Intern Check In: Carmen Keller

Legal intern Carmen Keller described her summer as a busy one.

She’s attended depositions regarding active cases that Prairie State is affiliated with, worked to help prepare for November’s ethics and compliance week and researched Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding unmanned aircraft.

Her experience at Prairie State this summer has taught her about working in law in the corporate world.

“Before working here I hadn’t had any experience with corporate law,” Keller said. “It takes patience to be able to fully research and read all of the information. Sometimes I’d have to re-read it because it wasn’t something I was familiar with to make sure I was understanding everything to its fullest.”

She said she has also enjoyed the opportunity to work with people who have a different style as her to see how things could potentially be done better. For instance, while sitting in on several depositions this year, she got the chance to see two different attorneys present cases in two different styles allowing her to compare and contrast the two. This internship has also allowed her to put her skills she’s learned at SIU’s School of Law into practice.

Keller has enjoyed her time at Prairie State. She said that her supervisors, Phil Casey and Angela Kalous have kept her informed on projects and helped her keep up with her work. She has also had a hand in most of the legal projects throughout the summer. She still sees herself working in family law, but her brief time at Prairie State has given her a new appreciation for corporate law.

“I can see myself working in corporate law now,” she said. “It’s important to get experience in a field before you just jump in and dedicate a bunch of study hours to it. After this internship, I think that instead of being just slightly interested in corporate law, that interest is more enhanced now.”