Rising 3L Yu (Iris) Zhang Got a Taste of Apple with Summer Legal Internship

Yu (Iris) Zhang ’19 recently completed a three-week legal internship program with Apple, an experience that provided her unique insights into her career path as well as diverse networking experiences.

Please describe the program.

The Apple summer legal internship is a program open to applications for mostly 1L students around the country. The standard program is for 12 weeks. Interns are assigned to a practice group in Apple’s legal department based on their interest. The purpose is to give students an opportunity to learn more about in-house practice, make connections, and help students plan their career.

How did you become involved in the program?

I got this opportunity through the law firm Baker & McKenzie. I was a summer associate at Baker & McKenzie’s San Francisco office this summer. Apple is Baker & McKenzie’s client. Apple selects one or two 2L summer associates from Baker McKenzie’s San Francisco/Palo Alto office for a three-week internship at Apple’s legal department.

Please describe your experience.

I have really enjoyed my time at Apple’s product group. The program is well-organized. I have two mentors who coordinate all my projects, answer my questions, invite me to events/meetings, and introduce me to other people. I got projects from different attorneys on a variety of issues and attended different meetings. Apple also has many events for interns, including an executive speaker series where interns communicate with the executives, iContest where interns pitch cool ideas to the executives, and different social events. Besides the formal events, attorneys also take interns to lunches. People are happy to answer questions, share their career experiences, and give advice to interns.

How does participating in the program connect to your career goals?

I want to work in a law firm after law school. So I participated in the program with the hope to learn how I can best serve a corporate client as an outside counsel. This program allowed me to learn more about Apple’s products, the legal issues they are faced with, and their expectations for outside counsel. From my discussions with Apple attorneys, I learned that they want outside counsel to really know their products, their business, and their concerns, and to provide them with more practical advice, instead of mere legal analysis. Knowing what they want definitely will help me to be a better outside counsel. In addition, I have built connections with very intelligent and nice people, who can give me advice throughout my career. I have also explored the possibility of going in-house, expanding my career options.

Would you recommend the program to others?

I would definitely recommend the program to others. For people who want to work in a law firm, this is a great opportunity to learn about your client and how to be a more effective outside counsel. For people who want to go in-house, this is a great opportunity to learn what it is like to be an in-house counsel and how to plan your career to get there.

Anything else you would like to say about the program or your experience?

Interns at Apple’s legal department come from very different backgrounds. The pool is pretty diverse. When I first applied, I thought Apple would only take someone from California who go to Stanford or Berkley. But in fact, they took interns from so many schools around the country. Many interns first applied thinking that they had little chance to get selected but they did. So just apply and do not hold yourself back.