The CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES (CILS) developed, organized, and conducted the first European Law Internship Programs in 1976 and 1977, programs which were subsequently recognized and approved by the American Bar Association as part of an LL.M. curriculum. Internships are now available with International law firms and company legal departments in all regions of the world. Internships are established for periods from three weeks up to two months. Hosts may occasionally offer or require extended internships.

Internship Participants
The following are eligible to participate in the program: (1) law graduates and (2) law students in good standing who have completed at least one third of their professional degree (JD) requirements before the placement commences.

Most participants have been from North America, but many have also come from Europe, Latin America, Oceania, and Asia.  A good law school record (ca. GPA 3.0) and strong academic and/or professional references are expected. US law students and graduates must be from American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law schools. Most participants have at least basic foreign language skills relevant to the host jurisdiction. Admission decisions are based on an overall assessment of our ability to place the applicant and of the applicant's ability to succeed in the placement.

Among law student applicants, preference will be given to those seeking degree credit. Among law graduate applicants, preference will be given to those participating in affiliated certificate and LL.M programs.

Internship Program Goals
The internship program offers the foreign participant an experience similar to that of a young practitioner, legal trainee, or summer associate in the host law firm. Internships pursue both professional and educations goals

Interns should be treated as temporary but full-time participants in the routine activities of the host office. Each intern brings unique skills, educational background, and experience in the legal profession. The host firm should make every effort to fully utilize the knowledge, skills, and experience of the intern. Most successful host-intern experiences occur when the intern is actively involved in dealing with legal problems.  From an intern’s perspective, the professional values of an internship include the gaining of experience and the acquiring of specific skills, the development of professional contacts within the host country, an increased appreciation for other societies and cultures and, for many, the improvement of foreign language skills. The host may benefit from using the intern on matters and files to which he or she can bring special skills, background, and knowledge, to bring international contacts to the firm, to cultivate future professional contacts through the intern after he or she returns to his or her home country, and the use of the intern for in-house briefings and memoranda on topics of foreign law.

Although the intern has a full-time obligation to his or her activity within the office, the host firm should be aware that the intern also is a “student” whose task is to gain knowledge and develop skills in a foreign legal setting. Each host should assist the intern to develop a basic understanding of the structure of the legal profession in the host country, an appreciation of the roles of lawyers in the host jurisdiction’s judicial system, and their functions in the host country. Each host firm should provide the intern an opportunity to visit local courts and other legal institutions and to accompany lawyers when meeting clients or regulators. The intern also should be afforded the opportunity to gain a basic understanding of the nature of work involved in a transnational commercial and business practice and the representation of transnational clients in the host country.

Workload and Assignments
Interns ought to be involved full-time in the firm’s activities during the internship and should be as productive as possible in client matters on the host’s behalf. A new intern should be introduced to the members of the firm and all should be made aware of the program goals and the desire of the intern to take full part in the work of the firm. Assignments can be given to the intern from several directions, assuring a sufficient amount of activity during the intern's stay. An intern will profit not only from substantive independent assignments suitable to the intern's abilities, but also from the opportunity to observe members of the firm at work in client interviewing, conferences, and in court.

Intern Compensation
Internships are NOT paid positions. American Bar Association (ABA) guidelines prohibit compensation for internships that result in credit toward the juris doctorate degree of an ABA accredited law school. Internship hosts who wish to may offer compensation to post-qualification law graduate interns participating in the program as part of an LL.M or certificate curriculum. This may be in the form of a stipend, in-kind assistance (such as lodging and meals), or a combination thereof.

Monitoring and Assessment
All interns must keep a daily journal of their work-related activities. CILS monitors each placement by making confidential inquiries to hosts and to Interns during the placement. About every two weeks, each intern should submit a reflective report assessing his or her work and the successes and the difficulties encountered.

Lodging
An important factor in the success of the internship is that the intern secure suitable accommodation at an early stage. While it remains the ultimate responsibility of the intern to secure his or her accommodation, many hosts provide or arrange a room or flat in advance for their interns. Others simply provide logistical support in locating lodgings. The intern knows of hosts intentions in assisting with securing lodgings, the sooner the intern will be able to devote full attention to the work of the office.

LL.M. Cooperation
CILS  cooperates extensively with »» Suffolk University Law School (SULS) in Boston on, inter alia, faculty exchange and internships. With regard to internships, this cooperation facilitates transferable JD credit in accordance with ABA Guidelines. Internship candidates will be able to apply through SULS, have access to the usual financial aid facilities, and credit the internship to the SULS LL.M programs.

Application Procedure and Policies
1. Law student applicants from the United States - CILS/SULS Intern Applicants - must apply via CILS' institutional partner, Suffolk University Law School in Boston. CILS' cooperation with SULS facilitates transferable JD credit for law student interns from ABA law schools.

2. All other applicants may elect to apply via CILS Internship Application Form or via Suffolk University Law School.

CILS Internship Fees (NOT CILS/SULS Intern Applicants)
A US $100 application fee must accompany each internship application. Admitted applicants are notified of placement within eight weeks of admission. A tuition payment of US $500 is payable prior to notification of placement details. The total fees payable to CILS in the normal course of an internship are thus US $600. These fees include certification of internship for law school credit (non US law schools - see CILS/SULS cooperation above for US law school applicants).