Day 1...

The main thing to take away from an internship is the learning experience.

My advice to do this is - ask lots of questions and write it all down when you get home so you can refer to it at a later date before an interview.

Today was the first day of my two week internship at a criminal law specialists firm.

9:00 am - introductions. Remember the importance of first impressions!
9:30 am - straight over to the magistrates court, where we watched a couple of consultations in the cells and duty solicitors. This was great for watching different techniques and styles.
11:00 am - listened to a couple of hearings in court. A good opportunity to get to grips with the processes and style of court. It seemed that the etiquette of the court often depended on who was present at the time.
1:15 pm - lunch. Make sure you take every opportunity to get to know your colleagues as they are the ones who can put you in the right direction.
2:15 pm - court opens again.
4:00 pm - read through some open cases back at the firm, enabling us to pick up the proceedings and structure of carrying out cases within a firm.
5:00 pm - home. Make sure you don't just pick up and leave, wait about to say bye and thank you to the people you have worked with.

The first day has been great! It was insightful to watch the consultations within the cells and it's surroundings. Being able to witness these interviews highlighted certain techniques and styles which vary between solicitors. The processes within court was relatively easy to pick up and enabled me to understand what may affect the level of a case.

It seemed there is often overlapping of areas in law, as today I witnessed family, criminal, EU and even contract law. I found it really thought provoking how circumstances of witnesses and offenders can change a case entirely.

Everybody so far has been extremely friendly and co-operative, all very willing to share their experiences.

When speaking to the firm they emphasised that they look for enthusiasm and willingness to work hard, which I certainly have!

Later this week I will be attending some hearings at the crown court and even getting a bit of experience about the local police station, to try and learn as much as possible.

I have asked questions for anything I am unsure of and have recorded everything, particularly some of the cases so that I can learn from it and have the cases to refer to later on when I attend interviews.

So far, I have really got a feel for this and seem to be enjoying criminal law much more than family, which I wasn't necessarily expecting!

1 day down 9 to go!