Dear all,

As today the e-mail was sent to notify to choose the internship placements, we need help to make the right decision. What may the current students recommend? Do we go for law firms (actually without knowing German, we almost have to do that) or banks? What are the pros and cons for each?

Thanx in advance...

I appreciate addressing btrs request as i have the same query...
to the Current Students: as you have provided fruitful advice from the very beginning of application process, could you pls be so kind to do so?

with many thanks...

Ehxxan

Appreciate any sort of advice in this respect!

Hi all,

I am a current student. I did my internship at an American law firm and was not required to speak German.

As I do not have any first hand experience on bank internships, I cant really evaluate the differences.

As to law firms, I would say that it is possible to do the internships without any knowledge of German.

Feel free to send me a personal message, if you want to have further information on particular law firms.

MW

You should think on your skills and future interests before deciding where to go.

It is perfectly possible to deal only with English on Law Firms. Most of them have entire departments that deal mostly with English Language. I had myself an experience with projects that had to do with more than 10 different jurisdictions.

As for Banks, it might be also possible to deal with English if you are in the Investment Bank or a Corporate Transaction department. But, if you go for a regular bank, dealing with regular day-to-day transactions, it might be useful to know some German.

Finally, in Consultancy companies it is entirely possible to work in english, get better money and also good proposals in the end.

Thats all...

Cheers

Hi Mr Lawyer,

Thank you very much for very valuable inside information from the very beginning. I must confess that you have shed great light on my path to ILF with your precious posts about ILF in this site...

Would you mind telling much more about the internships? All the places are great, sure, but what are the details for each group? Which one may give us more in relation to work experience? For job prospects, are the banks or law firms better? What about the money, do they really pay for the internship?

Does the internship period really mean a lot? I am asking this because, here in the bank I work for, there are also some interns coming from Asian countries and unfortunately they can not get the benefit they need to get. Do the internship banks or law firms really try to train you as much as they can?

Please, detailed information, we all need that...

Thank you very much in advance...

Hey Mate,

It is really complicated to precisely affirm what are the particularities of each ever group and employer.

Also, it might be complicated for you to focus on a speficic place, since they will somehow choose you. You will just decide where to spread your CV.

So, if I were you I would make a good research on the list provided to assess the places where you can give a specialized contribution. A good idea is to find places that often deal with your legislation and give them specialized consultancy. It might open you some doors in terms of placement.

You will certainly benefit from all places! In some a bit more in others a bit less. So, go for some place in where you can deal with new stuff and learn with it. If you wanna a placement, go for an area in which you can make the difference.

Most of the places pay you something! From 500 - 1.500. You really benefit from this period. But there were cases that students didn't like it. In reality, the absolute minority... It can happen though. It is really difficult to expect an approval of 100%.

Hope it helps

ML

To any students currently at the ILF:

Has there been any instance where the law firms have taken students who come from an economics background as opposed to a legal one? Or is an undergraduate law degree absolutely necessary to intern in law?

Thanks-

Good Question Mate!

I would say that they will give priority for Law grads, for obvious reasons. However, they often need some specialized advice on accounting, for example. So, you might have a chance...

Still, i think you should focus PwC, KPMG, Banks, where you can see a bit of both worlds.

Rafael

Do you believe this global financial crisis will afect the ILF program, and the job prospects afterwards.

Do you think, it is still worth it to apply for the 2009/2010 program? considering that major changes are foreseen in the financial systems, namely pertaining to regulation.

Share your thoughts.

Do you believe this global financial crisis will afect the ILF program, and the job prospects afterwards.

Do you think, it is still worth it to apply for the 2009/2010 program? considering that major changes are foreseen in the financial systems, namely pertaining to regulation.

Share your thoughts.