Ella Rizzo, a peer advisor majoring in cognitive science on the decision track with a minor in business, has pursued several experiential learning opportunities during her time at the University of Michigan. She completed two legal internships during one summer and held a research position the following summer.
Although these experiences took place in different professional settings, the legal internships helped Ella secure her research position. Law firms’ emphasis on confidentiality, attention to detail, and organization allowed her to develop transferable skills that strengthened her qualifications for research work.
Exploring Law Beyond the Classroom
Ella sought legal internships because she wanted to determine whether the field was the right fit for her. She had enjoyed studying legal topics through courses such as Psychology and Law, philosophy, and Critical Reasoning, but she understood that practicing law could differ significantly from studying it.
Even if the internships revealed that law was not the career for her, Ella knew the experience would provide valuable skills that could transfer to other professions.
To prepare for her internship search, she used resources from the University Career Center and the LSA Opportunity Hub. During her sophomore year, the Opportunity Hub helped her explore careers she could pursue with a Juris Doctor, or JD, as well as legal careers that do not require a law degree. Staff members also provided ideas for gaining relevant experience—a list she continues to reference while searching for opportunities during her gap year after graduation.
The Career Center helped Ella prepare for the application process. She attended a résumé workshop, learned interviewing strategies, and completed a mock interview. Practicing her responses aloud and receiving feedback in real time helped her become more confident and prepared.
Experiencing Two Types of Law Firms
Ella worked as a legal intern at two firms: Dallo Law, P.C., a smaller criminal and immigration law firm, and Dykema Gossett, a larger corporate law firm. She initially planned to work only at Dallo Law, where she was scheduled for two days each week. After receiving another offer, she decided to spend the remaining three weekdays at Dykema.
Managing two internships was demanding, but Ella found the experience worthwhile. Working at firms of different sizes exposed her to distinct practice areas, workplace structures, and interpretations of a legal intern’s responsibilities.
At Dallo Law, the smaller staff meant Ella could take on hands-on responsibilities under paralegal supervision. She drafted legal documents, including deviation requests and sentencing memoranda. Deviation requests explain to prosecutors why a client deserves a more favorable plea agreement, while sentencing memoranda advocate for a more lenient sentence before a judge issues a ruling.
Each document required Ella to follow a strict format, carefully research the client’s case, and review the information provided by the paralegal. When additional details were needed, she contacted clients directly.
She also organized court documents into binders according to the sequence an attorney planned to use during an argument. Other responsibilities included watching interrogation videos to determine whether clients had made incriminating statements, contacting courts and clients to clarify case or hearing details, shadowing attorneys in court, editing legal documents for grammar and accuracy, and scanning and uploading files to the firm’s document management system.
Her role at Dykema looked different. Because the larger firm had more paralegals and law students, Ella had fewer opportunities to handle substantive legal work. Instead, the internship taught her about the administrative and operational responsibilities involved in maintaining a professional office.
Ella managed the front desk, where she answered a constantly ringing telephone, greeted visitors, scheduled meetings, and followed dozens of office protocols. The role initially felt overwhelming, but she became more comfortable by asking questions and allowing herself room to learn from mistakes.
Over time, Ella became proficient in the role and gained experience with computer systems commonly used by law firms. She also assisted a paralegal with labeling evidence and tracking it in a spreadsheet for a major corporate client. Although much of her time was spent scanning and uploading documents, the repetitive work helped her become familiar with file management systems used by firms across the country.
Connecting Cognitive Science and Legal Work
Ella's legal internships connected closely with her studies in cognitive science, particularly her coursework on the decision track. Her classes in psychology and philosophy helped her better understand legal decision-making and evaluate evidence and arguments.
Psychology and Law (PSYCH 389) was especially relevant to her work at Dallo Law. The course addressed issues she later encountered at the criminal and immigration firm, allowing her to see classroom concepts applied in practice. It also taught her to write concisely, a skill that supported her work on deviation requests and sentencing memoranda.
Ethics (PHIL 361) also shaped her internship experience. While reading and interpreting laws for legal documents, Ella recognized that many of the moral principles and duties discussed in the course are reflected in contemporary law.
Another helpful course was How ChatGPT Works (LING 321). When attorneys and paralegals at Dallo Law became interested in incorporating artificial intelligence into their work, Ella was able to explain how the technology functions, its limitations, and considerations for using it more effectively.
More broadly, her cognitive science coursework taught her about decision-making, cognitive biases, and information processing. This knowledge influenced how she communicated with clients and colleagues, processed arguments, evaluated evidence, and interpreted others’ behavior.
Recognizing the Value of Transferable Skills
One unexpected outcome of Ella’s internships was the development of strong office-management skills. At first, she did not consider repetitive administrative work especially valuable because it seemed less connected to the practice of law. Over time, however, she recognized how those responsibilities prepared her for future professional settings.
She learned to use file management systems such as NetDocuments and Clio, both of which are widely used in legal workplaces. Familiarity with these platforms may make her easier to train and better prepared for future legal roles.
Her organizational work also allowed her to make a direct contribution to a client’s case. At Dallo Law, Ella spent several days preparing for an upcoming hearing. She helped draft deviation requests and sentencing memoranda and organized evidence for the attorney. She later attended the hearing and watched the attorney use information she had compiled, organized, and written.
Seeing her work contribute to the attorney’s argument demonstrated that even seemingly small tasks can affect a client’s outcome.
Creating Opportunities Through Initiative
Ella found that searching for undergraduate legal internships could be daunting. Many postings were intended for law students or required extensive qualifications, such as several years of paralegal experience.
Rather than limiting her search to advertised positions, Ella cold-emailed law firms in her area to ask whether they needed additional help. Many did not respond, but several did, ultimately giving her multiple opportunities to consider. She also contacted people she knew who were attorneys or had connections to attorneys.
For Ella, using her network and being willing to ask about unadvertised opportunities proved immensely helpful.
She also learned that succeeding in an internship involves more than completing assigned work. Speaking with colleagues can help interns build professional connections, identify potential mentors, and develop stronger relationships with supervisors who may later provide recommendations.
During her internship at Dykema, Ella was invited to a networking event. She was initially nervous because she was younger than the other attendees and unfamiliar with professional networking. At the event, however, she met an attorney who answered her questions about daily legal work, the law school application process, and her experience as a first-generation student. The attorney gave Ella her contact information and encouraged her to reach out with future questions.
Clarifying a Future in Law
Ella’s internships helped her identify what she liked and disliked about legal work. Most importantly, the experiences confirmed that she wanted to attend law school. Although she enjoyed criminal law, she concluded that business law might be a better long-term fit.
Her cognitive science background prepared her for legal work in both direct and unexpected ways. Psychology and Law gave her relevant content knowledge and writing practice, while her broader coursework strengthened her critical thinking, communication, and evidence-evaluation skills.
By combining academic learning with hands-on experience, Ella gained a clearer understanding of her professional goals and developed skills that can transfer to law, research, business, and many other careers.
