Law Firm Summer Internship 2017

lawstudentirl1

Hi folks,

It's the time of year when there's looming applications for the Ireland's law firms' internship programmes. In previous years this forum is usually great for people to swap ideas, talk about applications and interviews. So I took the initiative to kick this years one off so we can all share our experiences.

nuac

Indeed. Happiest time of your lives. Good luck all

lawstudentirl1

Arthur Cox interviews are supposed to be this Friday and next Monday. Anyone hear any word back yet?

Redo91

Just applied for RDJ this round in Galway. Applied last month but deadline isn't until the end of the month so I'm not expecting to hear anything for a while yet.

lawstudentirl1

Redo91 wrote: »

Just applied for RDJ this round in Galway. Applied last month but deadline isn't until the end of the month so I'm not expecting to hear anything for a while yet.

Are you applying anywhere else?

Redo91

lawstudentirl1 wrote: »

Are you applying anywhere else?

Not this time around. I handed out CV's a few months ago to firms in Galway already. RDJ are the only firm as far as I'm aware that have an internship programme in Galway. As most internship programmes aren't paid I can't afford to look further afield.

On the plus side I did manage to get an interview with RDJ for a traineeship in October last so they must like something about me. As they told me they don't do second round interviews as they are very thorough in the initial application phase. That coupled with the fact that an internship is a step down so to speak from a traineeship means I'm relatively hopeful of getting an interview again at least.

claiomh solais

Redo91 wrote: »

On the plus side I did manage to get an interview with RDJ for a traineeship in October last so they must like something about me.

That coupled with the fact that an internship is a step down so to speak from a traineeship means I'm relatively hopeful of getting an interview again at least.

I hope other firms think like that. The traineeship interviews for the big 10 are super competitive I hope the ones I interviewed with in October are willing to have a second glance at me.

lawstudentirl1

claiomh solais wrote: »

I hope other firms think like that. The traineeship interviews for the big 10 are super competitive I hope the ones I interviewed with in October are willing to have a second glance at me.

If you got in once, it's likely you can do it again.

Where'd you interview in October? Which ones are you applying to now? I found the best method to improve my chances was going to do a practice interview in the careers service. It really helped settle my nerves and clarify my answers to general law firm interview questions.

claiomh solais

Biggest firm I interviewed for was Matheson. Didn't make it past the interview stage though but the feedback was very positive. From what I interpreted from their feedback, it was just insanely competitive with a lot of really good candidates.

If I do manage to get another interview, I will definitely look into doing a practice interview somewhere. But with my last 4 FE-1s just a few weeks away I dunno if I would have the time!

Edit: I'm applying to all the big firms. I live in Dublin so I don't have to limit my options.

lawstudentirl1

I interviewed and had offfers (and rejections) from a a few top 5. I want a bit more experience though before I make a decision on where to work. I know it's not a bad position to be in but it's the most important one I'll make. That's why I'm applying for the summer round. By any chance has anyone on here applied to London firms?

Redo91

claiomh solais wrote: »

I hope other firms think like that. The traineeship interviews for the big 10 are super competitive I hope the ones I interviewed with in October are willing to have a second glance at me.

I've seen other people saying on here that they know of plenty of people that were turned down for a traineeship before being offered an internship with the same firm. I guess if they turn a candidate down they just aren't fully convinced and an internship has less risk attached to it from their point of view. They learn much more about a candidate over an internship than they will in an interview.

lawstudentirl1

Arthur Cox emails are out.

Dcsmall

Hi guys,

I applied for some of the bigs ones too, and I saw in an email that PWC said they would send emails for interviews by the 10th of Feb. Did anyone get an email for an interview, which are supposed to be held today and tomorrow?
Thanks.

Samuel T. Cogley

Just in case there's the odd duffer like me in here, don't be afraid to approach local firms and get some experience. It'll be unpaid and much less glamorous than the top 5 but you'll gain a huge amount from it.

Blue_pens17

Any idea when we can expect to hear from BW?

LegalLaaaaady

Hey guys, i'm currently working full-time as a Legal Assistant for a small firm. Can't see myself doing my training contract there as they don't pay for Blackhall. Would anyone suggest doing a summer internship in hopes of being offered a training contract with one of the bigger firms? I've 1st class honours BA & LLB, half way through FE1s and have decent practical experience. Not sure if an internship would be a step backwards or forwards? Would appreciate if anyone has any advise on this. Thank you

LucBetton

Blue_pens17 wrote: »

Any idea when we can expect to hear from BW?

