INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Duquesne University has arranged for students in the Summer Program to perform internships with carefully selected leading P.R.C. law firms. The internships are voluntary, and are not a required facet of the Summer Program. Interns receive no compensation for their services other than academic credit. All internships must be performed following completion of the three (3) week Course Program.

A limited number of internships with prestigious Chinese law firms are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Internships are held following the completion of the three-week course program.

We make an effort to place students in firms that perform the type of work in which the student has a particular interest. Thus, if a student is interested in intellectual property, we will endeavor to place the student with a firm that has expertise in Chinese patent and trademark law. However, we cannot guarantee that every student will be placed in a firm that performs a particular type of legal service. The experiences students have will vary with the firm’s needs at the time the internship is performed. In the past, students have participated in meeting with clients, assisted in drafting documents, prepared correspondence, and drafted legal memoranda.

Students visiting a Beijing Law Firm

In performing such tasks, the Summer Interns at times work closely with lawyers from one or more of the approximately 100 foreign law firms that have been authorized to establish offices in the P.R.C. but who are precluded from engaging in the practice of law within the P.R.C. because its members are not Chinese citizens. As of this date, Chinese lawyers are not permitted to associate with foreign law firms.

The practice of law in the P.R.C. is as much about navigating the maize of often conflicting governmental regulations, and knowing where and how to obtain the required approvals, as it is about substantive rules. Exposure to P.R.C. lawyers skilled in obtaining the required approvals provides students with a unique opportunity to see the distinction between the written law and its application.