I am 15 years old and I am very interested in the fields of Law and Political Science, and I am extremely zealous about obtaining some sort of relevant work experience. I was thinking about looking around for a law-related internship for several reasons as follows: 1. Sounds super fun. 2. I will have something to fill up my summer. 3. Work/Internship/Volunteering experience. 4. Put on college app.
However, looking around online, it is apparent that very few internships are even offered to high school students, particularly in the field of law, and particularly a high school student that is 15 years old. I understand that finding some sort of official, explicit “internship” opportunity in the field of law will be literally impossible to obtain as a 15 year old. So, I was wondering if it would be a good idea if I just went around to random law firms and asked if I could just help out around there. Obviously I would be unpaid and obviously the chances that any law firm would even accept me are slim.
Still, unless CC has some better ideas, suggestions, or reasons why I should not do this, I plan on touring the law offices of my area in a few weeks, asking if I could volunteer at their office and just help out around the place. I am conscious of the fact that I will be doing almost exclusively making coffee, making copies, printing, etc., stuff that I would most likely be doing at any internship at age 15, but I still want to attempt to land this type of role at a law firm.
Do you guys think this is a good idea? What do you think are the chances that any of them take me are? Do you have any suggestions on how to ask them, in terms of manner, wording, appearance, etc? Do I need a resume? Do I need a work permit. I have never worked officially before, or volunteered before. Will this affect me negatively? I mean I am 15 yo after all.
(Also, on the off chance that I get taken under the wing, would it be alright to list the work on college apps as an “internship?” If not, what would I even call it?)