ByrneWallace have been holding interviews all week, and from what I heard they had their last one yesterday. Seems bad out that they wouldn't have sent out PFO's, but they're letting candidates know on Tuesday who got the internship.

LucBetton

Arthur Cox have also gotten back to people and are holding group interviews today, Monday and Tuesday..

LucBetton

LegalLaaaaady wrote: »

Hey guys, i'm currently working full-time as a Legal Assistant for a small firm. Can't see myself doing my training contract there as they don't pay for Blackhall. Would anyone suggest doing a summer internship in hopes of being offered a training contract with one of the bigger firms? I've 1st class honours BA & LLB, half way through FE1s and have decent practical experience. Not sure if an internship would be a step backwards or forwards? Would appreciate if anyone has any advise on this. Thank you

Where are you based? The majority of firms have closed their applications for the summer internships, however there may be a few still open. Beyond that, you also sound like you'd be competitive come next October's Milkrounds, so really it's about polishing your CV between now and then.

Best of Luck!

lindenberg2012

McCann FitzGerald emailing re interviews today

lawstudentirl1

LegalLaaaaady wrote: »

Hey guys, i'm currently working full-time as a Legal Assistant for a small firm. Can't see myself doing my training contract there as they don't pay for Blackhall. Would anyone suggest doing a summer internship in hopes of being offered a training contract with one of the bigger firms? I've 1st class honours BA & LLB, half way through FE1s and have decent practical experience. Not sure if an internship would be a step backwards or forwards? Would appreciate if anyone has any advise on this. Thank you

I think you'll have a great chance of getting a Training Contract interview in October. My advice would be to go an make sure your applications and cvs are finely tuned and you'll have a good chance. It's very competitive and a lot of candidates have masters these days. The big firms recruit their trainees from the summer intern intakes so if any of the applications are still open (I think Ronan Daly Jermyn and Philip Lee are still open) I'd definitely apply. It can only improve your chances and it's definitely not a step back.

lawstudentirl1

LucBetton wrote: »

ByrneWallace have been holding interviews all week, and from what I heard they had their last one yesterday. Seems bad out that they wouldn't have sent out PFO's, but they're letting candidates know on Tuesday who got the internship.

BW are notorious for not getting back to people they're not interviewing. They're big into Leaving Certificate grades for some reason.

Sarah1717

Matheson PFO's are out

Has anyone heard from Eversheds or Dillon Eustace?

Dcsmall

Anyone heard from PwC?

richy

Hey there. Does anyone know of more places that are open for summer internship besides the two ladstudent mentioned? GF applied for internships (missed the traineeship dates) and she is pretty devestated she didnt get any. I was really surpised she didnt get any interviews. Solid higher 2:1 and many years experience in the aviation industry before this. Shes 27. Think that may have affected her chances?

Any other options available to her? I saw that there is more milkrounds in Oct. If she starts FE1s before then (not sure how it works) and she gets the milk rounds will they take her on and pay for them etc?

Whats the situation with paralegal work? Paid? Milkrounds again or simply drop CVs into places? She is incredibly articulate, intelligent and extremely hardworking and motivated, just not sure if her age is working against her here seeing as she didnt get any interviews.

Thanks

Samuel T. Cogley

Try smaller firms, if it needs to be paid try and get admin work in a lower tier firm. Leverage any contacts from college.

Blue_pens17

Sarah1717 wrote: »

Matheson PFO's are out

Has anyone heard from Eversheds or Dillon Eustace?

No word yet from Eversheds. Does anyone know when we can expect to hear from them? Also, did anyone receive a confirmation email re their application? Strange...

Sarah1717

Blue_pens17 wrote: »

No word yet from Eversheds. Does anyone know when we can expect to hear from them? Also, did anyone receive a confirmation email re their application? Strange...

No confirmation email from them either!

lawstudentirl1

richy wrote: »

Hey there. Does anyone know of more places that are open for summer internship besides the two ladstudent mentioned? GF applied for internships (missed the traineeship dates) and she is pretty devestated she didnt get any. I was really surpised she didnt get any interviews. Solid higher 2:1 and many years experience in the aviation industry before this. Shes 27. Think that may have affected her chances?

Any other options available to her? I saw that there is more milkrounds in Oct. If she starts FE1s before then (not sure how it works) and she gets the milk rounds will they take her on and pay for them etc?

Whats the situation with paralegal work? Paid? Milkrounds again or simply drop CVs into places? She is incredibly articulate, intelligent and extremely hardworking and motivated, just not sure if her age is working against her here seeing as she didnt get any interviews.

