Few UK lawyers will have had to deal with capital cases, where the outcome is - quite literally - a matter of life and death. Not so for Punch Robson's latest hiring Leah Keating who, on completing her university studies, took on an unconventional internship, working with death row inmates in the Texas prison system.

What really struck Leah about death row was the hostile conditions. She remembers that the inmates were incredibly pale as a result of not going outside and having to spend twenty-three hours a day in solitary confinement.

Although the inmates were guilty of their crimes, I feel that no legal system in the world is infallible, so to me the death penalty cannot be justified in any country or state. The internship seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to be able to help people within my own skill set.

Leah found her internship on death row very rewarding and says that she gained a lot of transferable skills from the experience that have since helped her career. She hasn’t ruled out doing more voluntary work on death row in the future, but for the moment she is happy in her current department.

I wanted to join the team at Punch Robson because the firm takes pride in helping families, individuals and businesses in the local area. As a local girl myself, this was something that really attracted me to the firm.

Leah has also joined TVLS Council as Constituency member for Stockton on Tees.