Choosing A Legal Attachment Venue

This entry is dedicated to Tqa, whom have posted me with a question.

She has read my blog entry entitled The Law Attachment Programme and requested to know more about how to apply for an attachment in a law firm. I assume that she is a law student too, but wasn’t sure what university she belongs too, as it was not stated clearly in her blog.

In answering the question, I will focus more on some tips in choosing a venue for doing the attachment, as opposed to the method of applying it. Every law school surely must have briefed that to their law students. Hence, I would kindly suggest anyone whom are going for an attachment programme to refer to their respective faculties, as it would involve some administrative matters and formalities.

I should put a disclaimer though, that this is purely extracted from my own personal experience, and it is meant only for sharing purposes. It might not be applicable now, due to the past procedures, but is hoped to be a guidance and to show an illustration of the programme.

As in IIUM’s case, the Law Attachment Programme (LAP) Unit is in charged to assist the students in matters pertaining their attachment. Usually, the application will be made through the Law Faculty whereby the student will submit their choices of venues, and the faculty will do the rest of the work.

However, there are some exceptional circumstances when the faculty will ask the student to personally contact the respective attachment institutions to facilitate the application process. This normally happens when the first choice venue application was rejected.

Hence, it is important for a student to carefully choose their attachment venues and be realistic on whether they will be selected or not. It is advisable if the student had made a prior effort to contact the institution to inquire whether they accept any attachment students or not. This is important because some places do not accept attachment students.

In determining a place to do an attachment, especially a legal attachment; a student should ask him or her selves what kind of experience that she would like to get out of the attachment. Does he or she wants to pursue a career in the chosen institution?  Or is the attachment is only an avenue for the student to experience a job that he won’t even consider to jump into during practice? All of this is important because it will effect how a student enjoys the experience during the 3 months stint.

Although you are entering a law attachment programme, it is not necessary for the choices to be limited to only legal firms & courts. There are an abundance of choices especially in the legal world that relates to what we learn in law school. You may apply to the police, military, government agencies, companies, non governmental organizations, customs, and a whole lot more. Just make sure the choice will benefit you in the long run.

Other factors that need to be considered is the place of the institution. If it is too far away, there is a big probability that it might burden you financially because you need to travel back and forth every weekday. Do take note that some institution does not pay their attachment students any salary. Hence, you need to fork out your own money for the travelling expenses.

In the end, it is up to you, how you want to make the fullest out of the attachment. Ask yourselves, consult the academic advisor, make some inquiries. Surely, that 3 months would be the best times of your 4 year degree programme.

Cheers!