Day in the Life of an Intern at Pinsent Masons
In summer 2023, I took part in the 10,000 Interns Programme at Pinsent Masons London Office. For my six weeks with the firm, I have been situated within the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) team. Like most teams, TMT handles a variety of work and as such no two days with the firm have been the same. Nonetheless, this is a short overview of how my typical day would go.
9:15
I arrive at the office and immediately receive a warm welcome at reception before heading up to the sixth floor.
9:30
Since Pinsent Masons uses a hot desk system, whereby no one has a designated seat, I check to see where the people I am working with are sat that day. The first part of the morning involves getting ready for the day. This is usually when I’ll respond to any unopened emails.
Once everything is up and running on my computer, I make a start on my current tasks. Typically, I have a few tasks at any given time, many of which are research oriented. I begin with a task involving the Online Safety Bill, a new piece of legislation that will completely alter the regulatory landscape surrounding social media. This is a particularly interesting topic to research as the implications of the bill on the wellbeing of ordinary people are readily apparent. Additionally, in the context of the TMT team, it’s important to closely follow this sort of legislation to see how it will impact major clients.
11:00
Around this time I like to go for a coffee in the hub before moving on to my next task. The hub is a great place to meet a variety of PM colleagues in a casual setting. I often take the opportunity to arrange coffees catch ups with lawyers around the to have my questions answered in a more personal way. Sometimes these meetings will be with someone new, for example if I have felt curious about a specific practice area. Other times it has just been an opportunity to stay caught up with trainees I have already met.
12:00
I return to my desk to start another research task which involved helping my “buddy” - a Trainee in my team assigned to look after me during the internship, in addition to my supervisor. My buddy is my first port of call whenever I need help. Since my buddy is presenting to the AI Forum, my task is to help him conduct research on lesser-known AI tools.
1:30
I head up to the hub with my fellow TMT intern, Tasha. We usually go for lunch at this sort time and just see who else is there. This is generally a time for all the interns to catch up and touch base, which is particularly important as we are spread across a variety of teams.
2:30
My buddy and I have quick catch up, I fill him in on my workload, the sorts of tasks I am doing and provide general insight into how I am getting on. This is also when I check in on my progress with the research task to make sure that my work has touched on all the elements he would like to discuss at the presentation.
3:00
I return to my research on the Online Safety Bill and fill in any gaps that I left in the morning. Once satisfied with my work, I reread my notes before sending them on to the trainee I carried out the task for.
3:30
One of the trainees on the disputes side of TMT asks for my help. She is compiling a case tracker which will contain summaries of recent cases. I take on the task and have the opportunity to read about influential cases, some of which involved people in my team.