MHC Intern Life: Isabel O'Connell

For the next MHC Intern Life in our new series, we talked to Isabel O'Connell. Isabel is going into her final year at Trinity College Dublin studying law and political science and is an intern in our June intake. We asked her to describe her second week as an intern here.

Our second week of the Mason Hayes & Curran internship programme was mostly centred around getting to know our department better and getting stuck into interesting legal and research work.

Being in the Corporate Department, my work is really varied, and I spent Monday researching and drafting memos on everything from venture capital trusts to government share option schemes. Throughout the week I was also lucky enough to sit in on some client meetings, which was great to see in-person after COVID-19.

Everyone I met was lovely, and they were willing to give me context about the transaction, and what advice the firm was planning on giving. This meant that I could meaningfully engage with the meeting, and actually feel like I had learned something.

Our first day of week 2 we were introduced to the Knowledge Team at the firm and given the task of producing a case note based on our specific departments. The great thing about this internship is the alternation between departmental work and wider internship tasks - you really learn how to time manage and prioritize! Working on my individual case note and group work presentation kept me busy for most of the week, but we also had some fun events and talks.

On Tuesday, Kevin Cahill talked to us about setting ourselves up for success in commercial law, as well as learning about how to balance our different priorities in life. It's always reassuring to hear that everyone within the firm, even partners, values their work-life balance. He also gave us some great tips for presenting to the partners next week, which is both exciting and daunting. We then had a talk on Wednesday from two homegrown partners talking about their careers and proudest moments within the firm. We really got a sense of the internal development prospects within the firm, and what it takes to succeed at the partner level. We also had an intern quiz on the Thursday ran by trainees which was great fun. While the results are pending, I’m hoping my team remembered just enough random and useless trivia to win the €100 Milano’s gift card!

One of the genuine highlights of my experience this week has been the lunchtime briefing sessions we have had with associates and trainees, where we got to chat and ask questions about the firm and their career path. Getting to know the different departments, and seat rotations for the traineeship, was definitely useful information for our future careers (the free sandwiches were also a plus!). It’s crazy how quickly this week flew by - I’m looking forward to coming back on Monday and making the most of my last week.

Learn more about our internship programme.