Documentation Techniques for Law Interns

The simplest of all documentation techniques, an hourly log's only challenge may be in ensuring its accuracy. To be certain your hours are reported honestly and fully, use the following strategies:
 

• Unless your hours are exactly the same every day, do not rely on memory. Jot down arrival and departure times each day in your personal calendar or planner, or use a rough copy of your hourly log to keep track. Assume that your school may contact the office to verify your hours. Never report inflated hours.
• Check your log against an ordinary calendar to be sure that no dates have been confused.
• As with any document prepared for your school, make the final version neat, legible, and professional looking.

You may be asked to include a one-line description of the tasks performed on each date. For example, "client interview, research, drafting" might be stated next to a certain date. Reporting these additional details requires diligent record keeping. If you keep your personal planner or calendar complete, these details will be easy to report.


Some schools require verification by your office supervisor of the times reported in your log. A signature line may be provided at the end of the form for this purpose. If you have more than one supervisor, you can add signature lines to your single log or prepare separate logs for each supervisor, noting the hours worked for one supervisor on one log and the hours worked for the other supervisor on the other.

A capstone report requires many of the preceding documentation methods to be submitted simultaneously when the internship ends. For example, a daily journal or hourly log might be submitted along with a work portfolio, a completed supervisor's evaluation form, and perhaps also a completed self-evaluation form. The exact combination varies from school to school.

A final written report may also be included. In this case, however, the written report summarizes the entire internship, providing a broad overview of work experiences and the skills you acquired. It may also include recommendations on the value of your office to future interns and the office's availability for that purpose.

Because they bring together several different documentation methods, capstone reports provide a wonderfully detailed record of all you have achieved. They ensure ample documentation of internship learning for your school's accreditation and approval processes and also for you to use in your job search.

If there is a disadvantage to capstone reports, it is that they can be challenging to coordinate and prepare as a busy internship draws to a close. The longer the internship, the more there may be to report, so students should pace their preparations accordingly. For example, students whose internships are four to six weeks in duration should probably begin working on their capstone materials about ten days before the due date. Where internships are two or three months in duration, interns should begin their capstone reports even earlier.

The following chronology will help you coordinate your preparation:
 

• Schedule a meeting with your supervisor to review evaluation forms- yours and the supervisor's. Give your supervisor adequate lead time to set this up.
• Preparing your portfolio may be the most time-consuming chore, so begin that next. Identify your best work samples and take steps to protect client confidentiality.
• The final written report also takes considerable thought, so do it in stages. Prepare an outline early. Return to it periodically to refine it and fill in details. Then write a rough draft. Proofread it and prepare the final version.
• Check your journal or your hourly log to be sure it is up to date. If not, glean die information you need for missing entries from your personal calendar or planner. Time sheets kept for your office's use may also help jog your memory.
• Shop for the binders or packaging your school prefers.
• Complete your self-evaluation form last so that it consistently reflects all the other information you have gathered.

The time it takes to create all the components of a capstone report is an investment in your future. When you are done, you will have before you concrete evidence of professional achievements you may never have imagined possible so early in your career. You will have a clear indication of what steps are needed to further improve your career prospects. Most importantly, you will have, on paper, a gold mine of details to draw on in your job search.
 

1. In preparation for the documentation techniques, do the following things:

• Review your internship records as follows:

1. Your personal calendar or planner
2. Your old to-do lists
3. Your time sheets or time slips
4. The checklist or tickler sheet in client files
5. The contents of client files
6. Your reference file, if you have one

• As you review these records, note instances in which you have demonstrated the following general work skills:

1. Working on your own initiative
2. Organizational ability
3. Handling multiple tasks
4. Computer expertise
5. Writing and drafting
6. Legal research
7. Factual investigation
8. Interpersonal skills
9. Problem-solving ability
10. Effective follow-up
11. Other skills or special achievements

• c. In reviewing your records, also make a list of examples of the technical, law-related skills you have developed, including

1. Expertise in law office systems
2. Litigation-support skills
3. Specialized transactional work

1. Make a list of your professional contacts. Keep this list for use in your job search and for further development throughout your career.
    
2. Make a list of the clients for whom you have performed work. Keep this list to check for conflicts of interest in future employment.

As you complete your school's self-evaluation form or your own goals checklist (or both), add as much detail as possible. Note concrete examples of each skill and characteristic. For a full and accurate assessment, also ask your supervisor and coworkers how well you met each goal. Their responses may pleasantly surprise you.

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