To begin with, I would like to extend a sincere token of appreciation and gratitude to LoYAC for granting me the opportunity to intern at DLA Piper Dubai. DLA Piper is the largest global law firm by number of attorneys and has a vast international presence, including an office in Kuwait. The program lasted for six weeks and I can confidently say that it was an exceedingly fruitful experience.

At IPT, I learned how patents, trademarks, and copyright laws worked. To begin, I was given reading materials to take me up to speed with the terminology so that I can better understand some of these concepts and how they apply to the region. After learning some of the basics, my supervisor begin to give me real cases that the firm was working on in order to see my input on how we can go about putting together the best case. I found this to be very interesting because I sort of felt like a lawyer and was taught to start thinking like one.For the next three weeks I was with the corporate practice group. This was instantly exciting because if I were to pursue law, this is the field I would like to specialize in because it is related to my background in finance. I had to do vast amounts of research about Iraqi, Kuwaiti, and Jordanian distribution law and commercial agency laws for a case that we were working on. In addition, I was familiarized with the labor laws of the Middle East and worked on an HR checklist that a client required to be done. Regardless of some of the specific things I worked on, I was constantly involved with many team members and was constantly working on a task.

Overall, my experience at DLA Piper was wonderful from every aspect. As a learning experience, it was fruitful, engaging, and challenging. Also from a networking perspective, it was wonderful to be in Dubai and meet many high caliber individuals in and out of the firm. Also, I learned many transferable skills like organization, communication, and discipline. The DLA Piper team was very friendly and I really enjoyed their corporate culture. Although is an incredibly professional environment, there is also a very comfortable feel to the office because people are always smiling and have a more laid back approach. I experienced days were people brought in cake and sweets, a dress down day, and different ceremonies for welcoming individuals or saying farewell to team members. I would especially like to thank LoYAC dearly, as none of this would have been possible without them. They went above and beyond accommodation and transportation arrangements and put me in this situation where I was able to grow as an individual and increase my knowledge exponentially. I highly recommend DLA Piper as an opportunity for young students.