This article is written by Aditya Shrivastava, content marketing executive at iPleaders.
It was her 3rd consecutive internship at a tier 1 law firm. She was in her final year and hoping to land a job at this place which had promised her with everything she could ever dream of. She had a great rapport with all the associates and, apparently, the Partner was extremely fond of her. Time and again, she was assured that she will be absorbed by the firm.
During her third internship here, she noticed a change in the behaviour of everyone around her. She was given less work than the other interns. She was asked to leave along with all other interns and not stay back. Earlier, she used to assist the associates on cases, now she drafted list of dates and events. Finally, on the last day of the internship, she was told that she can be only offered an extended internship and not a pre-placement offer because she does not come from the tier 1 law school. Apparently, they needed more time to assess her work.
Her hopes and aspirations of a promising career was suddenly crushed.
This story is not exclusive to Anjali (name changed) (presently working in an MNC) alone. This is one example of an ordeal many law students face. A survey by National Association of Colleges and Employers revealed that only 37% of unpaid interns receive job offers. The number is significantly low with the law firms as the ratio of high performing interns in comparison to the number of openings is unequal. Additional commitments to various law schools to recruit on-campus adds to the disparity.
We live in a world where a big brand name on the resume is a must have. When I was in law school, I saw a never ending quest amongst all my batchmates, seniors and consequently juniors, to land an internship at a big law firm. From writing endless emails to the HRs to trying to find one connection that can get a recommendation from a Partner, law students leave no stone unturned to get an internship at a big law firm.
Getting an internship at any one of the magic circle law firms of India can be troublesome. However, what really matters is what you do once you get that internship. Are you just adding a big brand name to your resume or are you actually able to outdo your contemporaries to get a pre-placement offer? Interning at any of these law firms can be extremely exciting, especially, if you are lucky to be a part of a good team.
Here are the 4 things about interning at a big law firm no one told you about:
#1 Strategize Your Applications
I see students struggling throughout the year to get an internship with a reputed law firm. I started interning at law firms in my third year. The very first internship I wanted was Naik Naik and Company (Naik), a reputed media and entertainment law firm in India. This was primarily due to my interest in media laws. What I didn’t know was that Naik has a reputation for having a lot of interns round the year. Unlike most of the national law universities where we just get a month or two during semester breaks to intern, law students from University of Mumbai intern at Naik for months at a stretch. This is largely due to no attendance issues in college and easy access to law firms based out of Mumbai.
I made a strategy (and used it for almost every law firm where I interned) and it helped me. This may help you as well:
Send a well-drafted, personalised email at least 3 months in advance
Follow-up through phone calls and on email
Once the HR manager verbally tells you that your internship is confirmed, follow up till you get a confirmation email
#2 “Which Law School Are You From?”
Once your internship is confirmed, on your first day (and possibly even after that), it is very likely that one of the first questions posed at you will be, “Which law school are you from?” This is like a performance certificate that you bring on board with you. If you come from an NLU that isn’t ranked well or from a non-NLU that is considered prestigious, chances are that you might be given some benefit of doubt. However, if you come from a not-so-popular law school, it is very unlikely that you will be entrusted with credible work, unless you prove you’re worth it.
My first stint with undoubtedly one of the best law firms in the country was during August 2016. I had skipped one entire month of college to be able to do this internship. I knew that during summer and winter break the law firm would be flooded with internship applications and it might be difficult to land one.
On my first day, I entered the office only to realize that along with me there’s only one other intern from a National Law University. However, apart from the two of us, there were around 20 other students interning at the law firm. What was surprising was, that amongst the 22 of us, only the two of us were given maximum work. Between the two of us, he seemed to have more work allotted than me.
This is unfortunately the grim reality of almost every other law firm. University polarization is very much prevalent in law firms and can be quite disheartening. In fact, it can become frustrating with time. For example, in my opinion, the other intern from an NLU and I, did roughly the same amount of work, only he got stipend and no one else did. It was because the company had a strict policy of giving stipends only to the students from top 5 NLUs (NLU, Delhi being one of them). You might even notice a pattern. You might notice that the law firm you started interning for prefers students from certain law schools. You may find a number of associates from a specific law school. The apparent discrimination is almost shattering.
