Acing your internship

Have converted the post into the article here to reflect on my profile.

Many law firms have policy to hire only those freshers who have interned with them. Many intern with us but there are a few who stand out, leave a lasting impression, offered a stipend, and are considered a potential hire. Here I have bulleted certain common traits of the interns who are considered valued colleagues -

1.???Punctuality, it is important to be on time. Respect office timings and deadlines. If your senior has been kind enough to take you for a hearing, be there “before” time.

2.???Dress formally and appropriately, sneakers as a choice of footwear on a weekday is not a good idea!

3.???Do not hesitate to go and ask for work from your associates. Generally, we have a problem of plenty at law firms. There are too many interns and there is little they can do due to lack of experience. Reach out to associates and ask how can you help, opportunity comes in guise of work!

4.???Breaks are important, however for the short stint that you are interning for, you really need to avoid as that would break your continuity!?Plan it either before or after your internship.

5.???After you have completed the task assigned to you, ask for the feedback and what next you can do.

6.???Your attitude matters. Be respectful across hierarchies. Sometimes we see interns raising eyebrows when asked to help paralegals in organizing documents for court filings, record keeping, and photo-copying. You will be better able to get done something when you have done it yourself. Be forthcoming in helping in these routine tasks.

7.???Do not defend yourself when offered feedback. The way you handle criticism speaks volumes about you, and we can often see that reflected through how you react and not what you present.?

8.???Ensure your video is turned on during zoom meetings and Microsoft team meetings when everyone else is on video.

9.???Lawyering is good drafting. Good writing skills help you with good drafting. Spend time on improving your writing skills.

10. Never send your documents and emails without proofreading for typos, grammar, and misspelled words.

11. Always send citations, footnotes, and references with your research on the case laws.

12.?Learn basics of Microsoft Outlook which is the commonly used software. It does look cool, when the mentor asks you to meet them at 4pm tomorrow and you send them a calendar invite.

13. Use Dear Sir/ Dear Ma’am in your emails and Business emails are signed off as “regards”, “kind regards”, and “best wishes”. Avoid “yours respectfully”, “yours sincerely”, and “Respected Ma’am/Sir” used in academic institutions.

14. Do not present a poorly formatted document, learn features of word and power-point formatting to be valued.

15. Show commitment. If your project is continuing but your internship is ending, ask if you can help in finishing it. Trust, they just won’t thank you but will remember you.