How I Begged My Way Into My First Legal Internship

At the beginning of my second year of law school, many of my classmates already got their first internship at big law firms or banks, but I couldn’t find any.

I remember I got my first-ever internship by cold-emailing a local law firm I found on the internet. I was invited for an informal interview. The partner liked my passion, and he decided to hire me as a part-time legal intern.

Having no connection in the legal industry SUCKS

I remember in the summer of 2014 when many of my classmates started securing multiple internships in Hong Kong thanks to their connections, I was really struggling to get even one.

Quite honestly, my grades weren’t the best. I had no experience. I didn’t come from the best law school. I am not sure how many of you can relate to this, but the first work experience is probably the hardest to get.

Then I went to my best friend — Google — for help. I literally searched for any law firm that has a website and sent my CV and cover letter to each and every one of them. Most firms didn’t even bother replying me.

My first-ever legal internship

In my second year of law school, I got my first-ever interview with a local law firm after submitting dozens of unsuccessful job applications. Looking at my not-so-impressive CV at the time, I had no confidence that I could get the role.

During the interview, I remember the partner looked at my CV and said something like:

“so you are studying law at [x] University. You know, we don’t normally hire from that university…”

I remember I froze for a second and responded:

“I may not be the best candidate now based on my credentials. But I will work as hard as I possibly can to be the top of my class. But before that, I really need this one chance to learn!”

Eventually, he hired me as a part-time legal intern — that was one of the happiest moments in my law school journey.

You may not have the best credentials, but be passionate about every opportunity that comes your way and keep trying. This is when the magic may happen.

That’s how I got my first legal internship.

That one opportunity may open many new doors for you

Because of this experience, it became easier for me to get my second, third, fourth etc. internships:

• I came across a post on LinkedIn regarding an opportunity to work as a law reporter for a blog managed by a Singaporean lawyer. I researched that lawyer’s background and practice area. I then reached out to him with a tailor-made message. He gave me a chance despite the fact that I was based in Hong Kong.

• I secured an editorial internship at a legal publisher by first messaging the talent acquisition manager of the company on LinkedIn, having a chat with him over phone and later an interview over coffee with two other senior editors.

One lesson I’ve learned — no one is going to gift you an opportunity until you start to put yourself out there and tell people about the things you could offer them.

Remember, there will be many moments in your life when you want to quit, but only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.

It’s always too early to quit.