Lucy Malek, June -August 2015

I was a summer intern at Mariscal Abogados from June -August 2015. I had previously spent the year studying Spanish Law at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid as part of my Erasmus year abroad, and I decided to extend my summer to gain insight into different practice areas within a Spanish legal setting.

Ultimately, I wanted to further improve my language skills and also gain more legal experience which would help me secure a future legal career as a solicitor.

One of the strengths of the firm is that it is ambitious and has high-quality work but also has a genuine and friendly atmosphere. I was also impressed with the range of international clients that the firm deals with and the fact that all the lawyers speak a wide range of languages. This made the range of work very interesting and was an enriching experience.

The work I was given was varied and this gave me a better understanding of different aspects of Spanish law in an international law firm. I was able to apply my previous knowledge from my legal studies in Spain to specific cases at Mariscal Abogados. The firm truly has an open-door policy and I was always able to ask questions freely, the lawyers are always on hand to offer advice and help when you need it.  The opportunity to complete tasks independently also encouraged me to use my initiative whilst improving my ability to complete tasks efficiently in the Spanish language. I felt that I was exposed to high-quality work from an early stage which allowed me to gain a real insight and understanding into the day-to-day tasks of legal professionals at such a reputable firm.

Overall, this internship opportunity aided me in learning about international jurisdictions along with improving my adaptability and communication skills. This experience has confirmed for me that I would like to incorporate my enhanced linguistic ability and varied legal knowledge into a successful future legal career at an international law firm.

Lucy Malek
University of Exeter, England