In my third year as solo practitioner I've just signed on my first summer intern, a first-year law student at George Washington University who says she loves organizing things -- just what I need! She will be working at least 20 hours a week and I think it will be a mutually beneficial relationship. In addition to helping me out in the office, I think she will be able to accompany me to some meetings and learn about collaborative family practice in DC.
This month I'll also be attending the graduation of my niece from Emory University Law School. She has graciously invited me to "hood" her during the ceremony for her J.D. degree. Relatives with the same degree can come to the podium and drape the hood over the graduate's academic gown, so it is a great way to involve the family and personalize the ceremony. My niece had a very successful internship with a major New York firm last summer and will be joining them after graduation to pursue her ambition of becoming a corporate lawyer like her grandfather, my late father.
Internships are a particularly appropriate way for students to learn about the practice of law. You can learn about the law in the classroom, but practicing law also involves dealing with clients and running a business. It's a useful form of apprenticeship and I look forward to this new type of collaboration with my first summer intern.
