Summer Experiences: Daniella Apodaca, ’25, Summer Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Daniella Apodaca, ’25, spent her summer in New York City working for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, a global law firm. During her summer experience, she got to use her multilingual skills and work in an environment that has an international scope—something that she plans to continue doing when she graduates.
How did you connect with this summer opportunity?
I met with Freshfields during the Chicago Law Interview Program (CLIP). I had spent a lot of my 1L summer doing pre-recruiting interviews, so at one point I considered not participating in CLIP at all, but I’m glad I did because Freshfields ended up being the last firm I met with and the best fit for my interests.
How does your experience connect with what you currently envision doing with your law degree?
I went to law school hoping to be able to practice law in an international setting and multilingual environment. Freshfields slots in perfectly with that vision: it is a truly global firm, and my summer projects, which gave me a taste of my life as an associate, often involved me using my other languages.
Please describe a “typical” day at work.
I arrive to our office at 3 World Trade Center by 9 or 9:30 am and grab a coffee from our awesome coffee machine. I spend the morning working on my projects.
This summer, I generally balanced two or three projects at a time, so I allocated my time according to deadlines. I worked almost entirely with the international arbitration practice at the firm, but my projects within that varied. One day I could be doing research on Westlaw to investigate how the Eleventh Circuit approaches the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, and another day I could be searching for documents on our e-discovery platform to build a chronology to assist a senior associate in writing a brief for an arbitration in Latin America.
By 12:30 pm or so on an average day, I head out for lunch with other summer associates and lawyers in the firm. In the afternoons, I go back to my projects and attend ongoing trainings that the firm runs for summer associates. I head out usually by 6 pm—either home, to the gym, or to a firm event, of which we had many this summer!
What is something you learned or experienced that was surprising or particularly compelling during this summer position?
To be honest, I was surprised by the level of camaraderie that can be found among lawyers at a big law firm. It was wonderful to see that Freshfields lawyers, despite how hard they work, make time to enjoy each other’s company and to genuinely be friends. Camaraderie is something I’ve observed and admired in our faculty at UChicago (and of course something that I’ve gotten to enjoy among students here too), so it’s nice to know that this environment exists at the firm where I intend to start my career!
What are a couple of your key takeaways from the experience so far?
One new takeaway was the extent to which the legal practice requires you to be entrepreneurial—as a young lawyer, you need to make yourself known through the quality of your work to more senior associates and partners, and as a more senior lawyer, you need to make your success known to prospective clients. This entrepreneurial mindset was a particularly salient one at Freshfields, given that in recent years it has made a push to expand in the United States (it’s a British firm)—but I think it’s generally true at other firms too!
What advice would you offer another law student contemplating working in a similar position next summer?
I would encourage students to not be shy in reaching out to fellow students about their experiences and to really reflect on what they want in a career. Do your research and embrace long walks or journaling to reflect. A law degree is extremely advantageous in the career opportunities it offers—but decisions can be harrowing, and it’s good to know yourself well before having to decide on how you want to start your career.
How are you spending your free time this summer?
I am spending the second half of my summer attending some Olympics events in Paris, traveling with friends, writing a paper, and running our article selection process for The University of Chicago Law Review. And I’m spending any free time within that reading novels, hanging out with my friends and family, and exercising. I also refuse to let the summer go by without watching the third season of The Bear—I have one more year to embrace my identity as a Chicagoan, to the extent it exists right now at all, and catching up on The Bear might help me out.
What are you most looking forward to in returning to UChicago Law this fall?
I can’t wait to see my law school friends again and choose some great classes for my last year ever as a student.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I have already mentioned that it’s important to reach out to other students about their experiences, and to that end, I encourage anyone with further questions to come talk to me!