2L Summer Internship

Intern — “An advanced student or recent graduate who is apprenticing to gain practical experience before entering a specific profession.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

Summer is flying by and so is my summer internship!  I honestly cannot believe that tomorrow marks the end of my fifth week of my summer internship.  I’m really enjoying what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks.  If you’re interested in reading my posts on how I picked my internship last summer and a reflection on my experience, click here and here!

Where I’m Working

Although the typical law school route is to summer at a law firm after your 2L year, I’m not following the mold this summer.  I’ve wanted to work at a large company since I was young, and this summer, that wish is coming true.  I’m one of three interns in the legal department so we have our own little office.  One of the lawyers is our main supervisor, but I’ve gotten to work with almost all of the attorneys in our department who do all types of work.  The company I’m interning for is a very large publicly traded company, who does business all over the country.  It’s definitely a very different environment from last summer in judge’s chambers, especially because of the sheer size of the department.  Last summer, there were a total of seven people in our chambers, where this summer, there’s seven paralegals who work in the department.

How I Picked This Internship/How This Internship Picked Me

During this past spring semester, I was very concerned that I wasn’t going to have an internship this summer.  I had interviewed with multiple companies and firms and, for almost every one, I was the runner-up.  One day in the middle of my minor crisis, I found this company’s listing on my school’s Symplicity page, and I had heard from other students at my school that I was a good internship to go for.  I really applied on a whim, a.k.a. I drafted my cover letter and sent in my application materials within half an hour.  I was called in for an interview, and now we’re here, halfway through my internship.

What I’m Doing

Since I’m working in a corporate legal department, there’s a variety of assignments that I’ve been working on.  Each of the lawyers in the department has their own “specialty,” but they do have some crossover between who does what work.  So far, I’ve worked with almost every attorney on an assignment.  I’ve worked on drafting contracts and reviewing contracts to analyze the risk the company would have by signing them.  I’ve also worked on some customer disputes and real estate matters, both of which also involve a lot of contract interpretation.  I have also gotten the chance to work on some human resources matters, along with a long term project involving the securities laws.  I’m really glad that I took this opportunity because of the sheer variety of work that I’ve been dealing with over the past few weeks.  As you can tell, I’ve done a lot of work with contracts, even in matters that are going to litigation.  I’m not upset about that because I actually enjoy reading through them (yes, I know I’m a nerd).

Are you interning anywhere this summer?  How did you find your internship?  Let me know, I’d love to hear about what you’re doing!