As law students, we are required to complete certain durations of internships as required by the Bar Council. But how do you apply to these internships during your initial years of law school?
Here are some tips that I'd love to share with you all:
GOOGLE AND LINKEDIN ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS
If you check out vacancies on google and LinkedIn, you'd come across tons of opportunities that have now arisen for law students in their initial years. It's important to have a good profile so you're approachable and so that you could reach out to advocates and law firms seeking internships.
NETWORKING
Whether you're networking on LinkedIn or you're networking in various other events such as paper presentations or conferences, it's very important to form connections!
Honestly, one of the best ways I've secured internships was through my friend's parents, who helped me out immensely. Another internship I had secured was through lawyers that I had previously interned under and lawyers that my parents' offices had connections through. Not only that, being a part of Legal Societies which I came across while attending conferences, also introduced me to many Advocates in different jurisdictions. They provide you with references that are essential in securing internships or even jobs!
SEND EMAILS EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE A VACANCY OPEN.
I was told by a lawyer that a lot of hiring takes place internally and a lot of vacancies are not even listed online. One of the ways I had secured internships during the COVID-19 pandemic was by sending emails to advocates I wanted to intern under. How did I do that?
I made a list of lawyers/ law firms that I wanted to intern under.
Updated my CV and Cover Letter differently for different lawyers, i.e., I made sure to tailor them according to the requirements. For example, if a lawyer I wanted to intern under was adept in Criminal Law, I made sure to highlight my works, accomplishments and research under Criminal law, both in my CV and in my Cover Letter.
Sending emails one by one and waiting until a week or two to send follow-up emails. This is important as sometimes, lawyers get busy with their day to day schedules in life and hardly have time to examine your email. Even if they do, sometimes they tend to forget about it. Make sure to send in a follow-up email after waiting for a considerable amount of time and never send more than 2 follow-ups.
I'm pretty sure, out of the 10 lawyers you applied under, at least 2 are going to respond back to you with an affirmative response! Keep going!
CHECK OUT WEBSITES THAT LIST OUT VACANCIES ONLINE FOR INTERNSHIPS.
For Indian law students, websites such as NeetiShastra provide tons of opportunities for students to apply for internships. Make sure you apply to the same!
PREPARE WELL.
Once you have everything ready, the best way to be sure of your shot with the place you've applied at is to prepare yourself. Remember, they do not know you outside of your CV or your Cover Letter, so make sure that everything you've mentioned in it remains true and is something that you can personally vouch for!
Good luck! I hope this post was helpful to everyone out there seeking internships!
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