There is a widespread and now well-known phenomenon affecting the present young generation of arbitration practitioners: that is, law students on track to becoming qualified lawyers or already qualified lawyers – sometimes multi-qualified lawyers – who accumulate internship after internship, for periods at times stretching beyond 3-4 years. While this reality does not appear to be uniform across all jurisdictions, it is clearly observed in some major arbitration hubs such as Paris, where it is frequently discussed among legal professionals, including interns.
This article aims to:
- Describe a harsh reality that many aspiring arbitration practitioners go through, often contrary to their initial expectations;
- Examine the key factors that have led to this situation, along with their visible and hidden consequences, both positive and negative; and
- Offer possible solutions and ideas to improve the current landscape.
* This article is based on several years of observation, recruitment, and informal discussions with arbitration practitioners. It is also the result of recent private feedback from arbitration interns who faced the long and difficult cycle of arbitration internships.
From Expectations to Reality
At least a decade ago, completing an LL.M. in the U.S. seemed to constitute almost a prerequisite for working as an arbitration practitioner lawyer in a large international law firm. This degree is still valued by international law firms, but is no longer sufficient in France, especially for many foreign-qualified lawyers. In addition to a master’s degree, many lawyers now must accumulate years of internships before being offered a more stable, better-paid and respected associate position.
When interviewing applicants, I regularly come across multi-qualified lawyers who have accumulated internships in Paris for two or three years. I know of one foreign-qualified lawyer who has been in this cycle for over than 3 years, with no end in sight. Naturally, this leads to frustration, but it also raises broader questions: Is this phenomenon equally present in the U.S. or in England? Does this arbitration trend extend to other practice areas, for instance, tax law or corporate law?
From my perspective, the answer is largely ‘no’ barring some individual inevitable exceptions. This trend seems unique to arbitration and is arguably a new form of “dérive arbitrale” on which Pierre Lalive expressed his critical views on several occasions, in writing (See esp. Lalive P, Dérives arbitrales (II), 24 ASA Bulletin 1/2006).
In many ways, these repeated ‘internships’ or ‘stages’ are very different from what an external observer might anticipate. These words can have different definitions and nuances but three characteristic traits emerge:
- Its temporary nature;
- The presence of supervision and training; and
- The existence of a clear objective at the end of the internship.
On all three counts, many arbitration internships deviate from the standard, and they do not come close to other alternatives, such as the English training contract, the unpaid apprenticeship of a bygone era or even the series of mandatory internships of the École de Formation de Barreaux(“EFB”) in the French context that involve courses, exams, and the not unreasonable expectation of obtaining an associate position upon successful completion.
Although arbitration internships are temporary within a given firm, interns often find themselves rotating across different firms, stretching over several years. The ‘supervisory’ or ‘training’ element is present but generally weak, as interns are typically overseen by a junior or young lawyer with less insights and experience to share in comparison with the more senior lawyers. Moreover, the internship lacks a clear objective or finality:interns are not working toward a legal or educational qualification, as many are already qualified lawyers, nor do they necessarily aim to secure a position within the firm as few, if any, of the batch of interns move on to associate roles. Often, they learn of the outcome at the very end of their internship, further fuelling their feeling of disappointment towards a professional world that may scar them at a very early stage of their careers.
Understanding the Bottleneck in Arbitration Careers
Many interns who accumulate these internships experience deep frustration. Some – I am told – struggle with depression, though they will put on a brave face, masking their difficulties as best as they can.
There is an important issue in this context: despite their hard work and academic achievements, many of them receive a low remuneration, especially when measured against their long working hours and qualifications. There are numerous arbitration career events, but a ‘career’ in arbitration is elusive and non-existent for many aspiring arbitration interns. They have little security, and their job title creates some form of embarrassment, considering their age and capabilities. They are often invisible on the websites and in the eyes of many of their more seasoned colleagues (This is not unique to France but of the list of approximately 50 law firms on Legal500 for international arbitration for France, not one firm listed its interns on its website). Their CVs showcase names of prestigious law firms where they have interned, but this conceals the difficulties endured in securing those positions, the repetitive and unglamorous nature of their long daily tasks, and it generally reflects a broader reality of limited opportunities.
