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Gomez Law Group

As a summer intern at a Philadelphia law firm, Isaiah Bañuelos '25 (Latin American, Latinx & Caribbean studies) helps legal teams prepare for trial by assisting with client interviews—conducted in Spanish and English—and helping to prepare documents and exhibits for trial. This involves working closely with clients and prospective clients as well as with legal, medical and insurance professionals while learning the ropes of legal procedures in Pennsylvania. This internship, supported through Dickinson's Summer Internship Grant, is his second taste of the legal profession, following a criminal-law internship in his hometown of Riverside, California. Bañuelos expects that both of those experiences will be invaluable to him as he plans to enter law school and launch a career as a trial attorney after graduating from Dickinson.

Majors: 

Latin American, Latinx, & Caribbean Studies.

Internship title/position: 

Law clerk.

How did you find your internship? 

Handshake.

What did you do, day to day?

I am working on prelitigation cases. This means I work one-on-one with clients, collecting medical records, drawing up legal contracts, helping with intake interviews to determine whether we can take the cases and creating virtual folders that contain all the information necessary to present a case. This specific law firm focuses on personal injury law, which means my day-to-day work involves speaking with insurance adjustors and putting together exhibit lists to achieve settlements. I am also the designated Spanish speaker, which means I handle all cases with Spanish-language clients. This means that I work in the worlds of medical, legal and insurance practices, communicating in both English and Spanish.

Was this internship helpful to you?

This internship has given me excellent hands-on experience in the world of plaintiff work. It has also taught me a lot about Pennsylvania law and procedure, which will help me when searching for a law-firm job [during my planned gap year before law school] as a paralegal or law assistant.

Have you had previous internship experiences?

Yes, I previously interned at the Riverside [California] district attorney's office, under the majors crimes division. Criminal law is definitely a field I want to explore. Both of my internships have shown me that I want to be a trial lawyer, but I must decide whether that should be within the criminal or civil field.

What advice would you give students considering an internship?

Absolutely do it! It's the best way to learn whether you actually like the field you have in mind. It also could open up a new path you may want to pursue. It's important to be a sponge and soak up all the information possible.

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Published August 14, 2024