The Value of Law Internships in NYC
The concentrated diversity of the legal market in New York City, which houses numerous global and national law firms, as well as boutique firms, has made it a magnet for law students seeking internships. Interning with law firms in NYC gives law students an invaluable opportunity to immerse themselves in this vibrant legal community. The high demand for internships in NYC law firms allows students to leverage their prior work or education experience, while the city’s wide array of positions helps students hone in on an area of law that they genuinely find fascinating.
Internships in NYC law firms provide an opportunity to learn from the best in the business. Being home to so many globally top-ranked law firms, internships allow students to work directly with leading lawyers in their fields. Additionally, internships in NYC help students expand their professional networks and build relationships with attorneys and other interns who share their career aspirations.
Interning for a large firm in NYC not only imparts knowledge about a particular area of law , but also provides students with a greater sense of the New York City legal market as a whole. Working at larger firms gives students the chance to connect with multiple practice groups. Professional networking is an extremely important element of building a successful career in law. Interning in NYC can facilitate networking opportunities with attorneys and legal professionals based there.
Internships at NYC law firms have advantages that go beyond those gained from the experience alone. Law firms in NYC boast the most competitive salaries for interns in the country, enabling them to offset the cost of living in New York City during their internship. Law firms have recognized the benefits of hiring interns and supporting their success in winning coveted full-time positions after graduation. As such, they appear hesitant to offer anything less than the best for those who intern. Many NYC law firms accommodate the schedules of students attending school part time by offering paid, year-round internships. This flexibility enables students to devote themselves to acquiring skills and knowledge that will make them top candidates, whether for a full-time position at the firm or competition with other candidates for that role in a post-recession market.
Regardless of whether they are from New York, students prepared to work at NYC law firms can gain numerous opportunities to do so. Students who want to work at one of the many prominent law firms in and around New York City can expect a more dynamic career trajectory than those who work exclusively in their school’s immediate area.
Different Law Firm Internship Options
The types of law firm internships available in New York come in many varieties. These include litigation and corporate, public interest, and summer associate programs. All the paid NYC law internships are available year-round, and unpaid ones typically follow the academic year. Most major law firms offer two types of summer programs: 1L and 2L summer associate programs. The 2L programs are open to students who have completed their second year of law school. These programs consist of a couple of months of hands-on legal work at the Firm and several weeks of social outings meant to help new associates get to know the people with whom they will be working. Most of the 1L programs consist of unpaid internships of six or so months, although some firms will hire summer interns as 2L associates the following year. It is not uncommon for an intern to receive an offer for a permanent job after they have completed their internship. The internship period, length of time, and salary paid depend on the type of internship and the individual law firm. At some firms, the internship is six months long and comes with a £12,000 stipend. Others may pay up to $35,000 over the entire 9-month period. The most competitive law school internships in the city are those offered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. These coveted positions consist of year-round paid internships, although these positions are very hard to get. The selection process for these jobs is highly competitive. Similar vacancies are periodically advertised for positions with several of the New York State attorney general offices, where students extract evidence from public records for various types of cases. These part-time jobs have a salary of $25 per hour.
Top NYC Law Firms with Internships Available
Davis Polk
Founded in mid-19th century New York, Davis Polk is a venerable Wall Street law firm who regularly tops the lists of best law firms (combined with its 1L Summer Program and Clerkship Program).
Davis Polk is known for its highly selective hiring practices, and thus, the firm’s New York office receives countless applications each hiring cycle. The firm seeks to recruit the top first-year students from law schools throughout the country for internships that will lead to full-time positions after graduation.
Hogan Lovells
A lesser-known competitor in the race for summer associate spots in New York, Hogan Lovells are major global players in the corporate sector, particularly in the field of Energy and Natural Resources.
Hogan Lovells internships are offered as part of a summer associate program or as part of the firm’s 1L Diversity Fellowship program, which recruits students from less-renowned law schools across the country to increase workplace diversity.
Kirkland and Ellis
One of the largest law firms in the world, Kirkland and Ellis are highly sought after by students looking to secure a summer internship. The firm is particularly known for recruiting in the fields of Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Investment Funds.
A Kirkland and Ellis internship not only provides working law students with summer experience and legal exposure but also has a major pay off post-graduation, as almost all of the firm’s interns go on to be offered a permanent position when they have graduated.
Venable
A popular choice for law students requiring internship placements in New York City, the Venable law firm is known for its practices in Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights, Environmental and Energy, Civil Rights and Advertising Law.
Venable offers a modern office space to provide its interns with the best possible working environment, while the firm’s recognized training and mentoring programs lead interns to go on to undertake the dream job after graduation.
Seyfarth Shaw
With more than 900 lawyers across 16 international offices, Seyfarth Shaw are a global law firm who offer both short and long-term employment opportunities to lawyers and law school graduates.
The firm offers an extraordinary variety of summer placements, with opportunities in each of its named divisions to give graduates a taste of legal life in each area.
How to Apply for a Law Internship in NYC
Internships at New York law firms typically occur during the summer. Many firms have formal programs in which you apply for summer associate positions, for which hiring decisions are usually made in the fall for the next summer. Associate positions for the fall, winter or spring typically are reserved for judicial internships or as result of connections with legal organizations.