Many arbitration interns – a large number of whom are qualified lawyers – live in a constant state of uncertainty. They fear employment gaps in their CVs; they fear writing anything negative, and some even fear being unable to pay their bills. I have witnessed examples of all struggles. This reality underscores the extreme stratification of power, status, and job security that exist among lawyers working within the same law firm. It also explains why these interns are rarely acknowledged as part of the ‘team’ on the firms’ websites or other professional settings.
In addition, these interns face a significant degree of ‘geographical uncertainty’. Since opportunities are rare, they will apply to positions across multiple jurisdictions, meaning they may well soon relocate if they are lucky enough to secure something better elsewhere. This, in turn, brings with it significant professional and personal complications, which are compounded by visa restrictions, particularly for applications from countries like India.
Many ‘repeat interns’ feel stuck due to an absence of viable alternatives. Unlike tax, employment or corporate lawyer, arbitration practitioners have limited in-house opportunities, particularly in Europe. As a result, rather than abandoning their pursuit, they continue to apply for positions, often adapting to a lifestyle that may or may not correspond to their true aspirations.
They will also soon realize that their ability to turn their internship status into the coveted associate position will depend on the firm’s language needs and legal requirements in handling any given case. Law firms also experience ‘geographical uncertainty’ as they cannot always predict whether they will be retained for a specific international case and for how long. Thus, the combined element of timing and language skills of the interns – not merit per se or legal skills – often become the decisive element for jumpstarting their careers.
A larger number of interns than before will have gained and will continue to gain practical experience with arbitral institutions, which is one reflection among others of the ‘institutionalization’ of arbitration. As with practical experience in a disputes funding company, this ‘institutional’ experience will present new questions and assessment criteria for the recruiting lawyers who will often not have the benefit of working in these companies or institutions in their younger years, in addition to being at times less academically credentialed than their interns and associates. However, this may also present an opportunity for interns to distinguish their CVs and practical skills from most lawyers who have continuously worked in law firms.
The Overcrowded Arbitration Job Market
The current reality is clear: there are too many applicants and aspiring arbitration practitioners. This allows employers (including law firms, companies, funders and institutions) to be very selective and to offer internships to highly and sometimes overly-qualified applicants. This is not unique to the world of arbitration in France or Europe, but there are a number of additional factors that have contributed to this situation and arguably amplified it.
Firstly, the quick expansion of university courses and specialised master’s degrees in international dispute resolution has outpaced the availability of permanent positions (See, for example, the long and non-exhaustive list of arbitration and dispute resolution courses as of 2020 prepared by Nadia Smahi). Some will secure associate positions right after their master’s degree or bar exam. For many, however, it will mean additional internships. This may be even truer for those foreign lawyers who use law or arbitration primarily as a legitimate means of emigration for a better life, and not necessarily as a vocation.
Secondly, the competition is now globalized for a role and profession that is traditionally ‘national’: an applicant seeking an associate position in Paris will compete with numerous applicants applying from Paris, but also from London and Geneva, to name just a few. This is further enabled by the reduced importance attached to being a member of the national bar in the field of international arbitration and the relative ease of multi-qualification across jurisdictions.
Thirdly, there is a notable lack of transparency – bordering at times on disinformation – in respect of the current difficulties that young arbitration lawyers will inevitably face in the present market. The numerous arbitration events, cocktails, journals, specialized news providers and institutions rarely acknowledge these difficulties, leaving newcomers to discover them through private discussions rather than formal channels.
