How does the multilateral trading system work? How does the World Trade Organization (WTO) regulate and foster competition? How are free trade agreements negotiated? These are all things Valeska Rebello, Law’23, learned at the e-Castle last spring and then became immersed in during her summer internship with the Competition Bureau of Canada’s International Affairs Directorate (IAD). 

“A lot of what I learned in the international economic law course was directly applicable to the work I did as part of my internship,” says Rebello, who completed the International Business Law program. “That course gave me an incredibly helpful foundation as I helped support a lot of the trade work that the IAD conducted.”  

Working closely with such international organizations as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Competition Network (ICN), the IAD supports enforcement cooperation by building relationships with other competition agencies and promoting the convergence of competition law and policy.  

One of Rebello’s main projects was to draft text proposals for the competition chapter in several new free trade agreements. “I was tasked with drafting several variations of a competition provision and these text proposals would vary by country based on a particular dimension of competition law,” she explains. “To do that work, I researched Canada’s existing free-trade agreements and competition policies, and other countries and their approach to that dimension of competition law. This project was a highlight of my internship.” 

She also translated the text in legal bulletins into easy-to-understand language, researched competition policies and frameworks in other jurisdictions, and supported the negotiation of some cooperation instruments.  

Most of her tasks had an international dimension as she supported the Competition Bureau’s work with the OECD, the ICN, the G7, and other international organizations. “Another highlight for me was sitting in on meetings with the Bureau’s counterparts in other jurisdictions,” she says. “I gained first-hand insight into how international cooperation takes place.” 

For Rebello, who applied to the IAD for the opportunity to combine her interest in international law with her undergraduate degree in international business, the internship sharpened her legal research skills. “I ended up researching the competition laws of quite a few jurisdictions and learned how to compare these laws to Canadian competition laws,” she says. “This has been helpful for the international trade law course and the International Trade Law Practicum I’m taking this semester.”  

In addition to legal writing, she also learned another valuable writing skill. “Getting trained in plain-language writing and being able to revise documents for plain language made me realize the value of making your writing accessible to a wider audience,” she says. “This is important when the government is communicating with the general public, and it is definitely a skill that will help me in my career when advising clients.” 

Being able to attend presentations by the different directorates at the Competition Bureau exposed her to the variety of careers in competition law. “Learning about the Bureau's work and how they engage with external counsel opened my eyes to a lot of different career paths in competition law, whether it be in the government or at a law firm,” she says. “Competition law has now become an area of interest of mine, and I hope to complete a rotation in competition law at the firm I will be working for this summer.” 

Calling her internship one of the best things she got out of the e-Castle program and a highlight of her law school experience so far, Rebello adds, “Everyone I worked with at the Bureau was committed to my professional development and helped me to broaden my experience by including me on diverse projects.” When her internship ended in late August, the Bureau asked her stay on part-time this school year and she quickly accepted that offer. 

“Internships are a great way to learn more about an area of law that is of interest to you, and non-traditional career paths,” she tells her peers. “I learned so many hard and soft skills and I'm so grateful for the experience.

“If you have the opportunity to do an internship, I recommend that you ask questions about how the work you’re doing fits into the broader goals of the organization, ask to be included on files you find interesting, and ask the people you work with about what they do,” Rebello advises. “This is a great way to learn more about potential careers.”