We spoke to Clément Bonnechère about his internship at Ciarb, why he wanted to learn more about damages in international commercial arbitration, and what he’s doing next.

Why did you apply to be an intern at Ciarb?

I applied to do the internship at Ciarb because I wanted to gain knowledge in international arbitration. I had already done a few internships in a law firm after my masters at the University of Exeter, but I wanted to gain more theoretical knowledge about arbitration. I also wanted to get experience working in the UK, which would also be great in developing my English language skills.

What were your main responsibilities as an intern?

The main responsibilities included doing research, publishing articles, preparing for conferences, helping speakers with their speeches, or providing research to compare provisions between different sets of regulations – and generally supporting Cristen Bauer, Ciarb’s Head of Policy and Mercy McBrayer FCIArb, Head of Arbitration Professional Practice with their work.

How has your experience been of the internship?

Very good. From day one Cristen set my expectations, asking what I wanted from the internship, and then oriented all the work that she gave me through that objective. Cristen also asked me what I wanted to be in five years. In a nutshell, I want to be a lawyer in international arbitration. I went to lots of conferences with that in mind.

The internship has given me the skills that will help me in the future. I think it has always been clear in my mind what would my next steps be, but the internship has made me surer about it. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from all the research that I've been able to do and also a lot of skills in terms of writing. I think I improved my level in terms of writing English and especially legal English.

What did you learn about international arbitration?

I didn’t study international arbitration modules at university. Any study into the topic was on my own. Doing lots of research at Ciarb, I had to go back to the fundamentals in international arbitration. For the first two months of my internship, I went deeper into how damages are calculated, which has always been something that we don't learn at university, but that we use a lot in law studies.

What has been the highlight of your internship?

Sir Robin Knowles’ Roebuck Lecture ‘Damages and Remedies – Responsibilities and Reputation’ was about how to calculate damages and how it works, which I found very interesting – especially considering my interest in the subject. At the beginning of my internship in February 2025, myself and the other interns, Mohamed Sadiq ACIArb and Srishti Chawla ACIArb had a meeting with him to assist with research. Apart from that, I've had a lot of fun with Mohamed and Srishti helping the marketing team with an ad campaign!

Would you recommend being an intern at Ciarb to other graduates?

I have received so many questions about my internship from my French friends and even friends of friends in France. Getting an internship in a law firm is in the UK is not always the easiest things to do – and once they found out that I was interning in the UK but not in a law firm, yet still in something related to arbitration, they were interested in knowing what it was like – so I’ve already recommended the internship to a lot of people.

What are you up to next?

I am going back to France where I will be preparing for the Bar throughout the whole summer, taking the written part in September and then hopefully the oral parts later in November. After that I have two internships lined up for 2026. So, I have a pretty good vision of what I’m doing until 2027.

Read Clément Bonnechère’s work:

Hulley Enterprises Ltd & Ors v The Russian Federation [2025] EWCA Civ 108

Amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty

Interested in joining Ciarb? Check out our vacancies page for up-to-date information.