Intern Insights by a Reformed Law Student - Entertainment - Music

"The role of an internship is to replace an empty mind with an open and wiser mind."

Before starting with the experience part of my internships I would like to share a small experience that fully pertains to the internship activity. I spoke to a well-established and prominent advocate in the Delhi HC about the internships. He took a little stride backwards into his simple and amazing past. He told me that the kind of hysteria and emergency that is created by the law students and graduates now a days is mind boggling and saddening. He was not against the interships as a hub of knowledge and practical training but he was against the internship culture that is followed by the students like a religion in the law colleges. This is nothing but just the easy contacts getting a nudge from the known of a student or their kin for getting good company. This is an incomprehensible perception and belief for that practicing and experiences advocate to say the least. The advocate said that the first, second and the third year of the college are the most valuable. One mus t understand the basics of the profession and side by side one must enjoy the freedom and the volatility of the college life.

In initial years of studying law while committing to internships one just works for the firm as an educated clerk and office boy and a lucky few get the chunk of the good work and assignments. Students don't realize how they are exploited and mentally arrested by the firm to get to work up their petty things. Students are made to lower the burden of a firm as the firms have started enjoying their efforts and time to the fullest in lieu of the must awaited certificate. What makes everyone happy is the immediate comparison of firms after coming back to the college from vacations. The sudden expression of utmost pride on the face of a student when he tells others about the market value of the firm he/she interned in the past month or the seniority of the advocate under whom he/she got a chance to serve and handling of one of the most exclusive and sensational cases. You just come back after mindlessly serving the big firms and corporations and as an exception to the same if y ou carry a promising potential of if you are a kin of some big shot you get the attention of the firm and a good work load with satisfactory content on your shoulders.

Interning in the top notch and established firms just gives you a sense of pride but interning in a small but progressive firm makes you explore the world of law better. For me an internship is the manifestation of an innate choice/preference to put one's tender and novice self to practical practice either with a corporate law firm, a private corporation, a government organization, an NGO or a practicing advocate to polish and structure one's developing attitude and overall knowledge so as to get a meticulous, comprehensive and a holistic view of the professional conduct related to a discipline one has chosen. It is highly benefiting and must be taken up after a year and a half of studying in the college. Starting off early can suppress the innocence of the college life.

Today, I am in fourth year and I have 6 certificates in hand, 5 of corporate law firms and 1 of a supreme court advocate, that are having my name and work experience on them and after having discussed a few things with the seniors at the workplaces who provided me with a smattering of changes in the nature of internships. For securing an internship position in one of the most sought after and premier law firms in India one has to, or rather let me just say, must exploit his/her personal contacts to stay in the race for securing internship seats, as apart from a few old and orthodox law firms that are genuinely interested in having a sight of your aptitude and C.V, others just pick up your documents and put it alongside a few other documents that have turned archaic for them.

Most of the law firms provide a decent opportunity for both litigation matters and corporate assistance. The decision and onus is on a law student to choose terse the two and work on a particular subject showing prominent results. But one thing is crystal clear, a student of law can't get an idea about the part of legal discipline he/she wants to pursue until and unless a student tries his hand at various indispensible and crucial subjects of law. Having a word of discern from the seniors and working on various matters of variable nature provide a student a guiding light with lucid paths. Confusion becomes unavoidable and imminent when you have to choose a particular subject form the labyrinth of paths/law subjects. Read books and commentaries with updated expertise to get a birds eye view of the profession and then choose a subject that's going to earn you your bread and butter. What I have observed is that a few firms prefer smart and brisk working interns with a clinch of subtleness as the very profession demands the same while others prefer interns who firmly follow some principles in their life and produce satisfactory work.

An internship is not only a practical practice that you do to prepare yourself and get an insight of the professional life related to a particular discipline but alongside the latter it also affects your overall personality and puts the variable facets of your personality to a genuine test. Here are a few imperative points that I observed and concluded upon when I completed my last internship.

