When Angela Kim began her summer internship at BRAWW Law, she already had a growing interest in real estate law thanks to a previous internship at a small firm in Decatur. What she didn’t expect was just how quickly she would become immersed in the work. From her first week, Angela was trusted with meaningful assignments, working alongside attorneys Chris Day, Stuart Banner, Brian Bodker, and Tim Ramsey on commercial real estate matters and gaining firsthand exposure to client work. Over the course of the summer, she had the opportunity to participate in two major closings, giving her a firsthand look at the pace and complexity of practicing law.
It made an immediate impression. “The first week I was here, they started assigning me real work,” Angela said. “It made my future as a lawyer feel so much more real instead of just something that was years away.” Throughout the summer, she saw the same types of matters she hopes to work on after graduation, reinforcing both her interest in real estate law and her confidence that she had chosen the right career path.
Learning Through Real Experience
One of the biggest lessons Angela took away from the internship wasn’t about legal research or drafting documents. It was about organization and communication. Watching attorneys manage multiple clients, meet strict deadlines, and navigate complex transactions taught her that being an effective attorney depends just as much on organization and communication as it does on legal knowledge.
“Sometimes, overcommunicating is the better thing to do,” she said. “Everyone is handling so much, and keeping people informed helps the entire team move forward together.”
Angela was also surprised by the amount of trust the attorneys placed in her. Coming into this summer, she expected assignments to be limited to research tasks and administrative help. Instead, she found attorneys willing to trust her with meaningful work and drafting, understanding that some of the best learning comes from making mistakes and talking them through afterward. That approach gave her the confidence to take ownership of her assignments, knowing she had experienced mentors to guide her. Rather than shielding interns from responsibility, the attorneys encouraged them to learn by doing, while providing regular support and feedback along the way.
This, in turn, empowered Angela. “As a student, you sometimes feel like making a mistake is the worst thing that could happen. But here, I realized mistakes are opportunities to learn. The attorneys trusted me to work independently, and they were there to guide me. That gave me so much more confidence.”
Looking Ahead
As meaningful as the work was, Angela says it was the people who made the biggest impression. Although everyone stayed busy, she found the firm to be welcoming, supportive, and genuinely collaborative, with attorneys across practice areas taking an interest in her growth and future plans.
That experience gave her a clearer picture of what practicing law really looks like and confirmed she had chosen the right path. Because the attorneys were willing to involve interns in meaningful legal work, she encourages future interns to embrace challenging assignments, ask questions, and step outside their comfort zones. “We learn a lot in law school,” she said, “but you learn even more working with real clients on real legal matters.”
As she returns to law school at Emory University for her final year, Angela will continue working part-time at BRAWW Law while taking additional real estate-focused classes, allowing her to apply what she’s learning in the classroom to real client matters as she continues to build her experience. Looking back over the summer, she is grateful not only for everything she learned, but also for the trust the attorneys placed in her throughout her internship.
“This summer, I know I’ve been fortunate,” she said. “I’ve worked with great people, been involved in interesting matters, and had opportunities that many interns don’t get. It’s been an experience I’ll always be proud of.”
As she begins her final year of law school, Angela looks forward to building on everything she learned this summer and continuing to grow as a future real estate attorney.