what kind of internships should i get if i want to be a lawyer

by Ms. Carmela Hayes V 8 min read

Full Answer

How do I get an internship at a law firm?

You can arrive at your interview prepared by reviewing a few common questions in advance:

  • What makes you interested in working at a law firm?
  • Can you type and use a computer?
  • Have you ever worked with law firm research tools like LexisNexis or Westlaw?
  • Tell me about a time you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with.
  • Can you tell me about a time when you’ve failed? ...
  • We work under tight deadlines. ...

More items...

When are unpaid internships allowed under the FLSA?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, any employee of a for-profit company must be paid for their work. ... While such students are only allowed unpaid internships, they must still pass the ...

What is the salary of an internship?

Top-Paying Companies for Interns:

  • Capital One averages $7,530 a month
  • Microsoft averages $7,366 a month
  • Uber averages $7,353 a month
  • Google averages $7,129 a month
  • ExxonMobil averages $7,018 a month
  • Apple averages $6,917 a month
  • Intuit averages $6,749 a month

Are law school internships paid?

The vast majority of paid law school internships are not the extravagant $3,500 a week summer associate jobs, but the $12 an hour internships. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a $12 an hour internship, in fact if you are getting paid as a law school intern you’re ahead! I just want to knock out any notions that big paying summer ...

What internships are best for law school?

Now a number of different experiential opportunities for the legal student exist including the following 5 most popular internships:Judicial clerkships.Legal clinics.Summer clerkships.Legal externships.Pro bono projects.

Do internships matter for law school?

No. Law schools do not require that applicants have an internship or experience in a legal setting. Most legal internships are designed for law students who have learned how to research and write like lawyer.

How do I ask for a law internship?

Send them out speculative emails attached with your latest CV and a short personalized cover letter. Tell them why you'd like to intern with them and request them about their upcoming vacancies.

Are internships important before law school?

The primary benefit of a legal internship is that it will likely help you evaluate whether a legal career is a good fit for your strengths and interests. It is hard to know whether you would enjoy any profession without seeing what professionals in that field do on a day-to-day basis.

What GPA do law schools look?

Dear Grade Point Analysis: Initial evaluation of your application will be based on your cumulative GPA and LSAT score. Thus, your 3.3 GPA – or 3.5 if you improve it – will be what admissions committees consider.

What is a good GPA in law school?

Indeed, many prestigious law firms have “hard” GPA cutoffs for hiring law students for their summer positions: the most elite firms like to hire students with a 3.7 or higher, while firms right behind them typically consider students at top law schools with a 3.5 or higher. Other job opportunities.

Is it hard to get law internship?

Scoring an internship as a law student is not easy. It requires preparation, organization, hard work, and tenacity. The process takes time, effort and, regrettably, rejection. Don't let it get to you.

What do law interns do?

A legal intern's duties vary based on the needs of the firm and the student's level of experience, but typically includes basic office work such as copying and filing, legal research, client assistance and aiding lawyers with paperwork and courtroom. A large part of any legal internship is conducting research.

What age can you get an internship?

When you think of an intern the image of a university or college student usually comes to mind, but while some opportunities may come with an age limit, often 18 to 25 years old, not all work experience will be so restrictive.

Are law internships necessary?

An internship can teach you various skills like teamwork, time-management, maintaining a controlled environment with your co-interns, and patience. For law students, some specific important things like logical acumen, articulated writing style and speaking skill can be well developed by interning.

How many internships are good for law school?

On the other hand, an internship in a law-related field shows you are not just applying to law school to avoid looking for a job. 3. It's even better, however, to have had 2 or 3 internships in quasi-related fields.

Do law schools want work experience?

Work experience is just one factor in a law school application. Ultimately, law schools seek to balance their class. However much real-world experience you bring to the table, there will be a seat for someone at your level.

Why do law students do internships?

On the contrary, when summer comes around, most law students take on internships to learn more about the law, their potential practice area, and gain experience. With that said, you as a law student, should know that there is more than just one type of legal internship. Keep reading to educate yourself on what those types of internships are, ...

