05 September 2011

My Experience as an Intern at RWY (Michele Tung Hui Qi)


21 DAYS IN THE FIRM

First time doing internship, I was more afraid than excited. With my limited knowledge on legal practice, I began my internship in August right after I finished my first year. On my first day, I was briefed shortly by Mr Wee on his expectations from me. Since this is my first step into the legal working life, I was not really used to the new environment and got quite stressed. Anyhow, it got much better after a week.

I was introduced to the basics first, such as doing clerical work, and of course, learning how to draft letters. Besides that, I had the opportunity to read and do research on some interesting cases in a few areas of law.

I guess what I enjoyed the most in these 21 days would be court trips with Mr Wee and Mr Yip, especially to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. I got to see how lawyers submit their cases and how judges respond. It is definitely very enlightening and intrigues me to see the real world of the legal profession and how justice is upheld.

However, I was not assigned with much work to do mainly due to my limited knowledge as I had merely finished my first year of my LLB course. Hence I was only able to help out a little on litigation files but could do none on conveyance. There was once Mr Wee gave me an insight on how they handle and prepare for their case. Little did I realise that litigation work is far too complex and requires much more skills and greater legal understanding as every document must be analysed in detail and research had to be done thoroughly.

Nonetheless, I was also given a chance to participate in the discussions with clients to see how meetings are being convened.

There were times where I was not paying attention on my work and consequently made careless mistakes. Nevertheless, Mr Wee was very patient with me despite his busy schedule. I lamented for not doing my best.

Interning at RWY made me feel at home. I am truly grateful and that Mr Wee and Mr Yip offered me a chance to intern in RWY.

The experience of being an intern in RWY is definitely eye-opening. It made me think again what I really want to achieve when I become a lawyer. Many things that I would never have thought about at this age of mine, crossed through my mind in these 21 days of exposure. I have realised that there are so much more for me to learn, to be more ambitious and courageous, and improve myself to strive for the better. Looking back, I ponder and search again my enthusiasm and dreams for this profession that was once lost.

21 days of internship may be too short a time for me to gain much in terms of legal experience, but it was definitely enough for me to feel inspired, and start my second year with a new mindset.

BY MICHELE TUNG HUI QI
AUGUST 2011

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