Christopher Jackson, a member of the University of Houston Law Center Class of 2022.
June 15, 2021 – Rising University of Houston Law Center 3L Christopher Jackson will intern throughout the summer with the Texas United Management Corporation to obtain hands-on legal experience with practice areas differing from his previous litigation internship. He gained the opportunity as the first law student selected to participate in the Career Development Office's corporate internship pipeline program.
“Getting the opportunity to work in-house for a company as opposed to a firm, enabling you to work with one client the whole time, is something I wanted to experience, and I am glad for the opportunity to work with TUMC,” Jackson said. “It will show me what I enjoy and what I am best at.”
Designed by the Career Development Office to be an asset for students seeking in-house legal internships while providing corporations with exceptional legal work at a lesser cost, the Texas United Management Company, a shared services company for a group of salt and brine mining companies based in Houston, is the first corporation to participate in the program.
“CIPP gives the students access to an opportunity that would not have previously been there,” Kourtney James, director of employer relations and development said. “It allows in-house legal departments that don’t normally recruit with us, and may not have a formal internship program, to participate and provides access to a legal environment that may not have existed on its own.”
Jackson will have the opportunity to perform legal services such as research and analysis, document drafting and review, project management and other assignments, while being supervised by an attorney. Projects and assignments are diverse and include unique issues to resolve, enhancing strategy development and diligence in establishing a work ethic to overcome such challenges.
“I didn’t really realize it until I got to law school, but it is all problem solving. It is just a matter of you finding the answer, and although it is a lot of work, it is very interesting,” Jackson said. “It is a fun challenge with unique issues that always have an answer, it is just the dedication it takes to figuring it out.”
Jackson noted that his contrasting selection of classes while at Law Center, ranging from Oil and Gas Law to Intellectual Property Law, have proven to be conducive to his internship.
“I also am glad to build relationships here,” Jackson said. “It is nice to be able to hear of their experiences and get my name out there with the companies I am working with.”
“In just a few short weeks, Chris has already proven to be an asset to our legal team,” added Mai Huynh ’08, General Counsel of the Texas Brine Company. “UH has been our first choice for law school recruiting in the past, so we jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Law Center’s inaugural internship program.”
The CDO has created a Corporate Fellowship Pipeline Program for recent Law Center graduates as well, presenting them an opportunity to work in-house with a corporation full time from mid-August or mid-November for a year after graduation.
“This program builds relationships between students and employers that they would not have previously had,” James said. “We hope this is an overall win for the Law Center.”
