William Brosnan’s summer externship has meant watching what happens when a single clause in a real contract carries consequences for a global luxury brand. 

The rising second-year Carolina Law student is spending the summer as a legal extern with a prestigious European automaker, working alongside the company’s in-house legal team on regulatory research, franchise law, contract drafting, choice-of-law analysis, and employment matters, a wide enough range that no two weeks look the same. 

“Seeing how legal concepts I studied in law school can carry real-world business consequences has been one of the most exciting parts,” Brosnan says. 

One of those moments came when he was tasked with drafting a vehicle loan agreement for a company track event. His job was to craft provisions that managed the company’s risk on the track, including a key provision specifying that only professional drivers from the company’s headquarters could operate the vehicles during the event, with potential buyers riding along as passengers. It was the kind of assignment where the legal language he wrote connected directly to a real business decision with real stakes. 

Much of that lesson has been reinforced through his work with the company’s general counsel for the Americas, who has taken him on as a mentee for the summer. Brosnan has watched her field new developments as they arise, drawing on years of experience to steer the company through legal and business questions in real time, the kind of judgment call that never shows up in a casebook and has given him a much sharper picture of what the job actually demands. 

“I’ve come to better understand the GC’s role not only as a lawyer, but also as a practical business advisor to senior leadership,” Brosnan says. 

He’s seen that dual role up close in the meetings he’s sat in on between the company’s legal team and outside counsel, getting a clear look at how the two sides divide the work, with in-house attorneys handling the company’s daily legal needs and outside counsel stepping in for matters that call for specialized expertise. 

Opportunities like this one don’t happen by accident. Brosnan was placed with the company through Carolina Law’s Externship Program, which works alongside the Career Development Office to match students with experiences suited to their goals, a model that Program Coordinator Melissa B. Wood Saltzman says is designed to build more than legal skills, shaping the relationships and professional identity students carry into their careers. 

The collaboration extends well beyond any single placement. Later this summer, Brosnan will trade the global stage for a boutique estate planning firm in North Carolina, a deliberate pairing of international and local experience, says Kaitlyn Parker, Senior Director of Student Engagement in the Career Development Office. “Our offices’ shared focus ensures students gain the experiences, connections, and confidence they need to shape their future careers and serve their future communities,” Parker says. 

By summer’s end, Brosnan expects to carry sharper research, drafting, and contract-review skills out of both placements, along with a fuller picture of legal practice across two very different settings.