My Internship In A Nutshell
My 5 months’ internship at Donovan and Ho was one roller coaster ride. You read it right, my internship is potentially more intense than any other roller coaster rides I’ve been on – and I’m saying this as a roller coaster enthusiast.
My internship had swapped in between virtual and physical mode countless times since I started in January this year, as it was caught right in the peak of the COVID-19 crisis in Malaysia. My first 2 weeks with the firm went well, as I transitioned from being a student to an intern getting accustomed to working life. In the first few weeks, I would get an ounce of gratification for every piece of research and article that I was able to churn out, as it inevitably meant that I gained invaluable insights on the operations of corporate law and employment law. I was also able to interact with members of the firm and got to work closely with the partners and associates.
Time flies when you’re having fun. As soon as I started settling down and getting accustomed to my internship, bad news struck. On 13 January 2021, Malaysia imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 and the lockdown would render physical activities impossible. My internship effectively became a virtual internship, and I started receiving instructions and communicating work products via email. It was unconventional, but it worked.
When MCO 2.0 was lifted, court proceedings gradually resumed operation, although not at full capacity due to the SOPs in place. Despite that, work remained hectic due to the backlog of cases. My internship returned to a normal internship, and I was involved in even more interesting tasks. As social mobility was no longer restricted, my internship now allowed for more hands-on experience. Personally, an unforgettable moment would be a “field trip” right in the heart of KL to complete errands in compliance with a court order. It was an eye-opening experience for me, as courts orders and notices were often the subject matter in textbooks and sounded conceptual to me.
Throughout my internship, I had been exposed to many new elements of the law. Tax law and employment law were not modules that were available to me during my law degree, but I was able to learn a great deal of these laws at Donovan and Ho. I also acquired fundamental legal skills from writing legal articles to drafting privacy policies and agreements. In the process of learning new things, my working style inevitably evolved from one of occasional carelessness to one that is more meticulous.
My experience at DNH has greatly exceeded my expectations. The firm has provided me with a great avenue to not only showcase and improve my understanding of the law, but also taught me to sharpen my technical skills. Further, members of the firm were patient and offered guidance whenever I was stuck at bottlenecks. I am immensely grateful that I was able to receive so much support from the members of the firm as an intern. I also appreciated having the opportunity to witness and experience legal transactions and court proceedings in such close proximity. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here as an intern, and I am looking forward to beginning my journey as a lawyer soon.
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This article was written by Tiffany Chin who was an Intern at our firm from January to May 2021. Have a question? Contact Us.
