Isla Markham, September – December 2016

I was an intern with Mariscal & Abogados from September 2016 to December 2016 of my year abroad as part of my Modern Languages degree. I was interested in pursuing an internship with the firm as a way of developing my Spanish language ability in a formal and professional environment, and with the interest of doing a law conversion after I graduate from Modern Languages, this opportunity seemed to be the perfect solution to gain an insight into the legal world while working predominately in Spanish.

My work with the law firm largely entailed the translation of legal articles from Spanish into English, from the laws regarding overtime hours of workers and the legal requirements and benefits of a Spanish patent box, to the use and regulations of Drones.

I was also given the opportunity to research and self write a legal article of my choice, and I choose to investigate the use of renewable energies in Spain. My article discussed the fact that although the new ‘sun tax’ law was reaping negative effects on the solar renewable sector in Spain,  the widely predominant wind power industry was reversing these effects and proving Spain is still worthy of investment in the renewable energy sector.

Overall, I feel that my Spanish language ability has significantly improved from my short time working with the firm, especially with regards to translations and vocabulary knowledge.

Isla Markham
University of Nottingham