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From clerkships to clinical assistantships to working as summer associates at firms, summer legal work helps students gain practical skills and experiences that benefit them during law school and beyond. This is the second profile in our 2013 series featuring the summer job experiences of UW Law students.

Clare CarlsonIga Fikayo Keme ’14
Legal Intern, Dej Udom & Associates, Bangkok, Thailand

Describe your summer work experience.
This summer I obtained a legal internship through the East Asian Legal Studies Center. I worked at Dej Udom & Associates in Bangkok, where I performed extensive research dealing with civil and common law issues, drafted legal memos, reviewed and revised board of director and shareholder minutes, and assisted in the formation of transnational business contracts.

What surprised you about your work in Bangkok?
While all of my classes concentrated on the United States' common law system, Dej Udom & Associates follows the Thai civil law system, so I was nervous to work there initially. Through my projects, I was surprised to learn that most of the basic concepts we studied in my common law classes are the same basic concepts in Thai civil law. Also, I was surprised by how personable and hands-on the partners were with me. All of the partners assigned me projects directly and provided me with constant face-to-face constructive feedback. I appreciated that they made it a top priority to teach me how to be a better attorney.

What classes have been particularly useful in preparing you for the work you are doing this summer?
The work I did focused heavily on international business law. Therefore, the classes that I found most helpful were Contracts, Business Organizations I, International Commercial Arbitration, and Legal Research and Writing.

How do you think this work experience will shape the rest of your time at UW Law School?
The experience helped me confirm my interest in studying corporate law. I plan to take Business Organizations II, Fundamentals of Business Transactions, International Business Transactions and Advanced Legal Writing Contract Drafting. My internship also provided me with the ability to learn by doing. Most students are able to internalize new concepts by just reading about them. I, on the other hand, need to physically practice the things that I have learned. My internship provided me the opportunity to practice what I have learned and understand the true meaning of “law in action.”

Submitted by Law School News on May 13, 2015

This article appears in the categories: Articles, Summer Job Series

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