Intern at DLA Piper

A range of speakers, activities, work and social events made the time at DLA varied and usually interesting. The work was a bit of a highlight; as a non-law student, I didn't expect to be asked to participate in the legal process in any real sense, yet I was asked to draft documents and security reviews for internal use.

The recruitment team interacted with every single one of us and appeared to know us all by name (must have been difficult considering the near enough 90 people who attended). The same went for the other staff at both the London and regional office; even the partners asserted the vac scheme's importance for recruitment and addressed people as equals.

DLA seem to operate something of an open-door policy in regard to interns; questions were welcome and even encouraged, and the buddy scheme made sure that any procedural questions (as to locations of things in offices etc.) could be answered quickly. A little more in the way of support for non-law students would be appreciated though (handbooks of terms, for example).

As a non-law student, even just a small insight into the workings of a law firm was helpful. As it happens, it felt like I got a fairly large insight - into workings, procedures, people. This will be helpful for any future endeavours in the legal industry. As for my degree, I'm not really sure yet.

Fairly well structured - a clear theme to the first week (an induction), and the remaining two weeks were outlined fairly well in a booklet we got at the start of the internship. The final day lacked structure however; we all seemed to be in limbo in regard to work as everyone was waiting for feedback/TC offers.

Positive; everyone was happy to be there, including full-time staff.

Professional skills training sessions were held in the first week; while they weren't exhaustive, they were appreciated. The social events, work offered, and speakers implied and imbued a sense of investment in our futures - the meals were lovely, and the speakers seemed to be taking time out of their schedules to address us as future employees.

Practice group insight sessions were held over the final two weeks from senior individuals in the practice groups, and these gave an overview of the potential areas of work. Conversations with trainees, associates and partners gave a good overview of potential work-life balances and expectations as to the nature of any work.

A friendly culture was emphasised over and over again and this was reflected in my dealings with people throughout the 3 weeks.

The work given to me over the final two weeks affirmed the legal industry as my desired vocation.

Paid nicely, with some travel expenses and lunch paid for.

Dinners, lunches, breakfasts and general chitchat were adequate for networking - lots of exposure to different kinds of people.

The meals were excellent, with plenty of quality food and drink going around. Seating was pre-arranged to ensure people got adequate contact with partners etc. as well as other interns. One criticism could be that many of the networking/social opportunities were held in rather noisy places - i found it quite difficult to have proper conversations with people because of this.

We were told about sporting activities that full-time employees took part in and we were invited along. Socials were organised outside of the vacation scheme rather informally and these were nice too. Pro bono initiatives were discussed many a time - with a range of initiatives available - but at least in my office they weren't really available for interns to take part in.

Absolutely. The people at the firm were lovely, the fellow interns were lovely, and I learnt a great deal about the legal sector, DLA and particular and about my aptitudes and shortcomings. Plus a week in London was quite nice (seeing the sights etc.), and being paid alongside was helpful