Alston & Bird

• “Received many substantive work assignments and was directly mentored by a partner to improve my skills.”
• “I provided work product during my summer associate program, which is still used by my group today. The assignments are a good mix of practical and teaching.”
• “Attorneys listed projects on an internal portal. Summer associates were allowed to choose from that menu of projects to complete assignments. This system provided diverse work experiences across practice groups.”
• “Summers are encouraged to try work from the various different practice groups. Trainings are of general applicability for all associates.”

• “Social events were plentiful, but not overwhelming, and were a great way to experience different parts of the city. Our summer associate class was close, and events outside of the program were planned as the summer went on. Firm attorneys were clearly busy, but always made time for meals, coffee, and chats.”
• “There were many fun social events that provided opportunities to speak with attorneys from many different practice groups. The summer associate retreat was great and very informative with many different speakers and workshops to improve lawyering skills. Many of the social events were at highly rated local restaurants that really helped me get to know the city better and provided a great environment for getting to know the people at the firm.”
• “Alston's summer associate program is carefully planned to maximize social opportunities without overwhelming schedules.”
• “Social events were well-planned and well-attended by attorneys.”

• “My experience practicing at my firm differs from the expectation I had when I was a summer associate only in terms of work-life balance. The hours are much different as an associate than they were as a summer associate. Everything else about the job comports with my expectations.”
• “Obviously, working at the firm has been more work than being a summer associate! When I summered, the summer program was designed for the whole firm, whereas most of my interactions day-to-day are with my specific practice group, so that has been different. The firm emphasized that a certain amount of pro bono could be counted towards billable credits, but I have found that expectations for how much is appropriate vary based on practice group.”
• “I feel that I had appropriate expectations going into practicing: Attorneys did not try to hide the heavy workload or high expectations. If anything, I've been surprised by how much substantive responsibility I have been given as a first year.”
• “I was pleasantly surprised to see how much control I'd be given in a case as a first year. However, as a summer associate, I felt that I was able to pick which projects I was interested in.”

Summer associates at our firm don’t have the experience of “visiting for the summer”; rather, they are given the respect, mentoring, and career development afforded to all of our associates. From the moment you accept your offer to be a part of our summer program, we begin a personalized experience designed with your entire career path in mind. In other words, we see far beyond your first, second, and third years of law school—we see future partners, firm and community leaders, clients, and mentors. Our summer associates do real work for real clients and enjoy social events with our attorneys and a firm-wide retreat in the Atlanta office.