Period of an Internship (In a corporate law firm as well as in a court)The permissible period of an internship in a law firm is generally 4 weeks but taking an exception some firms provide internship for even a month and beyond. It is totally on the discretion of the H.R department of a law firm or the advocate to grant the period of internship to a law student. But, nonetheless, one can always solicit the concerned authority to provide the desired period of internship as depending upon your vacations. But one hard truth is that it is firstly very difficult to get the coveted internship opportunity in a celebrated corporate law firm and secondly it is even more difficult to get an extension on the time period allotted to you. Bigger the corporation lesser are the chances of securing and internship period that one desires as such law firms get inundated by a plethora of internship applications coming in and to oblige a considerable lot they need running vacancies. But if o ne succeeds in making a positive impression on the concerned authorities and people in the firm recognize your productivity, they might consider extending your internship duration by themselves. So hard work pays in the pre-professional days too. A four week internship is an ideal period in which one gets enough time to learn and show sincere productivity. Anything under 4 weeks is just a sheer obligation that a firm shows towards the source who got you through and you don't even get to showcase you true disposition.

Relation with fellow interns Maintaining a good and professionally healthy relationship with the fellow interns gives you an opportunity to make some new friends and make a professionally motivated social circle. Wherever I have interned I tried my best to build a cordial relation with every fellow intern. I got so much to learn form all the students form various reputed colleges and some of the interns are still in contact and I really don't know when they became my good friends. One who thinks of his/her colleagues as competitors develops a bitter attitude and resorts to unfriendly gestures that can result in you getting alienated form the crowd.

Outstation StudentsThe national capital, the financial capital and the I.T capital i.e Delhi, Mumbai and Bangaluru respectively are the three places that generally attract law students form various colleges/universities across the nation. The sole and most convincing reason behind this limited choice is that these three places have some of the most distinguished and top notch law houses in the country and these places are comparatively sophisticated in terms of infrastructure and professionally well equipped. Students travel in large numbers to Mumbai and Delhi form other states to gain a useful practical experience during their vacations or otherwise. Getting a suitable accommodation in close proximity to the place of internship sometimes becomes a pain in the neck. One must be proactive in arranging the accommodation as it becomes difficult to scout for one unless you have some relative staying around. Staying and interning in some other part of the country is not easy at all in monetary terms and sometimes gets too monotonous. One can't expect to lead a frugal life staying away form home.

StipendA law student works unconditionally and dedicatedly to honor the delegated tasks to satisfy his hunger for the precious practical knowledge either in a firm or with a practicing advocate. When we choose to intern somewhere we are not only aiming to create a good reputation, learn practical skills and get the coveted certificate but we also are serving the employer in regard to the client work. We work judiciously and expeditiously towards the client work which also involves several associates working on the latter but the direct benefits are enjoyed by the partner who charges the client hefty amounts and keeps a good part of the earnings. An intern also becomes a, small but considerable, part of the remuneration earned by the law firms. Firms with some intact professional ethics and appreciative attitude pay their interns some amount (sometimes too meager) to show conspicuous gratitude towards their genuine endeavors. But one should never crave hard for such materi al things as it affects the overall persona as a human. Be thankful to the employer and show some modesty and respect his work culture (you can also express the same in lucid words to impress the employer.)

Good Firms & Bad FirmsWithin the first two days itself you get to know that what kind of a firm you have taken up internship in. Sometimes your high or even simple expectations from the workplace get brutally murdered and most of the times you find an ideal professional working space with a flow of unprecedented intellectuality around you. I have interned in both the types. It becomes very difficult to leave a firm in both the cases. If a firm is good you feel like gaining more knowledge and staying in the prolific environment for a relatively longer period and if a firm treats you badly or where the work culture is utterly grim and distorted you feel like running away but you get a punch of sheer obligation on your face and you have to stay there until the pre-decided period gets over. If you don't want to be somewhere owing to the sincerely unfavorable, poor work culture and execrable administration, you should go with the rational thinking and leave the place and expla in action to the person who got you through with earnest heart.

One firm that I found highly professional, versatile and worth interning in is AMSS (Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh & Shroff). With a fantastic organization, a well developed infrastructure, promising associates and with literally every single amenity provided, this firm is a top-notch association with some of the best personalities. This is one such firm where is ample work for students (depending upon the subjects of law they choose) and respectful environment gives it a glorious look altogether.

Don't get too analytical about everything and try to endure a few things that are negligible.

"Being an advocate is a grand and glorious feeling, you give them a grand and they feel glorious"

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