by Tanuj Kalia.Internships are often one of the greatest learning experiences in a law student’s life. However, finding the right internship after the first year itself can be difficult due to the sheer number of options. Tanuj Kalia (founder & CEO of Lawctopus) lists the 15 best places to intern at in your first year of law school..A first year law student, as the convention suggests, should intern at an NGO or a research organization which has at least some dealing with law. An ideal choice for a second internship in your first year will be to explore something besides law which still adds to your skill set..For example an internship at a newspaper will polish your writing skills while an internship at an event management company will help you with your communication skills..Based on the internship experiences shared on Lawctopus, here the 15 best places to intern at for a first year law student:.1.Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) (Read Internship review here).a) HRLN, Delhi : A popular, trusted choice run by a renowned human rights lawyer Mr. Colin Gonsalves, HRLN is a go-to organization for any first year law student. HRLN deals with core legal and human rights work which makes it an ideal choice for an NGO internship. For those who love writing, HRLN’s sister magazine Combat Law gives you a good opportunity to get a publication or two under your belt..Regular opportunities called “Friday Meetings” which are done to facilitate interaction between a friendly Mr. Gonsalves and the interns are something to look forward to as well..The only turn-off is that HRLN does not pay any stipend to its interns. Interning during summers at the Delhi office will inevitably translate into a chance to make friends with law student internees across the country. A flip-side is that this could also mean less work per intern..b) HRLN, Mumbai: (Also called the Indian Center for Human Rights and Law, ICHRL). According to this internship experience, an HRLN Mumbai’ internship comes with two caveats: first is that the office location is a bit unsafe for girls and second that you must apply to the legal unit of the organization because the other units might not have interesting work for a law student..More information on HRLN’s internship application process is here.2. PILSARC, New Delhi (Read internship review here) : Run by Mr. Rajeev Dhavan, a prominent lawyer at the Supreme Court, PILSARC stands for Public Interest Legal Support and Research Center. Work hard and live upto Mr. Dhavan’s expectations to enjoy your stint here..3. National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), New Delhi (Read internship review here) : A largely research based internship with an opportunity to work at NHRC’s multiple divisions namely: the Training Division, the Facilitation Center, the Law Division and the Investigation Division..Do not mistake it for a typical, bureaucracy-ridden government office as the people at NHRC are young, sharp and happy to help out an intern. An NHRC’s internship certificate will also do your CV a world of good..Note: A differently structured internship is offered to 4th and 5th year law students..4. People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Jaipur: (Read internship review here) An internship for those with a stomach for field work and meeting deadlines. Work is varied, from filing RTIs and making reports to sitting for dharnas..Note: The PUCL, Delhi internship experience is not rated as highly as the Jaipur office..5. Lawyers Collective, Mumbai: (Read internship review here) A famous legal NGO run by an equally famous lawyer in Ms. Indira Jaisingh, Lawyer’s Collective has a work environment and office infrastructure similar to that in a law firm..A law student will most likely be placed under Lawyers Collective’s Women Right’s Initiative and deal largely with cases on the Domestic Violence Act..6. Alternative Law Forum(ALF), Bangalore: (Read internship review here and here) An internship at ALF, Bangalore will mean dealing with a variety of laws: labour laws, IP laws, human rights law, constitutional law etc..The team boasts of stalwarts like Arvind Narrain (a renowned scholar and activist on sexuality related issues) and Lawrence Liang (a champion of the open source movement). ALF also hosts workshops, talks and conferences regularly which are a big plus for any law student. So, being a sponge and soaking the goodness which comes your way will augur well for you..ALF does not take first year undergraduate interns. So you must send in your application for a summer internship after you’ve completed your first year in law school. (This will require more convincing on the phone)..More details on ALF’s internship process are here..7. Center for Disability Studies, NALSAR University of Law: (Read internship review here) Headed by a widely respected academician Ms. Amita Dhanda, the CDR at NALSAR will make for a focused (disability law is all you will work on) research internship at a prestigious institution which will surely look good on a CV too..Interns are allowed to work on topics of their choice but if you are averse to a desk job with lots of online research, you need to give this option a re-think..More information on this internship is here..8. Center for Science and Environment, Delhi (Read internship review here) : A prominent organization in the field of Climate change, CSE is headed by a proactive environmentalist, Ms. Sunita Narain. Work for a law student would largely be related to laws related to