Summer Associates

Our Philosophy

Our Summer Associate Program is strategically geared toward exposing students to our culture and the opportunity to practice law for a range of different clients. We aim to provide an authentic experience of daily life at a full service law firm. We search out and hire the brightest legal minds from many of the country's most prestigious law schools in order to assemble limited, elite Summer Associate classes. These smaller, exclusive groups allow our lawyers to focus greater attention on our Summer Associates so that we can provide more meaningful opportunities to develop relationships with, and evaluate, these future lawyers in both professional and social settings. The focus of our program is on identifying law students who possess intellect, character and drive and hiring them for partnership track positions with the expectation that they become future leaders in the Firm.

The Program

In keeping with exposing our Summer Associates to a real world legal experience, our lawyers seek them out to assist in preparation for, and to attend trials, depositions, hearings, client conferences, strategy meetings, transaction closings and other important events. Project Coordinators assist in assignment distribution to monitor students' work loads and to ensure that we provide them with challenging, interesting and meaningful work. While we encourage our first year students to complete assignments from all areas of the Firm, we do allow second years to single out areas on which they prefer to focus. We are a first-half only program, starting in mid-May and ending in late -June and require students to work a full six weeks unless prior arrangements have been approved.

Each Summer Associate is assigned two attorney mentors - typically one partner and one associate, who assist them in having a positive experience at the Firm. Along with acting as a point of contact for any questions a Summer Associate may have throughout the program, mentor responsibilities also include a welcome lunch, a mid-point evaluation and an exit dinner to discuss feedback, work product and the student's overall experience.

We believe that our culture sets us apart from other law firms, so a key aspect of our program is assessing whether a fit exists between the Firm and each of our individual Summer Associates. Planned and spontaneous social events occur weekly and include activities such as golf outings, happy hours, casino night, supper club dinners at attorneys’ homes and an overnight or weekend retreat. These events allow our law students to see how we live outside of work and often result in lasting friendships with fellow Summer Associates and attorneys alike.

The Fine Print

Finally, because our Summer Associates will soon make important career decisions, we believe that transparency is key. Before the Firm and our Summer Associates invest their futures in each other, we make sure that our Summer Associates are educated on Firm governance, our partnership track, strategies for future business development and what is expected of our lawyers as they move through the associate ranks. Moreover, we place importance on informing our Summer Associates of our Work-Life balance initiative that envisions alternative arrangements for the practice of law that make sense for the Firm and our lawyers seeking such an accommodation.

For further information, please contact Ms. Barrie Wilson, Director of Legal Recruiting at 205-226-8709 or bwilson@balch.com