By Erika Firestone (3L)

Whether you work for a law firm, a government agency, or a district attorney, internships are an excellent opportunity to gain practical knowledge and experience that places law school within the context of reality. I’m entering my third year of school and thus far I’ve had the opportunity to intern at the State Ethics Commission, with a Federal Judge, and for a large regional law firm. Here are a few of the tips I’ve gathered along the way.

Buddy up with an associate or newer attorney.

As a law firm summer associate, I’ve saved my own skin a few times by reaching out with “dumb” questions I have to associate attorneys. They were in the role of intern not so long ago and can remember how daunting it can be to start a job and not know tiny things that can make a big difference, like whether an assigning attorney prefers WestLaw or Lexis. They can help you navigate institutional practices, relations with partners, and more.

Get to know the support staff.

Paralegals and legal assistants are the backbone of the legal practice and your greatest resource at any new workplace. They can show you where the copier and the lunchroom are, how to locate certain documents, where to find letter templates, etc. It’s likely that your supervisor will also be paying close attention to how you treat support staff, although kindness is always the best approach regardless.

Ask a TON of questions.

You are at an internship to learn more than you are to provide the organization with valuable work, and they know that. Do not spend too much time struggling over something you don’t understand. I am someone who loves to knock on open doors and ask questions as often as I can. Not only has this helped me learn so much more than I could have on my own, but it helps to develop stronger relationships with the attorneys in your work place.

Let them know what you’re interested in.

If you go into a law firm knowing that you loved your family law course, ask if you can take extra assignments from the family law attorneys. If you really have an interest in litigation, ask if you can observe court as often as possible. You have more control over your experience than you think and your supervisors will be glad to watch you develop specific interests given the vastness that is the law.

Own up to your mistakes and learn from them.

My single greatest piece of advice is to never make excuses for making mistakes at work. They happen all of the time, and chances are your supervisors have made some pretty big ones througout their careers. Own up to it and ask how you can do better in the future. You likely won’t make the same mistake twice.

There are some people who have known that they wanted to be lawyers since they were kids, or perhaps met a lawyer in high school or college who encouraged and inspired them to apply to law school. However, that’s not always how life works out.

I didn’t personally know any lawyers growing up. Even though I had always loved to read and write, I never had anyone put those pieces together for me and say that I should consider a career in law. It simply never posed itself as a viable career path. I went through college, studying communications and political science, and ended up at the University of Glasgow in Scotland to get a Master’s Degree in International Politics. It was during my graduate program that I ended up in an International Law course, and something sparked in me every so dimmly.

I moved back to the States and began a career in international higher education. I worked with international students who came to the United States on F-1 visas from up to 40 different countries, and I loved it. I loved helping students sort out complex issues with their immigration status, or just talking to them about adjusting to life in the US. On a different plain, I was doing the sort of work that lawyer’s do for their clients every day: I listened to them, I assessed their options, communicated those options, and advocated for them to USCIS. It was through this job that I also began working with immigration attorneys, whom I frankly realized I was just as smart and capable as. With some deliberation, I decided to take the LSAT and apply to law school.

This was the best decision I could have made for myself. The law opens doors to career paths I could have only imagined having access to prior. It expands your mind in new and exciting ways, but it uses the building blocks of your past education and former career to strengthen those skills. Coming into law school with prior experience allows you to contextualize what you’re learning in deeper ways and makes you appreciate the work you have already done in a new light.

All that to say, is that it can be scary to leave a job or consider taking a huge leap in changing your career path. Three years sounds like a big commitment. However, not only does three years fly by in an environment like law school, if you really want what’s on the other side, there is nothing more worthwhile.