Daniel Boden, September 2018 – January 2019

I spent four valuable months working at Mariscal Abogados in Madrid as part of my year abroad from the University of Nottingham where I study Hispanic Studies. I am very interested in pursuing a career in commercial law and, as such, wanted to spend time working in an international law firm – Mariscal Abogados seemed like the perfect choice!

A major benefit of this internship programme is its small intake of interns. This translates to a large amount of early responsibility, in addition to allowing you to work closely with the firm’s lawyers at all levels of seniority. I found this incredibly valuable; it allowed me to quickly settle in and find my feet, despite this having been both my first time living abroad. Moreover, the firm’s genuine open-door policy meant that I was able to learn a lot from the experiences of the firm’s partners which was very useful as I embark on my own legal career.

The firm is also very keen to accommodate your individual preferences. I, for instance, worked most closely with the Corporate department as this is the area of law I am most interested in, but was also able to complete tasks in other areas of law, assisting teams including Employment and Real Estate. Following on from previous work experience schemes I had done at international law firms in the UK, it was exciting to undertake work for international clients and become familiar with their operations and individual cases. Moreover, the opportunity to translate contracts and various articles which were then published onto the firm’s website was also very useful, and allowed me to significantly improve my translation skills.

If you are considering a career in law and are looking for relevant experience in an international firm, I could not recommend Mariscal Abogados enough. Everyone at the firm is friendly, approachable and more than happy to answer any questions you may have. You also receive regular feedback on your work and so can really see how you are progressing during your time at the firm. As a result, my Spanish ability improved significantly and I absolutely loved my time there!

Daniel Boden
University of Nottingham