Your internships are the backbone of your law resume. For recruiters, they offer a window into your real-world experience, work ethic, and exposure to the legal system. Whether you’ve interned at a law firm, NGO, or court, the way you present these experiences can determine whether your resume lands in the shortlisted pile or gets ignored.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to write a powerful internship section in your law resume that captures attention and reflects your growth as a budding lawyer.
Why Does the Internship Section Matter in a Law Resume?
Before diving into how to write, it’s crucial to understand why the internship section holds such weight. Unlike other academic fields, legal education in India focuses heavily on practical learning. Your internships showcase your ability to apply theoretical concepts to real legal work.
Recruiters (especially law firms, advocates, and in-house legal departments) evaluate:
- The diversity of your internships (courts, corporate firms, NGOs, research organisations).
- The skills you gained during each role.
- The progression of your experiences over time.
- How well your internships align with your career interests—litigation, corporate law, IPR, or criminal law.
If presented strategically, your internship section tells a clear story: how you’ve evolved from a first-year observer to a confident legal intern ready for professional challenges.
How Should You Structure the Internship Section?
Clarity and structure are key to making your internship section stand out. Recruiters usually spend less than 30 seconds scanning a resume, so you must make information easily digestible.
Recommended Format
Follow a reverse-chronological order (latest internship first). For each internship, include:
- Organisation Name – e.g., Khaitan & Co., Mumbai
- Designation/Role – e.g., Legal Intern
- Duration – e.g., June 2024 – July 2024
- Location – optional, if not already mentioned in the organisation’s name
- Key Responsibilities and Achievements
Example Format:
Legal Intern, AZB & Partners, New Delhi
May 2024 – July 2024
- Drafted commercial contracts and assisted with legal research on corporate compliance.
- Supported due diligence review for a merger transaction.
- Attended client meetings and prepared case summaries for partner review.
This clear structure not only looks professional but also helps recruiters quickly grasp the scope of your experience.
What Should You Include in Each Internship Description?
When describing each internship, focus on skills, responsibilities, and outcomes rather than just listing tasks. Avoid generic phrases like “assisted in research” and instead specify what kind of research or what legal issues you worked on.
Include These Key Elements
- Nature of Work
- Specify whether it was litigation, corporate, IPR, criminal, or constitutional law.
- Example: “Drafted replies for consumer disputes before the State Commission.”
- Skills Acquired
- Mention practical legal skills—drafting, research, client interaction, case management, legal writing, etc.
- Example: “Developed skills in drafting affidavits and analysing contractual clauses.”
- Legal Exposure
- State the court, forum, or department where you worked.
- Example: “Observed proceedings at the Delhi High Court and assisted in preparing case briefs.”
- Outcome/Impact
- Highlight measurable contributions.
- Example: “Prepared a due diligence checklist that was later adopted by the team.”
Keep Descriptions Concise but Impactful
Use 2–3 bullet points per internship. Each should start with a strong action verb like:
Drafted, Researched, Assisted, Analysed, Prepared, Coordinated, Reviewed, Presented, Observed.
This shows initiative and ownership of your work.
How Many Internships Should You List on Your Resume?
If you’re a law student in India, you’ve probably done multiple internships during your five-year or three-year course. However, it’s not necessary to list all of them.
Focus on quality over quantity.
Tips for Selecting the Right Internships
- Highlight relevance – Prioritise internships that align with your desired career path (corporate, litigation, policy, etc.).
- Show progression – Include at least one internship from your early years and one from your final years to show growth.
- Limit to 4–6 entries – Anything more may clutter the section.
- Avoid one-day or two-day internships – Unless they were prestigious or added significant value.
If you have done more internships, you can summarise them under one heading like “Other Internships” and simply mention names and dates.
How to Showcase Research Internships or Remote Work?
Many law students today work remotely with organisations like think tanks, policy centres, or law journals. These are equally valuable and must be represented thoughtfully.
Presenting Research Internships
Example:
Research Intern, Centre for Internet and Society (Remote)
February 2024 – March 2024
- Researched data privacy frameworks in India and EU.