For many of these internships, requirements include a resume and cover letter, transcripts or law school records, letters of recommendation, writing samples, an application form on the firm’s website and the completion of in-person interview(s) with firm attorneys.
If you are interested in a summer associate position, typically you need to get on recruiting schedules and meet with firm recruiters during on-campus interviews. In addition to traditional interviewing, many recruiting selections are now done by job fairs and committees that evaluate writing samples and other criteria. Starting early in the fall of your 2L year, you should be checking firm websites for their schedules and deadlines for applications. You can search for opportunities through your career services office and on sites like the Lawyer Exchange, which is a career networking website.
What Can You Gain from a Law Internship in NYC?
You will likely be expected to rise before the sun during this time of year, as summer months in NYC are synonymous with law firm internships. However, how can you be expected to succeed if you don’t know what will be expected of you? You are about to dive into a world of academics and experience, where you’ll be submerged in a sea of budding professionals seeking from one another, just like you, a chance at their legal careers. The commute may take you 30 minutes or 3 hours, but either way, you’ll soon become accustomed to this new routine, which becomes refreshingly familiar.
Depending on the law firm and your assigned department, responsibilities will vary, but there are some commonalities. You’ll likely work directly underneath an associate and support them in whatever legal research and analysis they need. You can expect to perform case law and judicial research, drafting memos, reviewing contracts, performing proofreads and preparing trial notebooks. You may be asked to attend court trials, assist in the deposition process and participate in client meetings. Unexpectedly, after the firm gets to know you and your strengths, you may be expected and encouraged to lead your own projects .
Challenges and frustrations are to be expected. Communications may be confusing, deadlines may be stressful and feedback may come unsolicited. Nevertheless, feedback, in any form, is a gift: accept it. Your work is being put up against significantly seasoned firm members, so it’s important to understand that you are learning from this process, and this job is not a chance to prove yourself. You will be given feedback for your professional growth and development-remember that.
There will be plenty of opportunities for you to learn on the job. In addition to receiving instructions, commissions do their utmost to educate their interns in the field. Your research and analysis needs to not only be accurate, but also relevant; therefore, you will be trained on how to effectively parse through relevant cases and find the most applicable ones for your project.
Working in a law firm is considerably different from working in other fields. Law firms are, at their very core, business enterprises, and that should be taken seriously. You are up against numerous candidates vying for a chance to prove their value to the firm. You have the opportunity to gain real work experience; take it.
Maximizing Your Law Internship in NYC
Interning at a law firm in New York City can be a rewarding and valuable experience for any law student. This is especially true if you live outside the area and are new to the city. But getting the most out of your experience requires careful thought and intentionality before you arrive, as well as diligence during your internship.
Have Clear Objectives
Before you step foot into the law office in NYC, it is essential that you know what you want to get out of this opportunity. Ask yourself the following questions to help you clarify your intentions:
Get to Know the Firm and Culture
When you’re on your first day of law firm internship, take the time to get to know the firm and their culture. Ask fellow interns or support staff questions about how the firm operates. Learn about their dress code and code of conduct. Figure out how you can contribute to the office and fit in with the team. The goal here is to make helping the firm a priority, but not to forget about your own personal objectives as well.
Network with Attorneys and Fellow Interns
Take advantage of all the networking opportunities your law office internship offers. Whether through lunch-and-learns or office outings (like group paintball), take the time to get to know the attorneys and other interns. Use these opportunities to build your connections and network, but also to learn more about each person’s role and progress through law school.
Be an Engaged Learner
Your primary objective with any law internship should be to learn as much as possible. Ask your supervisor or other attorneys to show you how they do certain tasks, such as drafting legal documents or running case analysis software. If you find yourself with extra downtime, look for ways to use that time to improve your skills in writing and analysis. Find projects or studies to dive into in order to maximize your learning opportunities.
Find a Mentor
The value of a mentor cannot be understated. Your law firm internship is the perfect time to meet someone you can turn to for advice and guidance. Whether through casual conversation, or by asking someone to be your formal mentor, finding a mentor who can help guide you through this stage of your career will be one of the most beneficial things you could possibly accomplish during this opportunity.
Ask Questions and Reach Out For Help
Never be afraid to ask questions when you’re uncertain about something. It is crucial that you demonstrate you’re not afraid to be inquisitive or reach out for help. This will show you’re engaged and eager to learn, not that you’re incapable of following instructions or completing tasks.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
Finally, a positive attitude will take you far in any law firm internship. You may not get along with everyone equally well, and you may not enjoy your assignments. But maintaining a positive attitude and giving it your all will leave a lasting impression. As such, great attitudes overall ensure that, should you leave the law firm internship with a positive impression, you will have the opportunity to secure an excellent job after law school.
Careers After a Law Internship
Internships can lead to huge opportunities which could ultimately impact career paths. Of the interns placed here at The Jacobson Firm, 75% move on to full time employment at the firm. Of those who do not accept offers from the firm, they usually have strong offers elsewhere, and they just the experience to go into the workforce and conquer it. Most law students have somewhat of a desired field they want to go into after graduation , whether it be family or criminal law, litigation, etc. Almost every intern in the firm gets to do work in his or her desired field throughout the course of the internship, giving them a taste of what it would be like if they were hired after graduation. Law students leave the firms with the confidence that they can deliver quality work product to clients and quality work product in preparation to become an associate after the bar exam.