my internship at sheehan and partners wesley dunne

My Internship at Sheehan and

PartnersFinal PresentationWesley Dunne

Overview• History of Sheehan’s• Area of Expertise: criminal defence litigation, immigration law,

EU Human Rights, Judicial Review (sex abuse cases)• My Role: office intern, court assistant, part-time handyman!• More to Follow

My Role and Contribution• Photocopying. . .• Filing• Court attendance (From District to High Court)• “Postman”• CCTV Summary• Client consultations• Meetings with Counsel• More than an office boy?

Positive Experiences and Challenges

Positive• Pitch and Putt evening• First Day in Court• Successful research on

civil case• CCTV summation• Alan Wilson trial; valued

contribution

Negative• Visit to Mountjoy;

element of danger• Jamming the

photocopier• Delivery Mis-hap;

unimpressed senior counsel• Lack of substantive legal

tasks• Ethical question marks

Has my legal education prepared me for all this?

• No real knowledge of court procedure• No prior learning of confidentiality agreements, conflicts of

interest etc• Criminal law studies not in-depth eg. no knowledge of bail law• Not prepared for uncertainty (Foley article)• “controlled freefall”• Different skill set required eg interpersonal skills

Sheehans: Law Reform Advocates

• Legal advice whilst in custody- CPD meeting• National Vetting Bureau (Children and vulnerable Persons) Act

2012- poorly drafted?• Spent Convictions bill 2011- why the delay?• Attended community talk on these issues• Heated debate• Serving the community as well as private clients

Conclusion-What have I learnt?• Did not want to leave! Loved the legal practice environment• Experiential learning is vital• I now know what skills are needed (interpersonal, research,

communication)• Perhaps could’ve shown more initiative• Criminal defence litigation is what I want to do; clinical legal

education was invaluable

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!