- Contributed to a policy brief published on the centre’s website.
Highlight publication credits or collaborative research work—these add immense credibility.
Should You Include Short-Term Internships?
If your short-term internships (one or two weeks) were with reputed lawyers, judges, or firms, include them but present them concisely.
Example:
Chambers of Justice XYZ, Supreme Court of India
January 2024 (1-week internship)
Observed proceedings and assisted in drafting case notes on constitutional matters.
Such mentions reflect initiative and diverse exposure, especially when combined with longer internships.
How Can You Tailor the Internship Section for Different Job Roles?
Different recruiters value different aspects of your internship experience. Tailoring is essential when applying for:
Corporate Law Firms
- Emphasise drafting, contract analysis, compliance, and due diligence experience.
- Mention work with commercial laws, mergers, or corporate governance.
Litigation Roles
- Focus on court exposure, client meetings, and drafting pleadings or briefs.
- Include cases you assisted in or specific courts you appeared in.
Policy or Research Organisations
Highlight analytical work, research writing, and publications.
Customising the internship section according to the job enhances your chances of being shortlisted.
How to Quantify Your Internship Experience?
Numbers make your contributions tangible. Whenever possible, use data or outcomes to back your claims.
Examples:
- “Drafted 10+ contracts during internship at XYZ Law Firm.”
- “Assisted in preparing 5 case briefs for High Court matters.”
- “Researched precedents for 3 major arbitration cases.”
Even small quantifications show the recruiter that you were actively involved.
What Are Common Mistakes Law Students Make in the Internship Section?
Avoiding mistakes can instantly make your resume look more polished and professional.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Listing every internship without filtering relevance.
- Writing long paragraphs instead of concise bullet points.
- Using vague words like “worked on” without context.
- Ignoring achievements or measurable contributions.
- Repeating similar tasks across multiple internships.
- Not updating the section as you gain new experiences.
Remember, the goal is to show progression, diversity, and professionalism—not just completion of internships.
How to Write the Internship Section If You Have Limited Experience?
If you’re a first or second-year student with only one or two internships, don’t worry. Focus on depth instead of breadth.
Here’s What You Can Do
- Describe your learning outcomes—what you understood about legal practice.
- Mention observations—how courts function or how drafting is done.
- Add college projects, moot courts, or legal research papers to support your profile.
Employers appreciate honesty and curiosity more than inflated experience.
Should You Mention Supervisors or Mentors?
If you worked under a senior advocate, judge, or professor, mention their name only if it adds credibility and you have consent.
Example:
Interned under Justice ABC (Retd.), Delhi High Court.
However, avoid overusing names or adding them without context. It should look respectful and factual, not boastful.
How to Format the Internship Section Professionally?
Presentation plays a vital role in readability. Even a strong internship section can lose impact if the formatting is cluttered.
Follow These Guidelines
- Maintain consistent font and spacing.
- Use bold for organisation names and italics for duration.
- Align dates neatly on the right side of the page.
- Keep bullet points short—no more than two lines each.
A clean, structured layout reflects attention to detail—one of the most valued traits in a lawyer.
Final Checklist Before Sending Out Your Resume
Before submitting your law resume, review your internship section using this quick checklist:
✅ Have you listed your internships in reverse order?
✅ Are your bullet points skill-focused and specific?
✅ Did you quantify contributions wherever possible?
✅ Is the section concise yet complete?
✅ Have you tailored it to the job or internship you’re applying for?
Key Takeaways
Your internship section is your legal journey in action. It reflects your growth, initiative, and understanding of law beyond textbooks. By focusing on structure, clarity, and skill representation, you can transform a basic resume into a compelling career snapshot.
And remember, a well-written internship section is only one part of an impressive law resume. To make your overall profile stand out, ensure your CV layout, achievements, and LinkedIn presence align with your goals.
You can check out the course on CV and LinkedIn Profile on LawMento to learn how to present your achievements professionally and make your resume truly stand out. Use Code “SAVE10” for exclusive discounts.
