Henry Vinson provides a few tips for law students in the process of applying for internships.

1. LawInternship
Tips for Landing a
Henry Vinson

2. Law students have it rough.
Nowadays, there are twice as many lawyers as the market can support,
leaving many hopefuls unemployed or in a job outside of their chosen
field. The harsh competition soon-to-be-lawyers face necessitates absurdly
high qualifications; students need to have the best grades, the most
activities, and the most impressive internships. The last is particularly
important - after all, who would hire someone with great grades and no
experience when ten candidates with both are readily available?

3. Law students need to land
internships to survive in the field.
Here are a few tips.

4. Choose Your
Direction
The “law” umbrella encompasses a wide
breadth of fields. Do you want to work in
corporate law, injury law, civil cases, or within
judicial departments? While you can always
pivot towards a new direction later in your
career, having a solid foundation of experience
in your preferred sub-field will help you when
you begin searching for a full-time position
after college. Choose wisely, but don’t be too
picky! Any internship is better than none.

5. Research
Potential
Firms
Once you know which direction you would
prefer to take, research potential employers.
Firms want to know that you’ve done your due
diligence, so make sure to review their website
and read any information on past cases that
you can find online. This will allow you to get a
better sense of the firm’s mission and typical
caseload, and will further help you understand
what you would work on as an intern.

6. Tailor Your
Application
It may be tempting to use one cover letter and resume
for the dozen or so applications you need to write, but
you never should. It’s painfully obvious when a
potential intern does so, and it communicates to the
employer that the intern doesn’t care enough to tailor
their work. Read the job listing carefully, taking note of
details and responsibilities. What are they looking for?
Work your qualifications for meeting their specific
needs in your cover letter. This document should also
include notes on what you like about the employer,
your past experience, and the value you can add to the
firm.

7. Practice
Your
Answers
“Winging it” is not a strategy. Make a list of
potential interview questions and answer them
fully; practice speaking the answers aloud in
order to accustom yourself to the script. By
practicing, you equip yourself with answers to
fall back on if you stumble during an interview.

8. Follow Up
Make sure to send an email within 24 hours to
each interviewer. In the message, thank them
for your time and express your continued
interest in the role. In a field with so much
competition, going the extra mile can make the
difference between achieving the position or
remaining unemployed.

9. Thankyou.
For more career- and law-related content, please visit Henry at
HenryVinsonLaw.com