Two students from the School of Law, Evana Lyons (Law Plus) and Rebecca Lalor (LLM General), are currently participating in the Chief Justice’s Summer Internship Programme for Law Students. The programme commenced on Tuesday 5th June 2018 and will conclude on Friday 29th June 2018. The students write about their initial experiences here:
Rebecca Lalor:
“My first week at the Chief Justices Summer Internship Programme started with an introductory day in Phoenix House where we were introduced to the judicial assistant we would be working alongside, as well as having an afternoon tea with the Chief Justice himself. I am incredibly lucky that my internship month encompasses experience with two separate judges, Mr Justice Eager and Mr Justice McCarthy, both of the High Court, although during my internship Justice McCarthy was appointed to the Court of Appeal. In just the first week I have visited Cloverhill District Court to observe bail proceedings, witnessed a trial in the Criminal Courts of Justice, as well as High Court proceedings in the Four Courts.
The rest of my internship will largely be spent in the Central Criminal Court located in the CCJ, as well as experiencing the Special Criminal Court, which is a fantastic opportunity. The internship also has an educational aspect in the form of lectures delivered by legal practitioners and the judiciary on their experience and expertise derived from decades of combined practice as both barristers and judges. The experience so far has been invaluable, getting the judicial insight on decision making and trial proceedings has been fantastic. The internship allows for such an intimate view of some of the highest level court proceedings which has been incredible and I look forward to what the rest of this incredible opportunity has in store for me.”
Evana Lyons:
“Upon commencement of the internship on Tuesday the 5th of June, the students participating in the programme met at Phoenix House where we were given an induction by the Courts Services. This included a brief insight into the structure of the courts, a history of the four courts as well as a tour of the Four Courts complex. As well as this giving us a fantastic opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the job which we would be doing, this also allowed us to introduce ourselves to and chat with the participants from the various other universities in Ireland as well as the participants from Fordham University, Bangor University and those participants from the University of Missouri with whom we would be working with for the next four weeks.
After the induction, students were given the opportunity to attend a tea held by the Chief Justice whereby the students got the chance to meet the Judicial Assistants for the Judges to whom they had been assigned. I was fortunate enough earlier on in the day to be introduced to my Judge, The Rt. Hon. Justice O’Hanlon of the High Court. Within minutes of an introduction, I was invited by Judge O’Hanlon to attend court with her where she was presiding over the personal injuries list. This was fantastic as it meant that from the outset of the programme, I was able to obtain insight into the functioning of a court room which may otherwise be reserved for fully fledged legal professionals.
Throughout the rest of the week we commenced our duties with our respective Judges and at the at the end of the week, all interns were invited to a dinner hosted by Fordham University in the Honorable Society of Kings Inns where we were given the opportunity to meet with all of the interns again as well as various members of the judiciary. This evening was excellent as it allowed us to get a flavour as to what the next three weeks of the internship would entail.”