Is there a way around this?
I thought this vicious chain is unbreakable. Getting through this was a tough nut to crack for me. I came out of it victorious and managed to secure my second internship here. I would say that this was easier for me as I came from a National Law University, however, I would like to mention someone here.
During my internship, I came across a co-intern named Anushka Arora, who was extremely dynamic and came with a lot of knowledge irrespective of her college. She interacted confidently with all the associates and partners on her very first day. In fact, she was on the verge of getting into an argument to get a good assignment. Her performance on her first assignment was good enough for her to get more work. She eventually got a call back for a second internship and a pre placement offer, which was a first for her college too. She, however, declined it to pursue a masters in law. What she managed to do was break mine and the firm’s perception. She proved that knowledge and hard work overpowers everything else.
If you are coming from a university that does not hold good in their eyes, you need to ensure that you win them with knowledge and hard work. One way to do that is by concentrating on an area of law you want to make a career in and ensure you know everything about it. You can take up courses like these to enhance your knowledge and be prepared to blow their mind whenever you get the right opportunity!
#3 The Work
You must have heard most of your seniors from law school tell you that associates in big law firms do not trust their interns with a lot of work. This is not entirely wrong.
In many ways a big law firm works like a company. The teams are very well organized and every one is conditioned to perform specific work only. In most of the law firms you will find many corporate restructuring teams which are generally aiding huge mergers or acquisitions.
It would be a good learning opportunity if you get to work on any of the due diligence projects. However, mostly the work entrusted to the interns is restricted to research on specific areas of law. You can expect to be given a research proposition with no background of the case. For example, I was given work on Airport Economic Regulation Act with no context, and till date I have no clue about it!
On the contrary, a small firm is likely to provide you with more diverse work. They may entrust you with responsibilities. You may be asked to assist on a number of cases. The overall experience at small law firms may be extremely rich due to the diversity in work and the number of people working and/or interning there.
This means that if you are looking for a learning experience, smaller law firms may actually be a better choice. A big law firm with no experience on your CV may not bring you any credits, but, good work at a comparatively smaller law firm will help you garner knowledge which will definitely give you an edge over others during recruitment interviews.
#4 Career Benefits
Internships, in my opinion, are a first hand experience of how your work life is going to be. I don’t know about others, but I interned to learn the work I am about to pursue, understand the organization, it’s people, work culture and various other associated factors. Much to my disappointment, I realized most of the big law firms do not really provide the interns with that opportunity.
Firstly, some of them have a specific room allocated to interns. This is generally a recluse area (like the basement), probably due to space constraints. While I have found people who advocate this to be great, I think this is extremely disadvantageous.
Imagine yourself as one of the 50 interns, swamped in the intern room and getting calls from associates to get rid of work certain work they are assigned. In addition, you won’t even get to interact with the partners. Getting exposure to work thus becomes a tedious process.
Simply put: neither are you able to make a future connect (unless you are working with a great team or you have been assigned work from the partner) nor are you able to get a dreamy pre-placement-offer.
In addition to this, law firms also have a habit of not recruiting interns and keep extending their internship. A lot of associates at prestigious law firms have been offered a job after 9 months of running internship. Then there are those who have been denied offers after 11 months of running internships. It’s a tactic to get as much done as they can, till you decide to give up. If you don’t, they know you are the right pick!
Having said all of this, to be an absolute achiever at an internship is not that difficult. If you are aware of what you are getting yourself into, have a knack for performing tasks well and are ready to face challenges, getting a pre-placement-offer is actually possible.
We have been noticing the trends for a while now and we have come up with a full proof plan to help you out! If you have want to be the next Anushka, or even better – the first you, we will help you achieve it. Check out this amazing course on how to ace your internship, which is nothing short of a miracle. It will not only help you secure an internship, but also accelerate your performance to help you get placed. We want you to be ready with everything it takes to ensure you achieve your dreams!