What is a legal internship?

As a recent article published on The Balance Careers.com states, legal internships provide an opportunity for students to increase their knowledge of substantive areas of law, gain exposure to a real work environment, and provide valuable support to a legal employer.

What is the most sought after clerkship?

Clerkships with the United States Supreme Court are the most prestigious and sought-after clerkship positions. Legal Clinics. Legal clinics allow students to gain legal experience through clinics located within the law school.

How long does a clerkship last?

Most summer clerkship programs commence at the end of the law student’s second year, last 10 to 14 weeks, and end at the close of the summer.

What is a judicial clerkship?

Judicial Clerkships. As the Balance Careers article states, judicial clerkships are among the most popular law school internships. Students intern for state and federal court judges and gain valuable insight into the workings of trial and appellate courts.

What is externship program?

Externship programs offer students the opportunity to work in practice settings outside the school. Through an externship, students can gain real work experience in specific areas of interest. For example, students interested in health care law can perform an externship in a hospital’s in-house legal department.

Do you have to do an internship to graduate law school?

An increasing number of law schools , paralegal programs , legal secretarial schools, and other legal educational institutions require the completion of an internship as a prerequisite to graduation. Some internships are paid although many are not. However, most internship programs allow students to earn school credit.

What are undergraduate law internships?

Undergraduate law internships allow undergraduate students to work for a law firm or other employer in the legal profession for a set length of time. The responsibilities of a law intern sometimes overlap with the work of attorneys, paralegals and legal secretaries. Here are some duties law interns may perform:

How to start an undergraduate law internship

Obtaining a law internship takes planning, research and preparation. Here are some steps you can follow to help you get an undergraduate law internship:

Tips for getting an undergraduate law internship

Use the following tips to help you find and get an internship that can be a great start to your legal career.

What is a law internship?

Law internships are a great way to get exposure to law careers and see if they are right for you. The experience is also helpful to add to your college applications to demonstrate your interest and prove your commitment to the legal profession. In this post, we will cover some great law internships for high school students.

Why do you intern under government officials?

Interning under government officials is a great way to get first-hand law experience from those who are currently involved in public policy. You should reach out to people in government positions that reflect areas that you’re interested in or politicians whose platforms and policies intrigue you.

How many hours do you have to work to get into the California Innocence Project?

There are three different sessions (summer, fall, and spring) and you apply for the specific session you’d like to attend. The program has flexible hours, but prefers interns to work 15 to 35 hours a week (as a high school student, this time commitment might only be feasible during the summer session).

How long does a law internship last?

According to Wikipedia, a law internship is a period of work experience offered by an law firm/Chambers to law students or graduate for a limited period of time usually 2-3 months. A law internship experience can be paid or free.

Why do you need an internship?

Why you need an internship experience. 2.1. Law internship gives you a glimpse of the practical side of the legal profession: 2.2 . Internships help to consolidate your CV: 2.3. Internship give you experience and increases your chances of getting employed: 2.4. Internship fosters learning:

Do law students learn anything?

Thus, most law students that did their internship in top law firms don’t really learn anything. I personally recommend that you apply for internship in medium law firms or small law firms in the place where you live. These law firms will make sure that you learn everything you need to learn before leaving the firm.

Do law firms hire lawyers who never did an internship?

Yes! This is not arguable as most law firms do not employ lawyers who never had an internship during their school days.

Do you have to follow up on an internship application?

Oh yeah! You have to follow up the application. Don’t just relax and wait for the firm to reply back to you. There is no problem if you send them a mail again, informing them that you sent an internship application sometime and that you haven’t heard from them yet.

Is law a practical profession?

Sometimes students forget that the legal profession is a very practical profession. Law is more practical than theoretical. You may not understand this until you are offered an opportunity to intern in a good law firm. It will surprise you to know that the practice side of law is quite different from what you were taught in the classroom. This is why experience is very key to succeed in the profession.

Do tire law firms accept interns?