energy, climate and related areas..CSE also publishes an equally popular magazine called ‘Down to Earth’ which affords you a good chance of getting a publication. The office is full of a ‘knowledgeable and inquisitive’ staff’‘ and has a well stocked library to go with it..Journalism Internships.9. The Hindu: (Read internship review here) With the huge incentive of seeing your name in print in one of the most respected dailies in India comes a slight disadvantage of having to travel a lot..Not everything you’ll write will have a legal angle, so the onus is on you to suggest something on those lines and work it out with your editor..The Hindu, it need not be said, has a highly professional work setting with lots to work upon..10. Bar and Bench (Read internship review here) : Bar and Bench is where you are (knock. knock) and is undoubtedly a trend-setter in the field of online legal journalism. According to the internship experience shared above, an internship at Bar and Bench is professional, yet friendly (regular lunches with the editors are a given) and will involve lots of reading, be it law blogs or publications by the Bar Council of India..Reading, and reading well is of course a first knack you’d spot in anyone successful in the legal field and one will do well for if he/she develops this in his/her first year of law school..Bar and Bench is updated frequently which ensures constant flow of work for the interns..(Editors Note: Due to a policy change, first year students are no longer eligible for our internship program. Students from other years are free to apply. Internships are available for Mumbai as well).11. Legally India (Read internship review here): Legally India had developed into a powerful, proactive and popular website for lawyers. Interns are selected based on a rolling blogging competition. Bloggers who are keen to intern at Legally India have to tag their posts with the word ‘talented’..Writing news stories will be your primary responsibility so your writing skills should be top notch. You can also be expected to work on commercial projects that Legally India as an internet start-up undertakes..Interns can look forward towards working with the ex-Oxford, ex-Magic Circle lawyer turned journalist Kian Ganz and also get a high bracket stipend of rupees 10,000/month stipend..Law and Management.12. Akosha (Read internship review here): Akosha is a start-up run by an NLSIU graduate Ankur Singla..Initially styled as India’s answer to LegalZoom (online legal document services), Akosha has now evolved to become an online platform to resolve consumer disputes against brands..Those interested in to work with a medley of issues related to law, management, online start-ups, consumer disputes and social media will relish this internship. An intern may also be involved in assisting the organization in writing pertinent articles for their website on consumer related issues..Akosha pays its interns a stipend of Rs. 3,000 per month. More information available here .13. Rainmaker (Read internship review here): For those interested in understanding the important ancillary requirements of the legal industry i.e education, recruitments, research solutions etc., Rainmaker will be the organization to intern at..An intern can expect to work with an excellent (and growing) team of lawyers, recruitment professionals and legal writers. The remuneration for the interns too is right up there with the law firms..You will also gain insider insights into the recruitment requirements and hiring behaviour of law firms which will surely help you further plan your career and internships..14. Legal League Consulting (LLC), Delhi (Read internship review here) : Founded by Bithika Anand, a chartered accountant who has formerly been the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Amarchand Mangaldas, LLC is an organization providing management solutions to the legal industry..At LLC an intern will interact with people from various domains: media, management, HR and of course law. Tasks are varied and will involve working on issues like online solutions for law firms, knowledge management, law firm partnership structures, salary structures and similar HR issues etc. So, extensive learning takes place..If you are entrepreneurial and creative, you might be roped in to help in conceptualizing and designing new products and services. Stipend is healthy and is based on performance. LLC is a growing organization under an experienced name and should make for a very good off-beat internship..(Editors note: You can read our interview of Bithika Anand here).15. Copyright Integrity International (CII), Bangalore (Read internship review here): If you want to get an early peek into copyright laws, operation of broadcasting rights, sports law, DMCA notices and alike this is the place for you..The work can get ‘very technical and boring’ sometimes as an intern is expected to stay glued to the computer screen and hunt for websites streaming sports matches illegally. However, if you request your colleagues you will surely get some legal research work coming your way..CII has a very friendly work environment and a schedule which mirrors the timings of the matches being played (so intern during a cricketing season). The internship comes with a stipend of around rupees 4000-5000 per month..Tanuj Kalia is a 4th year law student at NUJS, Kolkata. He is also the founder and CEO of Lawctopus (www.lawctopus.com), a popular website for law students in India. You can reach him at tanuj@lawctopus.com
