Today I attended the first lecture at the EFB. The speakers said the first internship has to take place in a company, or in a foreign country law firm. The second internship has to take place in a french law firm. One internship is supposed to last 6 months but can be split into 2 smaller internships.
Then, members of the Paris Bar Association urged us to take part in the association. They warned against isolation and stressed the importance of networking, socialisation and cooperation between lawyers. They also urged us to defend the interests of the profession against any threat coming from the government. They specifically mentioned the CARPA fund that holds clients funds as an important funding source to the association.
The EFB is located at Issy, in the close suburbs of Paris. The premises are highly satisfactory
The place is new and clean. It's close to the train station and only 20 minutes away from my apartment. Most of the lectures will take place in the morning, so It's best to get used to wake up early, as early as 6:30 AM. I don't mind attending the lectures since the pace is not extremely intensive. On top of that, I know that the results will be more reliable as compared to the CRFPA exam.
It's important to find meaningful and enjoyable internships as they will last over 1 year in total
It's a bit difficult for me to decide where to apply for the law firm internship. As for the PPI, I could apply for a legal tech internship as it is available and it makes sense for me. But I still want to give some time to myself so that I don't make a rushed decision. It also looks like I won't be able to take any vacation this year. But I don't mind too much since I can still be very productive in my spare time and do things I like.