NYU Law Students Choose a Summer In-House

Peter Cohen parlayed last summer's in-house internship at Triarc Companies into this year's part-time job. "I know people who spent summers at law firms who didn't get half the experience I did," he said. Cohen's internship at Triarc -- a holding company for franchise restaurants -- was organized by the American Corporate Counsel Association and New York University School of Law, in a program that works for students and companies.

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“I never really appreciated a bottle of perfume … .” That is to say, not in the lawyerly sense of appreciation. Nicole Stewart has a nose and understands the olfactory concept of perfume, the allure and romance. But here she speaks as the in-house counsel she plans to become one day: “Not until I understood all the trademark work that’s behind it,” said Stewart, a second-year student at New York University School of Law. “You have to clear a brand with the registrars of trademarks in so many different countries. “I always figured the law was a straight thing,” she added. “You’d file your papers, and that was it.” But that was before last summer when Stewart, 24, participated in a unique internship under the aegis of the American Corporate Counsel Association (ACCA) and NYU law school. “Now I can see how cultural differences enter in,” said Stewart, who interned at Unilever Cosmetics International under the wing of Maria Chiclana, senior vice president and general counsel. Unilever’s portfolio of perfume brands includes Vera Wang, Chloe, Valentino and Calvin Klein. “The name of a perfume the company is trying to launch may be right for one country, but inappropriate for another.” Chiclana reminded her charge of the famous General Motors blunder when the Detroit auto maker ignored a bit of slang — to its peril — in bringing the Chevrolet Nova to the Mexican market. South of the border, nova means “no go.” Thus were Stewart’s classroom lessons — and professional future with one less goof — enhanced by mentoring. “We benefit, too,” said Chiclana. “It’s a great way for companies to find fresh talent, opening the way for future recruitment. We’ve had four interns now from NYU, and we’re happy with them all. They’re very hard working. They want to learn as much as possible.” Such was the happy arrangement envisioned by University of Pennsylvania Law School Professor Carole Basri in 1996 when she created the corporate lawyer intern program at NYU, her alma mater. Professor Basri is a 1976 graduate of NYU law, executive director of the Greater New York Chapter of ACCA and a consultant at Deloitte & Touche. “In-house lawyers are really pushed in terms of the quantity of work they have to do, so this is a real resource for them,” said Professor Basri. “From the point of view of a law student — what’s better than real-life experience? Stewart, as well as other interns from summer 2000, agreed. “We learned a lot about contract law, but I’d never actually seen a contract,” said Stewart. “It was great being able to put a practical experience together with what I’d heard in the classroom.” Peter Cohen managed to parlay last year’s ACCA internship at Triarc Companies Inc. — a holding company for Arby’s, T.J. Cinnamon’s and other franchise restaurants — into this year’s part-time job, complementing his schedule as a second-year NYU law student. “The staff attorneys were wonderful,” said Cohen, 24. “They recognized I wouldn’t have too much practical experience, but they gave me the opportunity to see what they were doing, and get my feet a little wet in SEC filings, corporate governance and proxy fights. “I know people who spent summers at law firms who didn’t get half the experience I did,” he added. “I never knew what would come my way. But if I didn’t understand what was going on, it was an open-door policy. The mentoring aspect was more than I could hope for.” Stephanie Platzman, 24, said her internship last year with the NYU Office of Legal Counsel was “the ideal first summer experience” because of the range of practice areas — litigation, trusts and estates, intellectual property and tax law. “Not every student will think about the possibility of in-house work,” said Leona Chamberlin, an associate general counsel and Platzman’s supervisor. “Once they do, they discover what a broad, broad field it can be. They learn that what goes on in an in-house environment is just as exciting and relevant and cutting-edge as what goes on in the firms.” “I did a lot of hands-on things, and I really sharpened my research skills from the litigation standpoint,” Platzman said. “I was surprised with how much I was able to draw from things I’d learned in class, how I could apply it to my job. “Now that’s working in reverse. When I was doing the internship, I actually learned a lot about tax research and general revenue codes and regulations,” she said. “I’m taking an income tax class this year, and I’ve got a real head start in understanding the material.” Mark Seidenfeld, general counsel for Scholastic Inc., said he and his legal staff “feel good about offering an opportunity to first-year students to hit the ground running” with assignments in the areas of real estate, corporate governance, employment, labor, e-business, tax and intellectual property. “The interns have been wonderfully helpful to us in all these areas,” he said. “Typically, we have a lot of corporate work that needs to be done that’s very labor-intensive, such as web monitoring. With the press of work [during the non-summer months], we don’t get to some of it. Before the intern season begins, said Seidenfeld, he and staff plan projects for the students. These are hardly make-work projects. Over the summer of 1999, intern Olivia Milanos was responsible for making sure that Scholastic, a publisher of books and educational materials for children, was in full compliance with the new Children’s On-Line Privacy Protection Act, effective April 2000. Her work provided Milanos what she called an “invaluable” education in new media. In fact, Milanos, 30, graduated from NYU law in January, and after her July bar examination, she plans to begin work at Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner — in the area of new media. For Robert Hertzfeldt , the mentoring received at Lifetime Entertainment Services, the cable television network, was both practical and personal. “In-house hours tend not to be as long [as the work day at firms], and there is much more time for mentoring,” said Hertzfeldt, 25, who as an undergraduate at George Washington University served a White House internship during the Clinton Administration. “One of my mentors [at Lifetime] didn’t know if I’d be ultimately satisfied with being a backroom lawyer.” Nonetheless, Hertzfeldt enjoyed a productive summer at Lifetime. “Everything I did was a learning experience,” he said. “I was given a half-dozen pretty large projects in Web site URL policy, retransmission agreements with individual cable companies, and copyright work.” But it was the personal counsel that stuck. Hertzfeldt graduates from NYU law in May. After his bar exam this summer, he plans to put his legal talents to work as a political campaign operative. Whether practical or personal, Cohen best articulated the bottom line value of ACCA internships for law students: “Now, I have a clue.” IN-HOUSE SUMMER INTERN PROGRAM’S FIFTH YEAR The Greater New York Chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association (NY-ACCA) will offer its fifth year of summer in-house counsel intern programs for first- and second-year students at New York University School of Law. Students will be available for up to 10 weeks, from June 1 to Aug. 4, for full-time paid positions, part-time paid positions, or volunteer positions. The deadline for corporations to apply for interns is March 16. For application forms, corporate legal departments may contact Rosalee Wilson, NYU School of Law Office of Career Counseling and Placement, at (212) 998-6090.

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