|
|
Will I have to select one department to work in over the summer?
We encourage our summer associates to experience different practice areas during course of the summer, to better enable them to select the department in which they would like to work when they return after graduation. The summer associates choose the departments, and 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 ethics and pro bono work, and summer associates often participate in workshops (such as deposition training) with our associates. Summer associates participate in a mock negotiation program, during which they receive instruction in LBOs, term sheets, financing and due diligence. The program involves client meetings, document review, revision of an acquisition agreement, and a negotiation session. Our summer associates also participate in a trial advocacy training workshop, during which they receive instruction in direct and cross-examination, opening and closing arguments, and developing a case strategy. The program culminates in a day-long jury trial after which they watch the jury deliberate. Both programs receive outstanding reviews from the summer associates.
Summer associates can attend 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 window 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 a junior associate buddy, an additional associate buddy who is also a member of our Summer Program Committee, and a partner adviser. Summer associates also have the support of members of our Summer Program Committee, including our Co-Hiring Partners, our Partner-in-Charge of the Summer Program, other partners, associates and our recruiting staff.
Will you hire more summer associates than you expect to be able to make offers to?
We will hire the number of summer associates we want for our fall class starting in the fall of 2012.
What is your summer associate salary?
In 2010, 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 2011 Summer Program be?
Our 2011 summer program will be 11 weeks.
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 is affiliated. 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 our summer associates is real work, and similar in quality 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.
- We carefully oversee the work of each summer associate and follow each summer associate's progress through the course of the summer.
- Each of our summer associates participates in our mock LBO and trial advocacy programs, as well as our pro bono week.
- 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.
|
|