The Hurley Stanners & Matsko Mentored Internship Program is one of the few programs in the country where law students and young lawyers work closely with our attorneys to learn about the real practice of law. Interns conduct research on a number of business, entertainment and real estate issues and then learn how the research is used to develop a client’s position for a contract, to resolve a dispute or to handle an operational issue facing the client. The program is unique in that it is not based solely on performance of client billable work. Therefore, a student may read the Business Corporation Act, review a Lease, Purchase Agreement or Distributorship Agreement and discuss them with a Partner just to be able to learn about this area of law. They may also sit in on a new client meeting to learn about how to talk to clients, distill the client’s concerns into legal issues and then will work on matters related to that client to understand the process of client representation. They also regularly listen to conference calls for cases they are working on to learn negotiation tactics and client interaction. Organizational tools are a big topic and interns learn to chart transactions, create due diligence charts and learn other practical organizational tools. Weekly lunches with the firm’s Partner are the place for talking about client development, billing practices and client expectations. The business of law is focused on with day to day examples. This internship also looks at each intern’s strengths and weaknesses and then develops methods for correcting weaknesses and problems. Learning legal analysis and watching a client problem from the first letter or call to its resolution allows the intern to learn about the process of lawyering and not just gain research experience.
During the school year, most students work 3 days per week for a total of 20+ hours per week for a 4 month period. Summer interns work 5 days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Recent interns have come from Chicago, Indiana and German law schools. If you would like to be considered for an internship, please provide a cover letter, a resume, transcript, and a writing sample to Joanne F. Hurley by mail.