Law Internships Abroad

In order to get a legal internship in Canada, you must be registered as a student back home from one of the IEC countries that has an agreement with Canada. Your host employer has to take mandatory steps for you to apply for an international co-op visa, which includes paying a fee to the Government of Canada. Our host employers are aware of the process and are willing to support you through these steps to receive your visa. We cover this in more detail in our guide on Applying for the Canada International Co-op Visa.

Yes! However, you must be proficient in English and have studied at least one year in law school. Having a previous internship in the legal field, in your home country, will also be a great advantage.

We can help you decide what type of internship would be the best fit for you based on your goals, experience and career aspirations. But the most important part: start early! When applying for an internship in law, not only will it be competitive, but you also will be applying with education from a different country. Therefore, it’s important to have plenty of time to plan.

Your personal coordinator will coach you for your interview so that you feel more prepared and confident going into your interview. However, there are certain skills that are a must – not only in Canada but anywhere in the world:

• The most important! An eagerness to learn and strong interest in the legal field
• Good level of English and good communication skills
• Good time management and multitasking skills
• Strong research and writing skills

This will depend on the host company, however, interns will likely be involved in different tasks. A law internship can mean working in a law firm, an in-house legal department in different industries or in an NGO or nonprofit organization.

During your internship, you will experience the day-to-day operations of a legal office, as well as work on larger projects. Whether you are looking to gain experience, learn about a different legal system in a new country, or start your international networking in the legal field, you will be spending your time on the right project by doing an internship in Canada.
Some examples of internship tasks include:

• Complete research, analyze information and summarize findings
• Compare legal analyses and research legal issues
• Provide administrative support
• Support the draft of legal documents
• Work on different legal projects, provide support to lawyers on legal proposals or courses of action

This depends on the type of legal internship placement you pursue. However, broadly speaking, you will develop your skills in:

• Awareness of risk or liability
• Conflict resolution
• Commercial awareness
• Counseling
• Dissemination of information & fact analysis
• Identification of issues
• Interpretation of documents
• Legal research
• Mediation

Aside from becoming a lawyer, there are a wealth of alternative career options available for current or recent graduates of law. In fact, your legal training and international work experience will set you up for a surprising number of careers. Here are just a few:

• Administrator
• Arbitrator or mediator
• Auditor
• Career counsellor
• Claims advisor
• Compliance officer
• Commercial loan administrator
• Conference developer
• Consumer advocate
• Continuing legal education instructor
• Contracts administrator
• Corporate trainer
• Criminal law
• Director of career services at a university or college
• Editor
• Employee benefits manager
• Estate planning specialist
• Ethics officer
• Financial aid administrator
• Immigration officer or consultant
• Insurance broker
• Investigator
• Labour negotiator
• Law librarian
• Law professor
• Lawyer
• Legal correspondent for a newspaper or magazine
• Legal technology consultant
• Lobbyist
• Management consultant
• Ombudsperson
• Policy analyst
• Political advisor
• Paralegal instructor
• Privacy law consultant
• Probation officer
• Property developer or manager
• Special events or meeting/conference planner
• Sports agent
• Writer or journalist