Legal Internships - Top 10 Mistakes Made by Legal Interns
Legal Internships - Top 10 Mistakes Made by Legal Interns
There is no dearth of people trying their hardest to get into law colleges and the bigger ones at that in a desperate attempt to fast track their careers in law. It is true that getting in at a bigger law college will obviously be more beneficial in the long run, not only for the name that the college possesses but also for the fact that a bigger college will attract the bigger names when it comes to placement.
A very common concept of law colleges is to make students apply for legal internships. The procedure is simple. You fill in an application, you are interviewed and if you are chosen, you intern. Now the thing about legal internships is that they are all about getting a taste of the legal industry and what it expects from you. It is all the same whether it is a corporate legal internship or anything else. The important thing is once you are in you should not make mistakes at the workplaces. Some mistakes can ruin your chances of taking advantage of the internship altogether. Here are the top ten mistakes that legal interns make.
1. Getting into the wrong firm: There are those who do their internships from any firm that will have them. This can be a big problem for them as they must spend time understanding the requirements of each firm and the job profile of the position of intern as they may differ from firm to firm.
2. Inefficiency: Once most interns get an internship they don't generally work hard enough. Those who do get fantastic letters of recommendation from the firm and those who don't get anything.
3. Lack of Persistence: Legal aid internships are all about patience and persistence. Some people just give up on a job half way and say it's impossible. Such attitude will either not get you an internship or it will just cause you to lose out to others who are persistent.
4. Ego: You must keep your ego in your pocket and work well and listen to orders if you must succeed at a firm.
5. Letting go of chances abroad: legal internships abroad are something you must never let go off unless you have no choice. They are paid legal internships and augur better for your resume.
6. Working and Neglecting education: You are nowhere without good grades. You cannot let one suffer to care for the other. It is essential that you keep your scores high.
7. Not socializing: Law is as much about contacts as it is about skill. If you do not socialize in the social circle of the firm you work for, you stand to lose out on a lot.
8. Overworking: Don't burn yourself out. Work hard but don't go over the top to impress anyone. It may backfire.
9. Preferring Money over experience: Many of the better companies will hardly pay you high but offer you better experience instead. We should prefer them to higher wage, low on reputation firms.
10. Not keeping in touch with bosses after internship period: It is highly essential you do.