My internship at Van Law Firm has made me a more attentive, organized, self-managing professional whose skills are transferable to a diverse matter of industries now. Because the work demands attention to detail and service to the client above all else, I feel prepared in the future for whatever meticulous challenges lay ahead for me.
My internship does not necessarily tie into my major of study (Political Science or Spanish); it certainly qualified for my Political Science culminating experience credit, but my major itself doesn’t pertain to the law per-say.
To be successful at this internship, you must be a people-person with excellent reading and writing skills. Reading comprehension is paramount, especially for someone who doesn’t already have the legal knowledge and hands-on experience of working with important litigation papers and client files all day; the job requires you to do your best at contextualizing until such context comes naturally to you.
Furthermore, in a fast-paced law firm, efficiency is key. You must be prepared to do many tasks at once and multi-task everything in order to finish.
I am not particularly interested in entering the legal profession or going into law school because I do not personally find court appearances, judicial formalities, or mandatory depositions appealing to me. I would definitely work at a law firm again (especially one as superb as Van Law Firm, if given the opportunity), but it would not be the job that decides my life-long career path.
I think you really need hands-on internship experience to get hired at a law firm, if not an actual legal certification or law degree. There are many positions at a law firm to be hired for, but very few of them are attainable without reasonable career experience in the field.
My advice for incoming interns is to be conscientious of where you are, and to always keep things professional! You should act like it’s your job where your personal work ethic is on the line every day you’re there.
