Internship Etiquette: How to maximise the law firm internship experience (Part II)

Internships are an essential part of law school life (and sometimes, even beyond). I don’t need to extrapolate on the importance of internships – that’s already well known. What is not known as well, however, is the bit about internship etiquette.

In the previous column, I had highlighted the use of PAPER as an acronym. In this one, we will move to # or HASH.

This applies to assignments/transactions you work on during your internship. HASH expands into:

• Hard-Working – No one dislikes a diligent fellow. We probably don’t say it often enough, but when hiring, diligence trumps intelligence anytime. If it boils down to a choice between hiring a diligent-but-average and an intelligent-but-lazy intern – I’d always go (and have gone) with the former – because only a hard-working person can carry a transaction successfully.

• Attentive – This is more or less a corollary of hard work. There are a myriad of fine print and oceans of unwieldy clauses to wade through. And there is an ultra-level obstacle course of deadlines to manoeuvre…and missing a deadline could mean a goodbye to that PPO or recommendation! This requires focus and attention.

• Sensible – The Managing Partner of a top law firm once told me that all he looks at when hiring someone is a person with common sense – things like law school, rank, IQ – these hardly mattered to him. I’ve spent a lot of time ruminating over this – because personally, I’ve always taken great pride in being an alumnus of a top law school as well as my IQ and rank. But his point is quite valid – when working on a transaction, being sensible is very important – and this also affects our negotiation skills. And honestly, while I still wouldn’t discount law school, rank and IQ – I, too, am more comfortable hiring a sensible person.

• Honest – Honesty, sincerity – backbone of legal work, really. Made a mistake? Admit it honestly and rectify it. I’ve done it myself, and earned brownie points for it. Also has the added benefit of freeing up the time you’d spend on weaving an elaborate ruse to hide/avoid your mistake – instead, in that extra time, you can do some HASH work and impress people! Double brownie points!

Now that I’ve explained my internship etiquette formulae, it is time for a standard disclaimer. I’m not claiming that PAPER and HASH come with a 100% PPO guarantee. (In fact, if I did say that, it wouldn’t be *sensible*, would it?) But there is so much more to gain from an internship besides a PPO. In fact, I would say that a reference or recommendation you can gain from an impressed senior is equally (and in some cases, even more) important than a PPO.

So, regardless of whether your internship ends with a PPO or not – try your best to get that reference – it might get you another internship or even a job.

Another little tip here: keeping in touch is important…so that when the time for that great reference comes, the senior will actually remember who you are.

Remember, even if you don’t get a PPO, there will still be recruitment. And one of the commonest practices before hiring a new person is to get feedback from the lawyers they have worked with.

I’ve done it, too – and a positive review from a senior you have worked with will weigh much more than other accomplishments. Why? Because it the most direct and accurate representation of your ability to work.

That’s where internship etiquette comes in – because, at the end of the day, it is a tool that helps you make a positive impression.

This is an edited version of a webinar exclusively held for our Campus Ambassadors. Jayantika Ganguly is a former corporate lawyer, who now counsels law students and lawyers. You can read more about her work here.