Leanna Byrne | Editor
An unpaid work placement in Newport Pharmaceuticals Ltd advertised by the Trinity Law School has been cancelled following requests for information from The University Times.
When the pharmaceutical company was contacted about the internship and asked why it was unpaid, legal specialist Juilenne Paye replied stating “this summer work experience opportunity is not proceeding”.
The advertisement for the 8 – 12 weeks unpaid internship was sent to Trinity students studying law on April 25th. The internship required applicants to “have competition law and contract law covered” and would be for 3 days per week.
The advertisement offered no remuneration, but offered students the “opportunity to gain knowledge in competition law, contract drafting, trademarks and legislation governing medicinal products, medical devices and cosmetics”.
Newport Pharmaceuticals is part of the Ewopharma Group, a privately held Swiss Healthcare company with subsidiaries located throughout Central Eastern Europe since 2011.
One Senior Sophister law student was critical of the unpaid internship saying that they “couldn’t agree less with it and it’s something that shouldn’t be circulated by the law school”.
Following a request for comment on the circulation of the internship the Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Oran Doyle said “there won’t be any further comment: The Law School does not have a position on unpaid internships. The Law School does not monitor any competition for internships/placements.”
Commenting on the advertisement, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union President, Tom Lenihan, said “unfortunately given the fact that there isn’t the work or opportunities in the courts for young people, this is something that some students will apply for. I don’t agree with it, but many people in law choose to take these up because they see it as career advancement. That culture is not necessarily driven by the school. It can get incredibly competitive in law especially around the application stages for internships and they will spend much time and effort on applying for them even if it is unpaid. That atmosphere isn’t as permeating as in other schools and that is a good thing because students shouldn’t be selling themselves short when they leave Trinity to work.”
Photo by Andrew Murphy for The University Times.
Update 30/4/2014 @ 1:15pm to include comment from the Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Oran Doyle.
