Seams Illogical

-- By WendyFrancois - 26 Feb 2010

We are often told that going to law school will not teach us how to be a lawyer. It will teach us how to think like. So, summer internships and associate positions are seen as a kind of residency: a chance to learn how to be a lawyer by doing (and seeing) what lawyers do. I am finding that there are ample opportunities for only certain kinds of residencies, and for other kinds, scarcity is the norm.

One of my passions is fashion. I think it is amazing how a person’s personality, behavior, and how they are perceived can change depending on what he or she is wearing. The creative and social intuitions that inspire fashion are interesting to me, but so are the legal and management aspects of creating a brand that people respect and that maintains longevity. One career aspiration that I have is to meld my love of fashion with my problem solving skills and put my law school degree to use by running a fashion company. In preparation for learning more about this legal arena, I have been researching different brands and companies that I like and inquiring about internships.

Startling Surprise

Only two of the seven companies that I have contacted have legal internship programs, even though all of them have in-house legal departments. Initially, I was dismayed by this because it meant that I may have to forgo the possibility of having an internship at one of the fashion houses. Then I realized that there was a greater implication to this: lack of opportunities for legal training for would be in-house attorneys. An executive at one of the fashion houses told me, rather bluntly, that internships at their offices are design and finance focused and that they have never had a legal internship position or program and were not considering a change.

In a day and age when more lawyers are running companies (eg, Kenneth Chenault—American Express; Gerald L. Storch—Toys “R” Us; John Chidsey—Burger King) I thought there would be more internship programs designed to train us in this capacity. Granted, I am interested in the niche area of the fashion industry, but I would gladly participate in in-house/general counsel training programs if more existed. The Association of Corporate Counsel only offers one internship program in partnership with Cardozo Law School. Generally, legal internships with corporations are rare and there seems to be a push to encourage lawyers to attend business school rather than opening positions in corporate legal departments.

I think there should be more training to enable lawyers to run companies. Two reasons come to mind. First, lawyers can maintain and monitor the ethical practice of a company. A lawyer can advise as to the direction and actions of a company against the backdrop of the relevant laws and guidelines that are in place and enforced by the government. With this oversight power, a lawyer can keep the company from engaging in endeavors that are illegal or likely to incite lawsuits because they are detrimental to society or cause some harm. With such an important role, it is disappointing that in-house legal departments are viewed as an overhead expense rather than an important asset that requires dedicated investment.

Increasingly, before major decisions are made, companies turn to their counsel for approval. It would be all the more beneficial to the company and to society, if such lawyers were trained on how to run a company. The questions that a general counsel usually addresses are varied and reflect a more general practice as opposed to specialization in a particular area. If there are internship programs that law students can participate in, they can gain exposure to these various fields and be well-rounded advisors.

My second reason for wanting more internship and training opportunities for lawyers who want to run companies is tied to my love for fashion. Beyond the legal considerations that counsel for a fashion company has to weigh, there is a focus on the company’s bottom line. In-house attorneys have to understand the implications of the companies’ business strategy, in order to protect the companies interests and sell clothes. What better way to learn about a brand, its aesthetic, target consumer, and growth and development than by interning in their offices?

Mickey Drexler is the merchandiser praised for making the clothing store The Gap into an apparel behemoth whose t-shirts and jeans can be found in practically every home in the US. After Drexler left The Gap, the company had a series of failed management teams and struggled to regain profitability. One of the major criticisms of Drexler’s successors is that they did not understand the brand or merchandising. Thus, the company was no longer satisfying its clientele and no longer making clothes that people wanted to buy.

For many understanding design, fit, fabric choice and trends is not intuitive. An attorney who has had exposure to the design and merchandising aspects of a company can be a trusted savant in making decisions relating to these aspects, which affect the company’s profitability. Internships in in-house legal departments would allow exposure to the production side of the company, leading to the crafting of business strategies that advance the companies interest in selling apparel. It is unfortunate that not many opportunities for such internships exist.

Conclusion

Companies may not have the budgetary freedoms of big law firms when it comes to recruiting and training, but they can at least open their doors and provide unpaid internships that can serve as invaluable training for law students. It is very disconcerting that certain areas of the practice of law are so absent from the training field. Going into law school, I knew that there would be less funding and pay because of the state of the economy. But, I did not realize that certain opportunities for training would not exist. While I am in law school, I will think like a lawyer, but there is no guarantee that I will practice how to be one.

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