Chris Grech started his journey with Ganado Advocates as an Intern in the summer of 2018 as part of Ganado Advocates' summer internship programme. Now an Advocate within the firm's corporate finance team, Chris walks us through his time as an intern and how it facilitated his transition to an advocate.
From your own experience, how would you describe the internship to others?
The internship is a great introduction to the legal profession, offering a real insight into what the day-to-day life of a lawyer is like. Throughout the internship, you will have the opportunity to put theory into practice, see live client work unfold before you and meet seasoned professionals who are keen to help you develop your skills.
Do you think it contributed to an easier student-lawyer transition and your career progression within the firm?
Most definitely! The shift from student life to working as a lawyer can be quite overwhelming. Having already been exposed to how a top-tier law firm works and being exposed to different streams of client work certainly made it transition much easier to process. Having said that, the transition to professional life was (and still is) quite the learning curve which wouldn't be possible without the constant support that your mentors always provide.
Did it facilitate your transition from a student to a lawyer?
Yes. I believe that the summer internship gave me the strong foundation and mettle required to pursue a career in the legal profession.
Can you recount an important lesson you learnt during your summer internship?
Always check the law yourself, don't rely on what you may have heard or remember reading when you were studying for your exams. The law changes and your memory might not be as sharp as you think (speaking from experience!). Of course, this also applies to other sources which you may be consulting.
If you had to share one piece of advice with law students applying for the 2024 internship programme, what would it be?
Go for it! Being a student offers the opportunity to be able to dip your toes into different legal areas, get to know what's out there and find what you're passionate about. Learning from seasoned professionals in a plethora of different legal areas will help you do just that. Although it can at times seem overwhelming, your mentors have all been through the same process and understand that it may seem daunting. Rest assured that they will guide you, offer their support and show a great deal of patience in helping you kick off your career!
In a few words, walk us through your typical day as an advocate.
One of the many great things about working at Ganado is that no day is the same. Days range from working on client work to research to having client meetings as well as internal training or external lectures.
As a general routine, typically, I spend the first twenty minutes going through my inbox, seeing which emails came in the previous evening and actioning those which are more urgent. I would then go through the list of tasks I would have prepared the previous evening, working on them by nature of priority.
At some point during the day, I try make some time to discuss my work with my mentors. These junctures in the day always provide you with the opportunity to better understand what you're working on, whilst at the same time having your work stress-tested by seasoned professionals.
In the evening I typically take stock of what I would have done throughout the day, record my time and prepare the next day's to-do list.
Interested to learn more about our summer internship programme? Click here