More so, it will surprise you to know that most top tire law firms don’t accept interns that have not done internship before. So, before you apply for internship in top law firms, it is pivotal to gain the experience in a small law firm first.

What are admissions staff looking for in a law internship?

Admissions staff are looking for candidates to describe certain attributes about themselves and what they learned, and applicants shouldn't worry if their internships are not law related. There is still plenty to learn from working in other fields, says Rosenzweig.

Can an internship help you get a recommendation letter?

Internship experiences that are positive, however, can help candidates get letters of recommendation for law school. "If the internship experience ends up being a central part of one's application, it would make really good sense to have an internship supervisor write up a letter of recommendation, so it all pulls together," says Richard.

Can internships help with law school application?

Even a bad internship or less-desirable work experience can help a law school application. (kzenon/Getty Images) For prospective law school students, having summer internships can be an application boost, but only if they know how to describe them to an admissions committee.

Is an internship important for law school?

While internships can be important for law school applicants, they shouldn't be viewed as the only critical component of an application. "There's no magic internship that's going to get somebody admitted into law school or rejected from the law school," Richard says.

Can you put internship experience in personal statement?

Threading an internship experience into a personal statement can boost some applications. For prospective law school students, having summer internships can be an application boost, but only if they know how to describe them to an admissions committee.

What are the grades in law school based on?

In the majority of law school courses, especially during your first year, grades are based largely on a single essay exam given at the end of each semester.

Is law school competitive?

Law school is not only exceptionally competitive. It’s exceptionally expensive too, and there is no guarantee that you will come out of law school with a job. For that reason, you’ll need to be ready to hit the ground running when you finish your law degree.

Is it a good idea to pursue a summer program?

Specifically, it’s a good idea, if possible, to pursue a summer program offered by a college in which you’re interested. Whether or not these programs offer relevant curriculum will be less important as the connections that you are able to make while there .

Is there a requirement for law school?

There is no pre-determined path or prescribed prerequisite undergrad work for law school acceptance, which means there is certainly no requirement for high school extracurriculars, which will be so distant by the time you submit your law school applications that they are unlikely to figure much in your admissions decision.

What majors are common for pre-law students?

With that in mind, certain majors do seem somewhat common among pre-law students including Political Science, History, Philosophy and Business. If one is interested in a particular aspect of law (which you stated you are but did not specify which aspect) then they may find related courses helpful.

Is law practice competitive?

If you are skilled in these areas, you may succeed well. Law practice is highly competitive, and success tends to be merit-based and also somewhat "political.". You may also wish to think seriously about what it means to you to envy or admire "top" performers.

Is international law a small part of law school?

International law coursework will inevitably be a relatively small proportion of your curriculum in law school. Upon graduating, your career prospects will probably not be greatly enhanced by your language skills, but instead will have much more to do with the quality of the law school you attended and your class rank.

Is an accounting degree good for law?

A: An accounting degree is really a good background for almost any type of law practice. Any type of corporate or securities law and tax law are definitely good choices. Also, large accounting firms hire lawyers with accounting backgrounds, and often send them back to school while they are working to get an LLM in tax.

What do you like about being an attorney?

You might enjoy being an attorney if you like logic puzzles, research, and critical thinking. If logical reasoning doesn't come naturally, you can still develop those skills over time. You might take classes in logic or pick up logic puzzles to hone your skills.

How many hours do lawyers work?

This isn't a requirement for all lawyers, but some value-conscious clients might expect you to be accessible around the clock. Most lawyers work full time, and many work more than 40 hours per week. 9  Lawyers who work in public interest venues and academia might have more forgiving schedules, but they often trade high salaries for a better work-life balance.

What are the skills required to practice law?

Logical reasoning and critical-thinking skills are essential to the practice of law. Analytical skills are necessary for all practice areas, whether you're structuring a multi-million-dollar deal or developing a trial strategy. You might enjoy being an attorney if you like logic puzzles, research, and critical thinking.

What professions can you choose after your name?

You can choose from a variety of specialties, including corporate law, tax law, entertainment law, and criminal law.