms. It’s easy to spot, and your application will almost certainly be discarded.
Although it is important to stand out, your CV should adhere to a basic structure to ensure that all relevant information is included.
Choose 5-6 law firms/organizations that are a good fit for you and send them a tailored cover letter.
What you like about that particular law firm, recent things/deals that the law firm has done and that you’ve heard about (read Legally India or Bar and Bench for that), what value you can add to that firm, and vice versa should all be mentioned in the tailor-made cover letter.
Your CV Matters!
Personal information – Include your personal information at the top of your CV, such as your name, address, phone number, and email address. Aside from that, it is unnecessary to include any additional personal information.
Education and qualifications – Include all relevant educational information and qualifications, including results, in reverse chronological order, though the latter can be summarized. Add either a received or predicted grade for each qualification; otherwise, an employer may assume it was a low grade.
Legal work experience – Incorporating relevant work experience into your CV is an excellent way to demonstrate an interest in the legal profession. Shadowing a lawyer, work experience placements, previous employment, sitting in court, and other relevant experiences are ideal. Your educational experience may also be relevant. Many law graduates, for example, will have chosen to work in their universities’ legal clinics.
[You should also include the duration and date of the experience, as well as specific examples of the work you did while there, particularly if it demonstrates skills relevant to the role, such as research, drafting legal documents, or taking client instructions.]
Additional skills – A list of your skills (driving licence, languages, coaching courses, etc.) will suffice, but include specifics where applicable. Mention which programmes, for example, when listing IT skills (e.g. Westlaw, Lexus Nexus).
Step 4.
Contact the law firm’s office. Inquire about the progress of your internship application. Keep track of their response and don’t be afraid to call them more than twice or three times.
IMPORTANT: You can consider your internship application as ‘not sent’ if you do not call the office.
Also, avoid harassing a law firm’s human resources department. A weekly reminder is sufficient.
There’s a fine line there, and if you cross it, well, forget it. We are still students, learning, and making mistakes is unavoidable.
Step 5.
If, after 2-3 months of diligent effort, you are still unable to secure an internship, take 4-5 days off from college and travel to the nearest large city with a decent law firm/lawyer offices (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore).
Go to the offices of the law firms in these locations. Make sure you’re dressed to impress and that you’ve brought a print-out of your CV with you.
Print the CV on slightly higher quality paper than you normally use for print-outs.
Don’t be afraid to say it. You are a student who has come to learn. Some offices may refuse to entertain you, which is fine. Some people may sound uninterested, and that’s fine. However, someone might take you in!
This is the same level of desperation as a struggling actor.
IMAGE 3:
Finally!
Obtaining an internship through your college’s Placement Cell.
One way to get an internship in one of these places is to go through your college’s official internship committee. That is, if your college requires a pedigree. Some of the top National Law Universities and colleges, such as : NMIMS, GLOBAL JINDAL LAW SCHOOL, NIRMA, and others, have placement cells that have existing relationships with law firms and can get internships for some of the top performers in every class at the top law firms. However, even from top law schools, the majority of students never get an internship with these law firms.
Interestingly, it is not difficult for an internship cell to reach out to a few big law firms and through influential partners to get the law firm to agree to take a few interns, but most don’t. It is not always enough for students to approach a company; it is usually up to the college administration and professors to take action.
Private colleges that are successful in obtaining good recruitment for their students put in a lot of effort to build good relationships with the industry. This includes inviting industry leaders, both large and small, to campus on a regular basis, inviting them to give lectures, and enlisting their assistance in developing a placement system that will benefit students.
Lets Get Some Internships!
I want to brief about few things that will be very accommodating in getting your dream internships.
- Remember, that interviews are a two-way street, your interviewer will ask you questions to assess your personality and proficiency, and you can also ask your interviewer logical questions to determine whether this internship will meet your needs or not . It also conveys the message that you are focused on your objectives and have everything organized and planned.
For eg.
- What are your expectations from me in the first month?
- If I perform up to your expectations, is there a possibility of extension of this internship?
- What can I do to prepare myself well before I join this internship?
- Research about the firm – As you all know, it is must to have good knowledge about the organization you are interviewing in. You should be aware of that organization’s current events, about their operations, major transactions they have worked on, the projects they were involved in.
- Remember H.C.C. – HR interviews are about your personality and character and not about your academics and other credentials. HR is satisfied with your credentials that’s why you are sitting in that interview . Apart from testing your knowledge, they would want to see that you are as good in real life as you look on paper and that’s why they take interviews in person.
Always remember HCC: Honest Confident and Calm.