Rocking your Internship

Once the excitement of a new internship dies down, you may feel like you’re not getting everything you can out of your experience.  I remember one stint I did as an extern (meaning, I was basically paying my school to volunteer at this agency), where by week three it seemed like the attorneys had no time for me; I was going to get lost in the shuffle, and basically just observe court every day if I didn’t become more proactive in attempting to get some experience. It wasn’t easy for me to be proactive in that environment.  I had assumed the attorneys I was paired with wanted my help, and would do what they could do get me involved.  The reality is that a lot of attorneys don’t have much say in when they’re assigned students and most attorneys don’t know how to manage interns. It’s not always a win-win situation.  On top of all that, I had interned with a similar office as an undergrad, where all I did was observe because I didn’t have a student law license.  I didn’t understand that as a law student I should have been given access to more opportunities because that’s the whole point of these apprentice-type relationships. To add insult to injury, I never felt confident enough to ask for a better experience–I just assumed I wasn’t being given more tasks because I wasn’t good enough.  So, I hope you know better than I did because you really owe it to yourself to get all the training you can.

There are usually two ways that can hold you back in getting the most out of your internship.  The first is not receiving the support you need by your supervisors to do a good job. The second problem is an internal fear or apprehension about doing certain work with which you’re not yet comfortable.  How do can you overcome both these issues so that you gain the most from your internship?

One.  Assess what you need.  Really take a moment to detail what is that’s not working for you, and try to identify what could help you improve your experience.  Do you need better instruction from your boss about assignments?  More hands-on guidance? Maybe a better understanding of area of law you’re now learning.  When you identify the issue, think of things you can do to learn on your own–maybe you can do research on areas of law, court procedure, or theories, etc. to heighten your knowledge so that you feel more confident when you’re given assignments that come without real guidance or supervision.  Or maybe there are instances where you can learn by observing. How do other attorneys counsel their clients? How do they prepare and perform at depositions?  And ultimately, when you feel there’s a lack of help from your organization/supervising attorney–go to another attorney for help.  Not in a way that makes it seem that you’re “tattling” on Attorney A, but rather because you’d like to learn about work that Attorney B is doing (and it just so happens that Attorney B seems to be more willing to work with and guide student interns).

Two. Assess what you fear.  While there’s no doubt that many agencies aren’t willing or able to supervise interns they way they should be supervised, another truth is that often students are held back during their stints because they fear a part of the legal process.  You either are apprehensive about speaking on the record or you feel your writing/research isn’t up to par–so you decline assignments; procrastinate the work; or do it, but not well.  I understand that fear. I was always eager to speak on record, but hated research assignments.  The really I was just unsure and not confident in my writing skills because “writing like a lawyer,” was incredibly difficult for me. So I avoided those assignments, to my hindrance, because not only did I fail to practice a skill that needed honing, but I lost chances to get constructive feedback from attorneys that were writing everyday. So, take a moment to see if what’s holding you back at your internship is something you fear doing. What can you do to improve yourself?  If you’re like me and feel self-conscious about your writing then all you can do is write and edit as much as you can and then ask for honest feedback.  Listen to the feedback and then write some more.  If instead, you fear speaking on the record then do what you can do get more experience speaking on the record.

Basically the same advice, but the truth is the more you do it (“it” being any part of legal practice) the easier it will be and eventually, it will become second-nature.

And that’s the whole point of these internships–to get basic foundational experience. Your goal should be to leave with increased skills in basic lawyering that can be translated into any other area of law. Don’t hesitate to ask for more work; to ask for harder work; to ask for better instruction; or to create learning opportunities for yourself.  Especially if you’re volunteering or receiving credit in lieu of payment because in those cases you’re not just an intern, but a consumer that’s paying for the experience–so make sure to get your money’s worth!