The fair is part of the Externship Programme, which gives students an insight into life as a practising lawyer and allows them to apply the academic theory they have learnt.
The two-day Externship Fair of Qatar University (QU)’s College of Law opened yesterday. During the event, around 100 QU law students would meet lawyers - representing more than 20 organisations in Doha - to learn more about Qatar’s legal sector.
The fair is the annual showcase event of the university’s Externship Programme, which was launched in September 2011 and matches undergraduate law students with law firms and legal departments of state and private organisations. During the 10-week programme, students work for 120 hours in a legal department or a law firm while completing the remainder of their studies.
The fair gives students the chance to find out the areas of expertise of participating law firms and the legal departments of organisations.
The 27 organisations that took part in the 2012-13 programme were honoured at a ceremony attended by QU College of Law dean Dr Hassan Okour, lawyers, QU faculty and students. “The Externship Programme gives students the opportunity to understand what it is like to work as a practising lawyer and they pick up important skills such as confidence and teamwork. Employers, too, get to meet and nurture Qatar’s young legal talent,” said Dr Okour.
“Students who have taken part in the programme speak about how much they have learned from their placement and how it inspires them,” said Externship Programme director Melissa Deehring Montouche. “We are grateful for all the support we have received from lawyers across Qatar, who have helped spark a light in many young people - our lawyers of tomorrow.”
Fourth-year law student Dana al-Muhannadi, who has just completed a placement with Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking, said: “We went to legal clinics, the Public Prosecution office, the Ministry of Labour and other organisations, speaking to victims and understanding their stories. I learned how to deal with cases professionally and not to get too emotional. I saw the world in a different way.”
