Postcards from Placement

It may be summer break, but our legal internship students are busy in a wide range of placements in Melbourne, across Australia and overseas. Hear from our students about what it's like studying the Legal Internship program as part of the Melbourne JD.

Aviva Kidd, Democracy Watch Canada

“The Public Interest Law Initiative's Legal Internship subject has empowered me to take my legal skills on the road (and the ice) in Canada, conducting research for the Canadian Democratic Good Government Audit Project.”

Aviva is ice skating

Aviva is interning at Democracy Watch in Canada. Image: supplied.

Meng Yao, Consumer Action Law Centre

“Through the placement at CALC, I formed an understanding of how can we use our knowledge of the law and the resources of the public service to rectify the unfairness in our society. The internship has allowed me to understand how the law can make a great impact in a broader social context, and how the law can become a tool for social change.”

Meng is holding a sign that reads: I support fair finance

Meng is getting into the spirit on placement at Consumer Action Law Centre. Image: supplied.

Monique Andreatta, Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

"Accepting the offer to participate in the 39th Human Rights Council was made a reality with the support of MLS. The exposure gained not only enlivened my classroom understandings on concepts of international norm setting and the UN, this invaluable opportunity to converse with international delegates, follow the negotiations of Australian Diplomats and to share this experience with curiously minded interns from across the globe revealed the complex realities of attempting to protect individuals' entitlement to human rights.

"A simultaneously unsettling, validating, humbling and energising experience I will cherish."

Monique is standing underneath a colourful ceiling at the United Nations in Geneva

Monique is spending her summer in Geneva interning with the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Image: supplied.

Tabea Hansen, Women's Legal Service Victoria

“Interning at Women's Legal Service Victoria has allowed me to apply the knowledge and skills I've gained in my studies to real, complex legal problems under the supervision of hardworking and inspiring legal professionals. Working in the heart of the Legal Precinct has also given me the opportunity to watch how these problems play out in several of Melbourne's Courts and gain a practical understanding of how what we learn in the classroom fits into legal practice."

A young woman is standing in a lobby

Tabea is interning at the Women's Legal Service in Melbourne. Image: supplied.

Xavier Boffa, Capitol Hill, Washington DC, as part of the Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Programme

"My time as a congressional intern on Capitol Hill has provided a unique perspective on the legislative process and an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in American culture. Highlights have included visiting the SCOTUS [US Supreme Court], browsing the Law Library of Congress and meeting Australia's Ambassador to the US."

Xavier in Washington

Xavier is taking part in the Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Programme (UCWIP). Image: supplied.

Find out more about our legal internship program