Internships at AEI: Jarren Goh
1. Tell us something people don’t often know about you.
For anyone who has not met my twin brother before, it is always a surprise for them to find out that I not only have an identical twin brother, but he is also studying law in the same law school and the same batch as me. What they don’t often know is that even before law school, we have also been in the same school and the same class (except for 1 year) throughout our entire education. The next question people often ask me is whether we can read each other’s mind or if we have ever swapped places in school and the answer to both questions is no.
2. What did you learn from the internship – best takeaway?
An internship is the best opportunity to learn about the culture of the firm. While law firms can describe their culture on their website, it is not the same as being able to experience it first-hand. It is safe to say that AEI Legal has lived up to its expectations and offers a welcoming and positive environment where you can learn and grow. The non-hierarchical structure of the team means that you can approach anyone in the team with any topic, whether it is related to work, career, or personal life.
Despite a short 2-week internship with the firm, I was given the opportunity to work on a broad range of work, for example, proofreading service agreements, the company constitution, and an employee share option scheme (ESOS). Additionally, I was involved in drafting a board resolution and a client update on a recent amendment to the Companies Act, as well as conducting research on company and trust law.
Two matters particularly stood out to me. Firstly, being able to attend a client meeting with Andrea is truly an eye-opening experience. She is an effective communicator who can deliver sound and structured advice while weighing the feasibility of different solutions and taking into account the client’s needs to provide them with the best possible solution. I also learnt that in legal practice, the facts are not static and are constantly changing. As a lawyer, it is therefore essential to be agile and hone your ability to think quickly on your feet to address the client’s concerns.
Secondly, it was interesting to work on a client update on the amendments to s 215 of the Companies Act. Even though I have seen publications by law firms on different areas of the law while I was in law school, I found it interesting to take a different role this time by being in the position of the law firm in drafting these publications.
3. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
I was assigned a research task by Darren on a trust law issue which I found to be challenging because I could not find a direct authority to address the research question. I found it useful to seek guidance from my mentors who are more than willing to spend some time explaining how I can expand the scope of my research, for example, using different keywords, exploring different academic sources, or looking to a foreign jurisdiction. I also found it useful to keep a log of the sources which I have used and what I have found. Lastly, I sought feedback from Darren after submitting the task where I learnt that in some cases, the authority on an issue of law may not always be clear. In such a scenario, you have to exercise your judgment in how you phrase your advice to the client.
4. What advice would you give future interns?
As you will be involved in corporate work, it will be advantageous to do corporate law-related modules in school. For example, having done company law and corporate finance made it easier for me to understand different concepts like shareholders agreement, board resolution, different classes of shares, and the company constitution.
However, whether you have a corporate law background in school or have no prior experience, you will realise, as with all internships, that you have to learn a lot on the job. For example, corporate law modules in school will not give you the same exposure to documentation as legal practice. Therefore, my advice would be to be a sponge, take notes and ask questions if in doubt. Each member of the AEI Legal team whether it is the staff, or the lawyers is extremely capable and is well-equipped to handle your questions.
5. Did you enjoy your time?
Absolutely. It was a pleasant surprise to be invited to the firm’s anniversary gathering on the second last day of my internship. It made me feel like I was a valued member of the team despite only being an intern.
I also enjoyed the flexible working arrangement where I was allowed to work from home 4 days a week. The time saved on commute helped to increase my productivity as I could get adequate sleep in the morning and have more personal time after work. I also appreciate the opportunity to come to the office every Thursday to meet the team in person and get to know them, as well as coming to the office on a day where there was an important client meeting to observe the team in action.
Overall, I found the scope of work that I was offered, the patience and guidance provided by capable mentors, and the tightly knit culture at this firm made this internship an invaluable experience.