ELSA Traineeships - The new face of the longest-running Flagship Project of ELSA

SUSANNA MENDICINO

Vice President in charge of Professional Development

This year we renewed the image of the ELSA Traineeships Programme, promoting it for the first time, not as STEP - the Student Trainee Exchange Programme, but as ELSA Traineeships.

The new name and brand had a positive impact on the promotion and the clarification of the project towards the new externals that were approached, as it avoided all the difficulties previously encountered with the acronym STEP. On the other hand, careful attention was given to the community already involved in the project, using all the tools at our disposal to connect or reconnect them with the traineeships programme.

As expected, the first year of implementation could not complete this transition process. In combination with other factors (such as the general lack of human resources among the Network and the Covid impact on social activities and travels), we have seen a slight decrease in the number of traineeships and applications in some areas of the network. In opposition to this tendency, some National Groups increased the number of applications and traineeships provided drastically, showing that in pursuing the objective of making our processes more straightforward and efficient, there is always strong potential and great room for improvement.

On the international level, the Job Hunting activity was particularly focused on the consolidation and implementation of new relationships with our Traineeship Providers, without forgetting the expansion through new potential Providers. Overall, considering the two cycles of the term, we ensured traineeships in essential institutions like the Council of Europe both in Brussels in the Liaison Office of the Council and in Strasbourg through the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development and Committee on Legal Affairs and the Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly. We continued the cooperation with the NGO Jerusalem Insitute of Justice, which is dedicated to cultivating and defending the rule of law, human rights, and democracy for all people in the Middle East.

We increased our involvement with the prestigious Legal General Partner, the ERA - The Academy of European Law, offering to our members the possibility of applying to the different departments of the Academy. We pursued our collaboration with the European Centre for Certification and Privacy and Mandat International/IoT Lab, ensuring that our members had opportunities in fields of law that are very attractive to the current legal market.

One of the academic supporters of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition, the European Public Law Organization, joined ELSA Traineeships as a Traineeship Provider through its higher education institution, the European Law and Governance School” (ELGS). We started a very fruitful cooperation with the French Ministry of Justice, which provided traineeship opportunities both in France and in the Netherlands. We are delighted to have once again as our traineeship providers Caselex, a Global Market Definitions Module and Spark Legal Network, a legal research consultancy that primarily works on cross-border legal research projects for European Institutions. As a must in ELSA Traineeships, opportunities were provided in law firms as well, in particular, Kocks & Partners in Belgium specialised in assisting foreign clients with crossborder business law; The Zeidler Group a technologydriven law firm revolutionising the asset management industry in Germany and Butzel Long Attorneys and Counselors in the United States. Last but not least, we are very glad to confirm our two most important partnerships connected to ELSA Traineeships, Fragomen Global LLP, the world’s leading single-focus

provider of immigration. Additionally, guidance and support from Bierens Debt Recovery Lawyers, the largest debt recovery law firm in the Netherlands, was essential.

Testimonial from Chiara Caredda

I work as Legal Trainee at the Council of Europe Liaison Office with the EU in Brussels through the ELSA Traineeship programme. In my daily work, I mainly dealt with Migration law and policy and the Rule of law in the EU. I am enthusiastic about the stimulating work environment that I found at the Council where I had the opportunity to gain a first-hand approach to the CoE-EU relations and their co-operation in the protection of Human Rights.

Testimonial from Uboho Inyang

“The HR team used the first three days to orient and fully ‘admit’ me into the workings and practices of the firm. The orientation covered the firm’s structure, timekeeping, writing styles, filing, etc., with a strong emphasis on a paperless office.

Beyond office aesthetics, the firm possesses a culture of excellence in all it does. It is highly ranked in various practice areas, thanks to its star-studded attorneys, including former Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court, notable authors/academics, corporate lawyers, dispute resolution experts, etc.

It’s been three months now, as I write this piece, working at Butzel. Within this time frame, I have worked on different client matters ranging from corporate restructuring, compliance issues, labor issues, dispute resolution, contract reviews, etc. The most exciting part for me is interacting with clients and international law firms around the globe

I am also privileged to have regular audiences with two incredible former Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court, now counsel in the firm: Justice Maura Corrigan (who also served as the court’s chief justice during her term) and Justice Kurtis Wilder.

In all, I am learning, serving, improving, and, more so, experiencing the greatness of Butzel Long. A big thank you to ELSA and its officers for making this unforgettable experience possible through ELSA Traineeships.”