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Will I have to select one department to work in over the summer?
We encourage our summer associates to experience different practice areas during the course of the summer, to better enable them to select the department in which they would like to work when they return after graduation. Each summer associate typically chooses two departments to focus on during the summer program, with the option to try assignments from other practice areas as they become available. We are very flexible and allow changes mid-stream if a summer associate finds a new area of interest.
How are assignments given out during the summer?
A partner in each department coordinates all work assignments. In addition, the Summer Program Committee maintains a list of other projects, so that interested summer associates can avail themselves of work from other practice areas if they find themselves with 'down' time.
Will I receive feedback?
The attorneys with whom the summer associates work complete on-line evaluation forms for each assignment. At mid-summer and at the end of the program all summer associates receive formal evaluations of their work. All written work is reviewed by the attorneys in charge of the summer program.
Can we split our summer?
We prefer our summer associates to spend an entire summer with us.
Will I be able to rotate through the London or Washington DC office?
At this time our summer program is limited to the New York office.
What kind of training do you offer during the summer?
Our summer associates all start on the same day and go through an orientation together. Throughout the summer, we feature training programs on various topics such as legal writing and networking, and summer associates often participate in workshops (such as deposition training) with our associates. This past summer, summer associates participated in a 5-day mock negotiation program, during which they received instruction in LBOs, term sheets, financing and due diligence. The program involved mock client meetings, document review, revision of an acquisition agreement, and a negotiation session. Our summer associates also participated in a 5-day trial advocacy training workshop, during which they received instruction in direct and cross-examination, opening and closing arguments, and developing a case strategy. The program culminated in a day-long mock jury trial after which they watched the jury deliberate. Both programs received outstanding reviews from our summer associates.
Summer associates have attended PLI and City Bar Association continuing legal education programs during the summer. We also have informal discussions about functioning as a summer associate, meetings with clients to hear the clients' perspectives, and breakfasts and luncheons with the various departments to learn the specifics of each practice area.
Will I have to share an office? Do associates share?
Every associate has a windowed office. Junior associates share offices with other junior associates, and summer associates share offices with other summer associates.
Will I have a secretary?
Yes.
Will I have a summer mentor assigned by the firm?
Yes, each summer associate has several mentors. Summers are paired with two associate buddies and a partner adviser. Summer associates also have the support of members of our Summer Program and Recruiting Committees, other partners and associates and our recruiting staff.
Do you hire more summer associates than you expect to be able to make offers to?
We hire the number of summer associates we want for our Fall class and hire each with the expectation that all of our summer associates will receive offers at the end of the summer.
What is your summer associate salary?
In 2011 summer our summer associates were paid a weekly salary of $3,077. The salary is based on the first-year associate annual salary of $160,000.
How many weeks will your 2012 Summer Program be?
Our 2012 summer program will be 11 weeks.
How many of your 2011 summer associates received offers to join the firm as first year associates?
All 31 of our 2011 summer associates received offers.
Did you defer start dates for the class of 2010 or 2011?
No. Our class of 2010 started in the fall of 2010, and our class of 2011 will start in the fall of 2011.
Do you plan to defer start dates for the classes of 2012 or 2013?
No. We expect that the classes of 2012 and 2013 will also begin working at the firm on time, in the Fall following graduation from law school.
Can I do pro bono work?
Each of our associates spends one week during the summer program working in the offices of a public interest organization with which SRZ has a relationship. In recent years, summer associates worked at organizations such as Riverkeeper, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Legal Services for the Elderly in Queens, NYS Capital Defenders, and Human Rights First. Summer associates also have other opportunities do work on pro bono matters throughout the course of their summer at SRZ.
What distinguishes your summer program from those at other large firms?
- We make certain that the type of work given to our summer associates is real work, and similar to what they would be asked to do as junior associates.
- We make every effort to ensure that the summer associates get a complete picture of what life at the firm is like, so that they know what to expect when they return as full-time associates.
- We offer our summer associates the opportunity to participate in many of the more interactive areas of the practice of law, such as trials, hearings and negotiation sessions.
- Each of our summer associates participates in our intensive Mock LBO and Trial Advocacy workshops, in addition to spending a week at a public interest organization during our Pro Bono Week.
- We carefully oversee the work of each summer associate and follow each summer associate's progress through the course of the summer.
- We believe it is very important for the members of the summer class to bond with each other, and we hire summer associates with whom we would like to work and with whom their colleagues will want to work. We make every effort to have an active but not hectic social calendar for our summer associates. Our planned events are meant for the summer associates to get a sense of what our attorneys are like outside of the office.
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