Law Internships Decoded: Because Netflix Won’t Teach You Contract vs. Agreement

As a law student, you will inevitably find yourself in the great hunt for internships, which often feels more competitive than getting a passing grade in Jurisprudence. Fortunately, thanks to the digital age, the process has become relatively easier. You no longer have to camp outside a lawyer’s chamber with a CV in hand; instead, you can apply through numerous online platforms, Telegram channels, Facebook groups, or, if you prefer the traditional route, by directly approaching District or State Legal Services Authorities and NGOs. Sending your CV has never been easier—getting a response, however, is still an art form.

Before you start firing off applications like a desperate litigant filing multiple adjournment requests, it is important to understand where you are applying. Specifically, you must distinguish between a law office and a law firm. The difference may sound academic, but it directly impacts your internship experience. A law office typically revolves around one senior advocate, a couple of junior associates, and the omnipresent unpaid intern (spoiler: that intern is you). A law firm, by contrast, is a more elaborate structure, consisting of multiple partners, numerous associates, and—unsurprisingly—a larger battalion of unpaid interns. Which one is better? Opinions differ. Personally, I lean towards law offices because they give you the opportunity to work closely with a single advocate, allowing you to gain practical exposure to everything from drafting to appearing in court. In a law firm, interns often spend weeks reading files, only to be rewarded with the thrilling chance of saying “My Lord, I seek an adjournment” in open court.

Now, let us address the skill nobody warned you about—typing. Believe it or not, your English typing speed may be the single greatest factor determining whether you are hired or politely ignored. Forget reciting Article 21 backwards; if you type slower than a judge writing a twenty-page order on why he cannot grant bail, you might not even make it past the interview. In the legal world, the keyboard is mightier than the sword.

That brings us to what interviewers actually expect. The good news is, they don’t expect much—at least not in terms of sophisticated courtroom experience. No one is waiting for you to draft a perfect writ petition or cite obscure Latin maxims with confidence. Instead, they are primarily testing two things: whether you have basic knowledge of law and whether you can learn quickly without being a liability. The willingness to work without pay is taken for granted; what sets you apart is your ability to demonstrate sound fundamentals.

But what exactly is this “basic law knowledge” that everyone keeps mentioning? To be blunt, it is nothing extraordinary—it is simply the stuff you studied in your very first semester (yes, those notes you shoved into the bottom of your cupboard). For instance, you should know the difference between a contract and an agreement (and no, “one gets you a breach notice, the other ruins friendships” is not a correct definition). You should be able to explain the distinction between an FIR and a complaint (and preferably without saying, “An FIR is when the police actually bother to write things down”). You might be asked about the latest Supreme Court judgment, and you should be able to tell the difference between jail and lock-up (hint: one is long-term misery, the other is the overnight variety). This is the level of knowledge that often impresses interviewers more than quoting Donoghue v. Stevenson.

In conclusion, when preparing for internships, remember three golden rules: first, understand whether you are joining a law office or a law firm; second, improve your typing skills, because your survival may depend on it; and third, revise your first-year basics, because they matter more than you think. And if all else fails, take heart—every law student survives their first internship. Some even learn something more than how to fetch tea or operate the photocopy machine. With a little preparation, you can be one of them.

NOTE: “BETTER HURT FEELINGS THAN LOST FREEDOMS.”