Did some research, figured out the names of the counsels who handled SAM's matters, approached them in the SC while interning under a lawyer there, struck up conversations, eventually broached the topic of law firm internships, gave the impression that while I was not too keen on a law firm life, I still wanted to see how it goes and thus wanted to get it out of my way asap. This led to two of them promising to give the SAM people a call. One actually did. I had also started studying company law and contract law early, so that helped when the SAM partner asked me a few questions on the first day. That's basically it. If one accepts that in the absence of family contacts, one has to make one's own, and is hungry enough, it can still work out with proper preparation and planning. Mind you, this was a few years back, around 2014. Hope this helps.