Zareta Terchoyeva, graduate of University of Brussels (ULB), Brussels (Belgium)

My name is Zareta and I had the opportunity to go through a three-month internship at CLS. I must say this was an enriching experience for me.

Since I got my law degree in Belgium, my goal for this short period of time was to get acquainted with the culture of a Russian law firm, to learn as much as possible about Russian law, to expand by Russian legal vocabulary and to practice my English where possible.

Thanks to the variety of tasks assigned to me, as well as the CLS team’s professionalism and willingness to help, I was able to achieve these goals. Thank you, CLS team!

Yuliya Rudenko, 4th year student at the Higher School of Economics, National Research University

This September I went through an internship in the IP department. I decided to go specifically to Capital Legal Services because I had already heard positive reviews about this company on several occasions. My expectations were fully met. If someone asked me about the ideal place for the first internship, I would recommend this company without hesitation.

CLS is remarkable for the people working there, who seek to create a family and friendly environment in the workplace. I was surprised that I was introduced to all the staff; that is not a common thing in other companies. All the staff were very friendly, they kept up conversations, we talked on professional topics and they shared their experience.

My IP team was close-knit and well-coordinated, they were very passionate about their work and inspired me to follow their example.

My workload varied and I had legal and other tasks. It was difficult and interesting for me to seek answers to questions. Elena, Vladislav and Alexey helped me with this, for which I am very grateful.

I learned to do quality work, to not be afraid of mistakes, to discuss problems and to find the best solutions.

In general, I can say that the internship at CLS was an invaluable experience for me, and the knowledge and skills I gained during this period will certainly help me in the future.

Anastasia, 3rd year law student at St. Petersburg State University

I went through an internship at CLS for about two months and it was great consulting work experience. To start, it should be noted that this was my first internship. I did not have work experience, but was very eager to get it. Having thoroughly studied information about Capital Legal Services, I understood that the Intellectual Property practice in the firm was exactly the place where I wanted to work.

Firstly, CLS is a major law firm in St. Petersburg, and it is best to learn only from the top professionals. Secondly, the company has a clear internship program and explicit details of the interview stages. After looking through the CLS client list, I decided to go there!

My expectations were met to the fullest extent. The first impression of the office was that everything was made for the employees’ comfort. Every person I had contact with was friendly, and the work climate was very warm. I was lucky as regards my colleagues in the IP department. They were ready to teach me everything, were patient with my blunders and always gave me interesting tasks.

I want to specially note that there was no boredom at work with routine clerical tasks. I was preparing draft letters for our foreign clients and colleagues, researching court practice, preparing documents for registering trademarks and assisting with drawing up commercial proposals to potential clients and performing many other tasks.

This internship gave me much, I learned about work with intellectual property as I would never have learned from books. I learned to properly draw up documents, as the company sets high standards for document preparation. I have become more attentive to details and acquired teamwork skills

If you are ready to learn, ready for high requirements and ready to adequately take criticism, this is the place for you. This internship is not for those who want to merely pass it for the sake of appearance and in hopes of sitting on the sidelines. Here you really have to go all out, but this experience is worth it.

Maria, 3rd year law student at Higher School of Economics

Recently I was lucky to go through an internship at Capital Legal Services. I can say for sure that I have the best impression from this law firm. All employees are very polite, friendly and good-natured, which creates a unique atmosphere in the company. From the first days of work, I felt like I was part of the team. It is worth mentioning the professionalism and commitment of the CLS employees to results. Being surrounded by ambitious specialists, I got enormous motivation to improve myself.

I also appreciate the human qualities of the employees. They are all kind, interesting and multi-faceted people with a great sense of humor due, and with them office work does not seem boring and monotonous.

The corporate culture is very developed; birthday greetings are always warm, and there are regular teambuilding events. The office is located in St. Petersburg’s historical center. It is very comfortable and modern. As to work, there is a lot of it as in all legal consulting, though all projects are quite interesting and expand your professional horizons. 

Yury, Alina, Tatiana, Nikita, 4th year students at the Law School of the St. Petersburg State University

Today is, unfortunately, the last day of our internship as interns from SPSU. We would like to thank all colleagues without exception for their excellent attitude, help and incredible responsiveness. Internship at CLS was very comfortable for us; we got a great deal of useful practical experience, new knowledge and skills. Friendly attitude of those with whom we directly worked and from whom we received tasks, as well as those with whom we just had a chance to communicate, helped us adapt in an unfamiliar environment and quickly "become part of" the team. Thank you all very much for everything!

Olga Prokaeva, 3rd year law school student at the Higher School of Economics

In July of 2018, I went through an internship in the IP department at Capital Legal Services. I have only the best impressions from the internship, first of all, thanks to the wonderful and friendly team. It is always important for me how staff treat each other and how senior staff treat junior staff. In this sense, the CLS team breaks the stereotypes about consulting, where people are like sharks and do everything for profit while being indifferent to their colleagues. In the course of my internship, I saw how people help each other and work together as a team, which in my view is extremely important.

As regards the internship itself, I feel I must tell about the professional experience I received. I came to CLS after my second year of the bachelor program and, of course, my knowledge was far from complete. However, regardless of this I wasn’t just given mundane tasks to do as it could’ve happened and often does happen. On the contrary, I was involved in client tasks where I needed to think and try to use a creative approach. If there was something I didn’t know, colleagues would help me. I gained new and deeper knowledge in IP, understood how the relevant government bodies work, where to look for answers and so on. That is how I see the main essence of internships – at the university we can get certain theoretical knowledge and understand how it can be used, but only internship can help apply in practice the skills received during studies, get certain context that helps to make sense of the knowledge, and to learn to find gaps and risks.

In addition, I acquired skills in business correspondence, drawing up official documents, improved by written English, understood how a law firm works from the inside and obtained a great deal of useful information. I would like to thank Elena Berger, Vladislav Scherbatykh and Alexey Vikharev, under whose guidance I studied, as well as the whole Capital Legal Services team for a wonderful month of internship.

Aleksander, 4th year law school student at the Higher School of Economics

Colleagues, today is my last day at CLS. The month went by quickly and was interesting. I will try to briefly say in simple words what I experienced. There wasn’t a single day when I didn’t want to go back to the office. For this I want to thank those who are not just professionals from whom there is much to learn, but also simply nice people. In this month, I was asked to assist with interesting issues, as well as non-interesting ones which the client needed very much. Regardless of this, I saw people who take on any issue and give quality. This is inspiring, impressive and tells what the profession is about. The internship truly fulfills its goals! Thank you CLS for a productive August, and I wish you the best!