my internship at sheehan and partners wesley dunne
TRANSCRIPT
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!