Some young arbitration practitioners and interns sometimes also contribute to attracting newcomers into this difficult crowded field by publicly sharing optimistic narratives that contrast with their private concerns. On a longer term perspective, it is to be hoped that these interns who endured this long cycle of internships will not replicate and endlessly perpetuate this same state of affairs as they move up professionally.
Finaly, there are financial and local regulatory reasons that incentivize firms to offer repeated internships to a large and changing number of individuals, but which again cannot completely justify the widespread practice of repeat internships, especially on the part of the larger firms.
Beyond the Challenges: Growth, Networks, and Unexpected Opportunities
The emphasis above was put intentionally on the more negative trends, because they are less discussed publicly and because they may provide information or insights to unsuspecting young lawyers. But all is not negative, far from it.
In conversations with interns and young lawyers, all confirmed that their internships allowed them to significantly build up their resilience and to expand their expertise and knowledge in arbitration. Most are determined to continue working as practising lawyers. If the advantages and positive prospects were non-existent or perceived as being unattainable, many would have already left the field, which has not been the case.
Unintentionally, law firms also foster cross-cultural and inter-religious connections, somewhat reminiscent of international schools where youngsters of all nationalities are all lumped together doing the same things together, all day long, early on, over an extended period of time.
My view is that the accumulation of internships will also afford some of these interns with a wide network of professional contacts, the benefits of which they will see and value later, but with also ramifications when it comes to the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. The creation of multiple networks could come of use at later stages of life, irrespective of whether one does arbitration or not. It may, for example, allow them to re-orient their activities by staying in the field of dispute resolution but by engaging in different roles with different titles in, for example, business intelligence firms and academia. This said, most lawyers and interns I spoke to remained sceptical of the longer-term power of these internships to boost their network.
Arbitration practitioners also tend to pursue longer and internationally studies, thereby broadening their academic teaching opportunities in an increasing high number of countries, some of which turn out to be totally, almost amusingly, unpredictable.
Concluding Remarks
What are the likely outcomes for arbitration interns and young lawyers facing these challenges? Some will stay and succeed in this field, while others will leave the world of arbitration, joining senior lawyers who previously left for different reasons and from whom we hear very little. Some will stay, but leave Europe, while others – facing a prolonged lack of arbitration opportunities – will return to litigation in their home jurisdictions, where their skills are comparable and relatively easily transferable, finally breaking free from the long cycle of internships.
The academic institutions and national bar also have their role to play. To better support aspiring arbitration practitioners, universities and law firms could engage in a practical dialogue to monitor industry trends, share data on job market projections, and provide clear guidance to students. The causes of this abnormal laissez-faire internship situation are not only law-firm centric; they are multi-sectorial and start well before the internship. To be effective, the answers will require time and involve different actors, including academic institutions.
For new entrants, key questions arise: Should they try to specialize early? Should they work as official or shadow tribunal secretaries? Would it be wise to accept better-paid paralegals positions prior to securing their aspired associate position? Should they be more concerned about the use of artificial intelligence which may reduce the need for interns and junior lawyers? Or should they explore a non-arbitration career path? It is hard to give any firm and general answers to these questions, but they should be considered on a personal and case-by-case basis.
Aspiring arbitration practitioners, whether young or more experienced, should seek guidance from both peers and senior lawyers, and ask potential employers at the outset what the chances are for a long-term relationship. They may also set themselves time limits for achieving certain goals before taking a realistic call on whether to continue or not. And where possible, they should prioritize their job searches and careers in a jurisdiction where they are qualified, happy to live, and able to combine litigation with arbitration work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Régis Bonnan is an international lawyer and disputes funder. He is on the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales and is a member of the New York Bar. He holds a double-law degree in English and French laws from the University of London and the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, as well as a Master’s degree in international law from the University of Geneva and an LL.M. in American law from the School of Law of Duke University. Régis has worked with several international law firms and litigation funding companies. He also teaches law at Kedge Business School (Paris) and the ESSCA School of Management (Paris). He is the author of a series of publications on arbitration and international trade.