From Cape Town to Calgary, from Criminal Tribunals to Community Law Centres, Queen’s Law’s Internship Program has allowed its students to work all over the world in countless capacities.

This year’s applications for the summer 2007 Internship Program are due on February 26^th. The Faculty’s Administrative Committee allocates the awards based on the degree to which the internship will add to an applicant student’s skills and knowledge and whether the internship will contribute in a meaningful way to the organization’s work in the public interest. Internship awards are granted to cover reasonable expenses associated with the internship, to a maximum of $5000. Students receiving an award are required to file a short report about their internship, including a summary of the work accomplished and how the internship activities contributed to their skills, knowledge and the work of the agency in the public interest.

The awards are funded through the Torys Public Interest Summer Internship Awards for first-year students, generously contributed by Torys LLP, and the Dean's Excellence Fund internships for second-year students. The Dean’s Excellence Fund is a discretionary fund maintained by alumni donations. The Fund is used to support programs of excellence at Queen’s Law, including the summer internships program.

Queen’s Law student Yashoda Ranganathan interned at the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic in Toronto this past summer. The clinic offers legal assistance to battered women. “As a summer law student at the clinic I was fully immersed in the day-to-day functioning of the clinic while receiving guidance from the clinic’s staff lawyers,” said Yashoda, whose work consisted primarily of conducting legal intake. “This role enabled me to develop critical skills at conducting client interviews. [It] taught me a great deal about the kinds of personal pressures that come to play when dealing with clients in high-stake situations [and] about the personal strength and mental balance required to face that kind of work on a daily basis.”

Queen’s Law student Lulama Kotze interned with the International Criminal Tribunal (the “ICTR”) for Rwanda this past summer. The Tribunal was established by the United Nations to prosecute persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of humanitarian law committed in Rwanda in 1994. “[As a legal intern and case manager] I was actively involved in preparing for trial, including a week long trip to Rwanda with the lawyers on our team to meet and interview witnesses. Once our court session began I was required to attend court at all times while in session, keep notes for the team, and keep records of transcripts, decisions, witness testimonies and exhibits,” said Lulama. “I was extremely lucky to be treated as an equal by most lawyers on my team and they allowed me considerable input in all aspects of the case and of team meetings.”

Students are encouraged to investigate possible internship opportunities as soon as possible as locating and arranging a suitable internship is the applicant’s responsibility. A booklet entitled Summer Internship Opportunitiesis available outside of the Queen’s Law Career Services Office or online at http://law.queensu.ca/students/jdProgram/internshipPrograms.html. The booklet provides information about individual agencies with existing internship programs, information about setting up new opportunities, information about internships in general and ideas about other possible sources of information. Another recommended source of information is a list located outside the Career Services Office which identifies several upper-year students and alumni who have completed summer internships.

Yashoda secured her internship last year after the Paths Less Traveled Conference (a Career Conference hosted annually by the Queen’s Law Students’ Society). Yashoda approached speaker Nilufa Husein, a staff lawyer at the Barbra Schlifer Clinic, at the Conference. “I was inspired by Nilufa’s talk and by the sad story of the Schlifer Clinic [which] was named for a woman who was murdered on the date of her call to the bar. Working at the Clinic demonstrated for me the importance of lawyers who work pro bono or on legal aid certificates, without which, many individuals, deserving of help, would be unaware of the legal recourse available to them.”

Lulama secured her internship by applying to the ICTR’s established internship program online. “I was drawn to the ICTR specifically because I am very interested in Rwanda’s history and post-conflict justice. I had send Romeo Dallaire speak while doing my BA [in International Development] and had been very interested in Rwanda since. I was extremely lucky and blessed to have a magnificent team and subsequently an amazing experience.” For more information, please visit http://law.queensu.ca/students/jdProgram/internshipPrograms.html or contact Deanna Morash, Assistant Dean of Administration and Finance at  deanna.morash@queensu.ca. To apply for a summer internship please contact Leeann Beggs, Director, Career Services at leeann.beggs@queensu.ca