Annalee Gunderson is a 2L, currently participating in her first externship. This semester, she is working alongside Catherine Turner, J.D. '00, at The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, where she has received in-house legal experience in one of South Florida's most prominent industries navigating contracts, maritime, and international law.
Gunderson was born and raised in Orange County, California. In 2022, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with double majors in journalism and communications and certificates in entrepreneurship and sports communication.
Gunderson's second trip to Miami was for the law school's admitted student's day, where she fell in love and decided to make Miami "home." During the past year and a half as a Miami Law student, she has gotten very involved in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Honors program and served as a panel liaison for both the Counseling Creators and Global Entertainment & Sports Law + Industry conferences. This year, she is on the planning committee for the Global Entertainment & Sports Law conference and is a member of Miami Law Women.
Following her second year, she will be a summer associate at Holland & Knight's Miami office in the corporate department. Wanting some additional legal work experience before diving into her next position, Gunderson applied for a Fall 2024 externship. After seeing the posted position at The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, she sent a LinkedIn message to Catherine Turner, the company's vice president, general counsel, and corporate Secretary, to explain her love of cruising and enthusiasm for the position.
"The maritime and international law externship with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is an incredibly enriching program blending law, business, and the unique dynamics of the cruise line industry," said Turner. "The real-world experience my current extern, Annalee Gunderson, is gaining through high-level tasks like drafting waivers and contracts, editing our guest ticket contract, and presenting to senior executives is invaluable. I am thrilled to offer UM law students the opportunity to participate in such a hands-on learning environment—this externship is sure to inspire future legal talents in maritime and international law!"
The School of Law's Externship Program is a J.D. academic class that provides second-year and third-year law students in good academic standing an opportunity to gain practical legal experience for academic credit by working with local, national, and international corporations in the in-house legal department or general counsel's office; government agencies; public interest organizations, or the judiciary.
"In her role as an extern with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Annalee Gunderson has proven to be a very valuable asset to the legal team," said Jessi Tamayo, director of the externship programs. "She has taken initiative and spearheaded projects which have subsequently been presented to major stakeholders of the organization. Annalee has truly made her mark in a relatively new externship site placement and has been fundamental in solidifying the relationship between The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and the University of Miami School of Law."
Three months into the externship, Gunderson has gotten tremendous exposure to in-house legal work and completed many meaningful assignments. Her assignments have ranged from developing the company's ticket contract to industry research, understanding and presenting on EU travel regulations, OFAC sanctions policies, drafting waivers, and more.
"This externship has been one of the most fulfilling and educational parts of my law school experience. I know I am learning, developing my hard skills, and helping out the department with significant work all at the same time. This experience has made me a more confidence student and future-lawyer in such a short amount of time," said Gunderson.
Read more about Miami Law's externship program.