Thanks

The firms have two recruitment rounds every year - the Milkrounds in October for direct Training Contracts and the Summer Internships between January and February which tend to lead to Training Contracts upon successful completion.

Age is not a factor. It's all about the person's well-roundedness and ability. In terms of your GFs credentials, they're good but it's a highly competitive process. A lot of people have 1.1's undergrads, 1.1 Masters, work experience and extra curricular activities and still don't get interviews. If she wants to get a top 5 firm it's very competitive. In terms of what she should do, I'd suggest trying to get some experience over the summer doing an interesting internship in a legal aid clinic, law firm or even in the courts. Something interesting that sets her apart. If she wants to work in a big firm it might be a good idea to look into masters programmes that specialise in commercial law. Everyone and their granny has an undergrad so she's better off specialising. She probably needs to work on her application as that's the most important part to get in the door. So prepare early and see a careers advisor or a lawyer she might know and get them to help with the applications. The FE1's are ancillary. Sure it's great if she has them done, but firms are hiring for the future so there's leeway with start dates to allow time to complete them (up to two/three years sometimes).

OpRow

Has anyone heard from William Fry yet?

Sarah1717

Has anyone got a call yet today from ByrneWallace?

Blue_pens17

Sarah1717 wrote: »

Has anyone got a call yet today from ByrneWallace?

Nothing yet. Is no news really good news?

nestunda

Blue_pens17 wrote: »

No word yet from Eversheds. Does anyone know when we can expect to hear from them? Also, did anyone receive a confirmation email re their application? Strange...

I didn't get a confirmation from Eversheds either. Ended up emailing them to ask if they got my application. Got a reply saying they did, nothing more.

Lawhopeful

Does anyone know when Arthur Cox is supposed to get back re second round interviews?

Sarah1717

Blue_pens17 wrote: »

Nothing yet. Is no news really good news?

Guess I'm waiting on a PFO tomorrow then?...

nestunda

Does anyone know the story with Matheson interviews? one or two rounds?

lawstudentirl1

Lawhopeful wrote: »

They had 2 rounds of interviews for the traineeship and, as I understand it, most firms have the same procedure for their summer internships as their traineeships. So I would say 2, but I can't say for certain!

For the traineeships they have two rounds with three interviews. If you get past the first interview then there's two interviews on the same day for the second round. As far as I know it's one round for the summer internships there.

lawstudentirl1

How was the Cox group interview? The trainee one had a scenario given out to do with a robotic dog walker product launching in Europe and the US.

roosevelt93

I didn't do the group interview for Cox but a friend of mine did - there was a case study scenario that involved various aspects of negligence and you had to give your opinion on what legal matters were involved. Then there were questions regarding your opinion on homelessness and working from home vs working in the office

roosevelt93

Has anyone here previously done an interview with McCann and have any idea what they are like?

roosevelt93

Eversheds PFO's are out

Blue_pens17

Has anyone received a call/PFO from BW yet?

nestunda

Does anyone have any experience interviewing for Eversheds or Matheson?

LegalAnna

Does anyone know if the time of the interview is important? Mine is quite late in the evening so I wonder if that's an indication they're just giving me an interview for the sake of it?

roosevelt93

Nothing from BW yet no

lawstudentirl1

LegalAnna wrote: »

Does anyone know if the time of the interview is important? Mine is quite late in the evening so I wonder if that's an indication they're just giving me an interview for the sake of it?

The time isn't important. They don't interview people they're not interested in. It's simply down to the amount of candidates they are interviewing. What firm is it with?

LegalAnna

lawstudentirl1 wrote: »

The time isn't important. They don't interview people they're not interested in. It's simply down to the amount of candidates they are interviewing. What firm is it with?

Thanks! I was in one law firm when they were interviewing and the day mattered. One day was for people they were fairly confident about and the next day was just to see what the people were like. It was quite mean tbh!

lawstudentirl1

LegalAnna wrote: »

Does anyone know if the time of the interview is important? Mine is quite late in the evening so I wonder if that's an indication they're just giving me an interview for the sake of it?

LegalAnna wrote: »

Thanks! I was in one law firm when they were interviewing and the day mattered. One day was for people they were fairly confident about and the next day was just to see what the people were like. It was quite mean tbh!

Well if you get an interview in any case, it's a good sign. Chin up and make sure they can't say no!

Sarah1717

Still not heard from BW either

OpRow

Anyone heard from William Fry or Dillon Eustace yet?

Sarah1717

Haven't heard anything from DE