PPO Experience at Trilegal | Internship, Assessment Process & Tips from Shubh Jaiswal
Securing a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) at a leading law firm is an important milestone for law students. But what does the internship experience actually look like, and what factors can help an intern convert an internship into a PPO?
In this interview, Shubh Jaiswal, a 2025 graduate of Jindal Global Law School, shares his experience of securing an internship through the university recruitment process and subsequently receiving a PPO from Trilegal. He is currently part of Trilegal’s General Corporate practice. Shubh Jaiswal_PPO EXPERIENCE (1)
The interview covers his day-to-day work during the assessment internship, his approach to assignments, working with associates and partners, asking for work, building visibility within the team, handling unfamiliar areas of law, and the assessment process at Trilegal. It also discusses the three factors he considers important in converting an internship into a PPO: quality of work, consistency and attitude. Shubh Jaiswal_PPO EXPERIENCE (1)
PPO Experience at Trilegal: Interview with Shubh Jaiswal
About Shubh Jaiswal
Shubh Jaiswal graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2025 and received a PPO from Trilegal. He is currently part of Trilegal’s General Corporate practice. He secured the internship that led to his PPO through the university recruitment process. Shubh Jaiswal_PPO EXPERIENCE (1)
Below is the complete interview.
1. Could you briefly introduce yourself, including your law school, graduating batch, and the law firm from which you received a PPO?
My name is Shubh Jaiswal. I graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2025 and received a PPO from Trilegal. I am currently part of the General Corporate practice at Trilegal.
2. How did you secure the internship that eventually led to your PPO? Was it through a university recruitment process, a direct application, a referral, a previous internship, or another route?
I secured the internship through the university recruitment process. Irrespective of the route through which one gets the internship, however, the assessment once you are at the firm is largely based on the work you do and how you conduct yourself during the internship.
3. Could you take us through a typical day during your assessment internship at the firm? What kind of work were you usually assigned?
There was not really a fixed “typical” day, particularly because corporate work tends to depend on what transactions are active at the time. My work broadly involved legal research, reviewing and preparing first drafts of documents, assisting with due diligence and preparing notes or summaries for associates. There were also smaller tasks such as checking precedents, verifying provisions or helping with execution-related work, which are equally important on a live transaction.
4. How did you approach an assignment when it was given to you? Could you explain your process, from receiving the task to submitting the final work?
My first step was to make sure I understood exactly what was being asked, the context of the assignment and the expected output. I would then identify the relevant law and precedents, conduct the research and try to structure my findings before beginning to draft. Before submitting anything, I would usually read it once from the perspective of the associate who had assigned it to me, basically, whether the answer was clear, whether every proposition was properly supported and whether I had actually answered the question asked.
5. Can you recall one specific assignment, interaction, or moment during the internship that you believe significantly strengthened your chances of receiving a PPO?
I do not think there was one single assignment that resulted in the PPO. My sense is that consistency mattered more and being dependable across different assignments and showing that feedback given on one task was incorporated into the next. If someone has to repeatedly correct the same issue, that is naturally more concerning than an intern making a mistake once and learning from it.
6. Were there instances where you did not know how to complete an assignment or were unfamiliar with the area of law? How did you handle such situations?
Definitely. As an intern, there will inevitably be areas of law or transaction structures that you have not encountered before. I would generally spend some time trying to understand the issue independently, including by looking at the statute, relevant commentary and precedents. If I was still unclear, I would approach the associate with specific questions rather than simply saying that I did not know how to proceed. I think showing that you have first made a genuine attempt is important.
7. How did you build a professional relationship with Associates, Senior Associates, and Partners during the internship? Did this happen naturally through work, or did you consciously make an effort to interact with them?
Most of it happened organically through work. If you are working closely with someone, there will naturally be opportunities to discuss the assignment and interact beyond the immediate task. I did make an effort to be approachable and engage with the team, but I do not think interns need to manufacture interactions with senior lawyers simply for visibility.
8. Did you actively ask for work, or was work generally allocated to you? How would you advise an intern to ask for more work without becoming intrusive?
It was a combination of both. Work was often allocated, but whenever I had bandwidth, I would let the associates I was working with know that I was available. The best way to ask for work is probably to keep it simple, just mention that you have completed your existing assignments and have capacity to assist with anything else. There is no need to repeatedly follow up if someone has already said they will let you know.
