Insights

Neil Bezzina started his journey with Ganado Advocates as an Intern in the summer of 2014 as part of Ganado Advocates’ summer internship programme. Now an Associate within Ganado Advocates’ investment services and funds in Luxembourg, Neil walks us through his time as an intern and how it facilitated his growth that lead him to his current position within the firm.

From your own experience, how would you describe the internship to others?

The Ganado summer internship proved to be a crucial step in my law career. It exposed me to a fast paced, challenging, and yet rewarding experience from the get-go and further cemented my ambitions to pursue a legal career. The summer internship not only exposes you to other aspiring and budding lawyers, but also to industry experts who are willing and keen to share and pass on their knowledge.

Do you feel your summer experience helped you grow as a law student?

Definitely. Not only did the internship introduce me to legal subjects and matters, which are covered during the final years of the law course and eventual Master of Laws (which is encouraged and supported by Ganado), but also honed my legal research skills, communication skills and commercial awareness, all of which are crucial for every law student.

Do you think it contributed to an easier student-lawyer transition and to your career progression within the firm?

Without a doubt, the summer internship provided a good idea of what a career within the firm would look like. Throughout your career progression, you are given more and more responsibility, whilst simultaneously gaining further legal knowledge and skills, making the transition from a student to a lawyer a seamless step in your legal career.

Can you recount an important lesson you learnt during your summer internship?

Never underestimate the tasks you are given! What might seem like a simple research task, might prove essential for a much larger project being undertaken by the team or solving a complex issue for a client.

On a practical perspective, do yourself a favour and always carry a notebook and pen around when you’re given tasks and jot everything down in detail. Whilst you might think you’re capable of memorising everything, this is hardly ever the case.

If you had to share one piece of advice with law students applying for the 2023 internship programme, what would it be?

When applying for such internships, keep in mind that it is not sufficient to only highlight your skills and strengths, you need to understand how you fit within the ethos of the firm as an individual. Always undertake a detailed research on the firm, its people and culture and highlight how you will fit in to such a set-up and what you can bring to the table.

Once you start your internship, be curious, ask questions and network as much as possible. Take advantage of every opportunity provided to undertake any client facing work as this is how you will start improving your soft skills. Also, don’t be scared to make mistakes, we’ve all been there!

In a few words, walk us through your typical day as an associate.

I’m currently seconded to our office in Luxembourg, which is one of the great opportunities provided by Ganado for those lawyers seeking to challenge themselves and experience working abroad. Days as an associate vary greatly. I’m an early bird and always try fit in some form of exercise before heading to the office.

Once at the office, I start by planning my day (whilst having a coffee). I look through my calendar and prioritise my day accordingly, by setting out a to do list for the day (which is always kept handy). I typically start my morning by filtering through and replying to emails received the previous evening, following which I move on to tackling the more urgent client work which I would have included at the top of my to-do list (be it reviewing/drafting agreements, research or provision of advice).

I generally stop for lunch at 1pm (after having recorded my time for that morning accordingly).

After lunch, I focus on finishing off any outstanding tasks from the morning. I power through the rest of the day depending on the tasks at hand – be it client calls or meetings which occur on a daily basis (and which could take up a large part of the day).

Various ideas are discussed and exchanged between the team on the daily. Discussions are often challenged by team members, resulting in fruitful debates. Apart from this, as a firm, Ganado also prioritises our constant development and education, whether this is done on our own initiative or through internal / external lectures.

Before shutting down, I take a look at my to-do list, update it accordingly and write down what I would need to focus on the next day. I record my time once again, shutdown and head home to wind down.

Interested to learn more about our summer internship programme? Register for our Meet & Greet event.