Chief Justice’s Summer Internship Programme: Evana Lyons

Two students from the School of Law, Evana Lyons (Law Plus) and Rebecca Lalor (LLM General), participated in the Chief Justice’s Summer Internship Programme for Law Students for four weeks this summer. The programme commenced on Tuesday 5th June 2018 and concluded on Friday 29th June 2018. Evana Lyons writes about her experience here:

“Throughout the Chief Justice’s Summer Internship Programme, I was given the fantastic opportunity to observe proceedings in both the High Court personal injuries list under Ms Justice O’Hanlon as well as in the Criminal Courts of Justice with Ms Justice Creedon.

As a result of this, for the first portion of the internship I gained fantastic insight into civil litigation and courtroom demeanour while in the latter part of the internship I observed the clear distinction with criminal cases and the emphasis which is placed on evidence rules. For this I feel particularly lucky as I had the chance to observe a broad range of issues and the way in which these are handled in the Courts.

In addition to being permitted to attend various court sittings, interns were given assignments over the course of the internship from their respective judges. This meant that not only were we allowed to watch Judges in Court but that we were also given the chance to contemplate issues from a judge’s perspective. For law students, this is critical as it prepares us for careers whereby we must view an issue from every angle.

This internship was invaluable in that it not only provided this crucial insight into court proceedings but there was also a focus on education through the Hardiman lecture series, named in memory of the late Judge Hardiman. This series took place twice a week over the course of the internship and was comprised of a myriad of topics which could appeal to every student. These were delivered by academics and judges alike. In addition to this, tours were also arranged for the interns to attend Green Street Courthouse to see in practice the Drugs Court as well as a historical tour of the court.

This prestigious internship provided the opportunity of a lifetime to meet with judges, to understand their work and to discuss various legal issues while starting off a legal career and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in pursuing a career practicing law.”