Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this Insight Programme. The Graduate Recruitment team did a phenomenal job of adapting the internship to lockdown regulations and made us feel really comfortable with the new setting. They made a great effort to get to know us over zoom and had a wonderful timetable of activities planned that struck the perfect balance between not too tiring and still sufficient.

We were placed into small teams with the task of producing a project by the end of the week, so I felt like a very valuable member of that group. The fact that very senior officials at the company such as the CEO and many Managing Directors were more than happy to give up their time to speak to us made me feel like I was really valued.

I was assigned a 'buddy'- a trainee solicitor who made a great effort to check in on me and offer tips and advice. I, therefore, felt I had someone I could turn to with questions alongside the brilliant Graduate Recruitment team who were always responsive and helpful. As part of the timetable there was a 'trainee panel' wherein many trainees took the time to answer questions that interns had submitted the week prior, so we received a lot of guidance on specific questions we had which was amazing.

I learnt much more about the firm and the legal industry as a whole, which equipped me with the knowledge needed to begin my career in law. It also helped me develop my teamwork skills via a group project exercise, and my advocacy and presenting skills via a presentation in front of Partners.

Extremely well structured. I received a timetable beforehand in the post, and was given daily emails with precise timings and details for the next day. I never felt lost and always knew what I was supposed to be doing. The timetable was packed enough to be useful and engaging but not too packed so as to be tiring or draining.

Really amazing. Everyone at the firm is a genuinely great person, they all were friendly and cared about making our experience the best it could be under the lockdown circumstances. All the interns were also lovely people and you could tell that the recruitment team put a lot of effort into selecting people whose values align with the firm. I absolutely loved the members of my team and look forward to maintaining those relationships regardless of where we end up working.

DLA invested a lot in my personal training by putting us in small groups for the group project, which meant the work we did made a significant impact on the group. I, therefore, was motivated to work hard to develop my research, analytical and presenting skills to perform the group task well.

I left this Insight Programme feeling very well informed about the firm and the expectations for a Trainee Solicitor there. The trainee panels, speed networking, and Q&A's with senior lawyers meant there were endless chances to learn about what it would be like to have a full-time role with the firm.

DLA Piper's culture is so consistent and well-upheld that it underpinned every session. Their four values- Bold, Supportive, Collaborative and Exceptional, are really well ingrained in the firm and every session highlighted how.

I learnt more not only about the firm but about the legal industry as a whole, and have decided I would really like to work at a firm like this or similar.

I was paid for the week

It was naturally more difficult to network given the nature of the internship being in lockdown, but Graduate Recruitment made up for this by allowing plenty of time for us to ask questions to senior lawyers at the firm and for connecting us to a 'buddy' trainee.

There was a fun quiz night and a voucher for Just Eat on the first day to help us relax and get to know the trainees.

Yes, there are plenty of sports and societies that lawyers at the firm can get involved in outside of work.

Definitely!! It's one of the best internships, if not the best, I've ever been on. The perfect balance of informative, welcoming, challenging, and fun.