Amani Rocque – Olliers Summer Internship 2026

Amani Rocque reflects on her experience taking part in the Olliers Summer Internship in July 2026.

I was super excited for my week at Olliers, and also slightly nervous as I wasn’t sure what to expect – when I first arrived, I was given a really helpful induction which gave me an overview of the firm and what they do, and also an overview of what my week would look like and what I could expect to be doing. It was a much more varied experience than I had anticipated which I was really happy with – I had thought the week would contain a lot of office-based shadowing and admin tasks but was really surprised at how hands-on the week was, with firsthand experiences of a range of court proceedings, trials, CVPs and client interviews.

My very first day consisted of attending a murder trial in Crown Court, which included sitting in on discussions with the defendant and speaking with the counsel on the case, which was incredibly exciting and definitely not something I had been expecting. Jack was so helpful throughout the day, allowing me to have as much exposure as possible to the trial proceedings and answering all my questions about the case (of which there were many!), and I couldn’t have asked for a better first day to introduce me to the world of criminal law. We spent almost the entire day in court, and it was really informative to see things like jury selection and prosecution opening arguments. I was also pleased when I was able to attend the same trial later in the week to observe the progression of the case. I also attended a Crown Court sentencing which I was really excited to observe as it was very different from the initial proceedings I had already seen, so it was great to get a view of both ends of a criminal trial. I also had the opportunity to speak with the family of the defendant and understand the positive impact that Olliers has had for their case, and it also really helped to put into perspective the importance of handling cases such as these in a sensitive manner.

I also had the chance to visit the Magistrates’ Court and sit in on numerous proceedings for offences such as simple assault and breach of probation orders. This experience changed my perception of the Magistrates Court, as it was a lot more informal than I had expected and it was a completely different experience to my previous day in Crown Court. David answered all my questions in a lot of detail, and explained multiple aspects of the Magistrates’ Court to me, giving me a really good overview of how they run and the types of cases that are tried there.

The admin tasks I undertook during the times I was in the office were also really interesting, such as transcribing a police interview and drafting a summary for an initial account, which was then actually used in the CVP (which I was also able to attend), which felt like a real privilege. I also experienced a  conference call with a client attempting to appeal a decision to retain her record of common assault and threats to kill rather than deleting these from the PNC. This was very interesting to sit in on, as it was very emotionally charged and obviously a very sensitive situation, and it was great to get an idea of how this is handled and what kind of information is needed in order for an appeal to be made with the best possible success rate. Sonia, from the DBS team, handled the call and was fantastic at explaining each stage and helping me to understand why certain questions were asked, and why certain information was needed. Following the conference, I was also able to have a go at drafting representations using the notes Sonia had made from the call, which was a great learning experience. 

Overall, my week at Olliers was incredibly interesting and exciting, and I particularly enjoyed being able to attend criminal trials and see how they work in practise, as it’s a very different experience from simply learning about them. It was an amazing opportunity to pick the brains of people who have been in the job for a long time, and I feel like I was able to gain a fantastic insight into the realities of the job. I was also really pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of people had completed the same law conversion course that I am currently in the process of completing, as it made me feel incredibly reassured about my future in the field, and gave me a lot more confidence that opportunities exist for someone with a non-law background.