9. How important do you think visibility within the team was? Can an intern do excellent work but still be overlooked if they do not interact enough with the team?
Visibility matters, but I would distinguish visibility from networking for its own sake. The best form of visibility is doing good work for different members of the team and being someone people remember as reliable and easy to work with. Excellent work is the foundation, but communication and being engaged with the team are also important because law firms are ultimately collaborative workplaces.
10. Looking back, what is one thing you did during your internship that you would advise future interns not to do?
One thing I would avoid is spending too long trying to solve a problem completely independently when you are genuinely stuck. Initiative is appreciated, but there is a point at which continuing without direction becomes inefficient. It is generally better to attempt the problem, identify precisely where you are stuck and then ask a focused question.
11. Similarly, students are often told to “network with the team.” What does good networking during an internship actually look like without appearing forced or transactional?
Good networking during an internship is quite simple. Do good work, be pleasant to work with, speak to people when there is a natural opportunity and show genuine interest in the work they do. A conversation over lunch or after finishing an assignment is usually far more effective than deliberately approaching every Partner or Senior Associate simply to introduce yourself.
12. Did the firm have a formal PPO assessment process, or was the evaluation largely based on your performance throughout the internship?
There was an assessment process, which consisted of an end-of -internship presentation, followed by 2 interviews by 2 different partners, but my understanding is that an intern’s performance throughout the internship is ultimately what matters at Trilegal.
Every assignment and interaction contributes to the team’s overall impression of you, rather than the decision turning on one particular piece of work.
13. To the best of your understanding, what were the three biggest factors that ultimately helped you convert your internship into a PPO?
I would identify three things: quality of work, consistency and attitude. Quality means being accurate, structured and thorough. Consistency means maintaining that standard even on smaller or less interesting assignments. Attitude includes being responsive, receptive to feedback and generally being someone the team would be comfortable working with on demanding transactions.
14. If a student is interning at a law firm next month and wants to maximise their chances of securing a PPO, what should they do before the internship begins?
I would not recommend trying to prepare for every possible area of law. Instead, I would revise the basics relevant to the team I was joining. For a corporate team, for example, basic company law and an understanding of common transaction documents.
More importantly, I would be comfortable using legal research databases, Microsoft Word and Excel, because these are tools you will use every day. It also helps to read briefly about the firm’s practice areas and some of its recent transactions.
15. What should they focus on during the final week? Is there anything they should do before leaving the firm?
The final week should not be treated very differently from the rest of the internship. The priority should still be completing pending assignments properly rather than suddenly trying to maximise visibility. Before leaving, I would make sure that anything I was working on had been handed over appropriately, thank the people I had worked with and, where appropriate, ask for feedback. Ending the internship professionally leaves a much better impression than making an obvious last-minute attempt to secure a PPO.
Key Takeaways from the Trilegal PPO Experience
Based on Shubh Jaiswal’s experience, the interview highlights several aspects of performing well during a law firm internship:
- Quality of work: Work should be accurate, structured and thorough.
- Consistency: The standard of work should remain steady across assignments, including smaller tasks.
- Receptiveness to feedback: Interns should demonstrate that feedback given on one assignment is incorporated into subsequent work.
- Taking initiative: Interns can communicate when they have the capacity to take on additional work.
- Knowing when to ask questions: Independent effort is important, but interns should ask focused questions when they are genuinely stuck.
- Professional relationships: Interaction with the team can develop naturally through the work rather than through forced networking.
- Preparation: Students joining a corporate team can revise basic company law, common transaction documents and familiarise themselves with legal research databases and tools such as Microsoft Word and Excel. Shubh Jaiswal_PPO EXPERIENCE (1)
Shubh’s experience also indicates that the PPO assessment at Trilegal involved an end-of-internship presentation followed by two interviews with two different partners, while performance throughout the internship remained an important part of the overall assessment. Shubh Jaiswal_PPO EXPERIENCE (1)
Conclusion
Shubh Jaiswal’s PPO experience at Trilegal offers law students an insight into what an assessment internship in a corporate law practice can involve and how interns can approach their work and professional interactions. His experience places particular emphasis on quality, consistency and attitude, while also highlighting the importance of being receptive to feedback, communicating with the team and knowing when to seek guidance.
For students preparing for law firm internships, the interview provides practical insights into approaching assignments, handling unfamiliar legal issues, asking for additional work, interacting with senior lawyers and preparing before the internship begins.
