A total of 32 students from the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Dual Bachelor in Business and Law (BBA/LL.B) and Dual Bachelor in Law and International Relations (LL.B/BIR) participated in the Law Firms’ Shadowing Week organized by IE University and various law firms last month. Participating law firms this year included Uria Menéndez, Herbert Smith Freehills, Baker McKenzie, Pérez Llorca, Cuatrecasas, Garrigues and Linklaters.
Shadowing Week is designed to give students in their second year of the LL.B, or students in their third year of the BBA/LL.B and LL.B/BIR, an insight into working at a top law firm, and it allows them to shadow lawyers for a week. The program was designed with each firm individually, so students assigned to different firms had their own unique schedules and activities.
Students at Pérez Llorca shadowed first-year lawyers in their rotational period, thus giving them the chance to explore different departments and sectors. “In my opinion, the benefit of participating in this program is discovering first-hand what working at the firm is like in the day to day, and getting an insight into various departments and areas. It helps you discover whether being a lawyer is something you would really like to do in the future,” said student Sofia Pérez Ansa. “This is an invaluable experience. What I personally enjoyed the most was dealing with first-class lawyers who took the time to explain cases to us, speak to us about their life at the firm, and resolve our doubts, as many as we had!” added student Millan Toribio.
Students selected to shadow lawyers at Baker McKenzie were lucky enough to see the firm’s newly opened Madrid office, located just a couple streets away from IE University. Victoria de la Calle, who does HR at Baker McKenzie, told us, “From the recruitment perspective, it’s very important for us to give students coming from one of the main universities we collaborate with, the chance to experience what working at Baker McKenzie is like; to be able to understand the day-to-day of a lawyer at a global firm.”
“I was selected for Uria’s London office, where they deal with financial and commercial law. I got the chance to meet all the partners and lawyers working at that office, and was part of all their activities, including calls, conferences, day-to-day work… I also got the chance to review documents and contracts, and was an active member of the team during the week. Although their job is extremely demanding—I watched them stay past midnight on many occasions—I felt that the camaraderie was high; they were all helping each other and were kind and supporting,” said student Teresa Victoria Artaza.
Sofia Pérez concludes, “This week has helped me decide what I really want to do professionally and has encouraged me to work hard to achieve it. I am very thankful for this opportunity.”
IE University plans on continuing with the Shadowing Week for many years to come, and encourages students to apply and make the most of this experience!
