How essential is it during an internship interview to have knowledge about the field of law you want to enter?

More and more law firms are offering placements during the first year of university, so it is tempting to think that you need to get involved in deciding your career choice right from day one. Law students mainly before or in their 3rd year decide which field of law they want to pursue a career in be it litigation, corporate law, arbitration, Intellectual property law, sports law, family law, property law etc. To get an idea as to what field of law interests them, law students do internships and decide if that is the field they want to build a career in.

All the students pursuing law as a career know how much value an internship holds in their CV which eventually is the deciding factor in their recruitment process. Every firm which comes for recruitment looks at the CV of a candidate and mainly at his internships. Not only firms that come for recruitment but when a law student applies for an internship it is an obvious thing that the person interviewing you for the internship will ask questions regarding your internship experiences.

One of the key parts of an internship is getting to experience a specific role or industry so that you can decide whether it’s something you want to pursue after graduation.To get a placement in a good firm that works in their area of interest a law student tries to do more and more internships in firms and organizations dealing in that field of law. It is an obvious thing that in the interview for the internship in that firm the interviewer will ask you questions regarding your field of interest. So how important it really is to know about the field of law you want to enter in?

The answer is that it is highly important for one to have knowledge about the area of law they have chosen as a career path. One should have knowledge about not only the theoretical aspects but also practical aspects in that field. If one wants to build a career in litigation he/she should not only know the pros and cons of litigation or what are the skills required to be a good litigator but also how things work inside a court. If one wants to build a career inhe/she should not only know the pros and cons of being a corporate lawyer but should also have knowledge about the market, corporations and different kinds of businesses. It is the same for every other field of law.

From my internship experiences also, I can say that having knowledge about your field of interest is a must. As soon in my interviews I mention that I have an interest in building a career in sports law the interviewer has his/her questions ready regarding why did I decide to become a sports lawyer, what have I done till now to help my cause in becoming a sports lawyer, have I done any internship in a sports law firm or organisation, have I written research papers on sports law issues, what are the issues in India and in the world regarding sports law and these are questions which require a detailed answer as they attract a lot of follow up questions.

How to be ready for questions that maybe asked during your interview regarding your area of interest:

1. Be updated with what is happening in the field of law you have an interest in.
2. Know the major issues revolving around it and also have an idea about how it can be tackled.
3. Have an idea how you help contribute to that field by entering into it.
4. Should be aware of its scope in the country.
5. Should know how you will be successful at it, i.e., internships that you want to do or courses you will study etc,

Knowledge regarding your field of interest is really important because if the interviewer feels like you have not done in depth research regarding your area of interest or haven’t done anything significant in that area, the probability of you getting selected reduces a lot. It is a fact that the legal sector, is very competitive right now for finding a job and one needs to be really educated with respect to his field of interest. So, if you want to get selected in the firm you have applied to build your CV and boost your career chances then you should have knowledge regarding your area of interest.