Alston & Bird

• “The training was top notch, and considering that the recipient of such assignments is a summer associate, with little to no prior practical legal experience, the work assignments were substantive and engaging. There is no meaningless busy work, or assignments aimed to merely keep a summer associate occupied.”
• “The firm provides useful trainings on topics such as legal writing and negotiations. I found the assignments to be interesting and substantive. I had the opportunity to draft an appellate brief for a pro bono case. Summer associates are also encouraged to seek out projects they are interested in; attorneys at the firm are more than willing to find an assignment when they know a summer associate has a particular interest.”
• “I got a great preview on the different sorts of assignments that I could be expected to do as a first-year associate. I got very substantive feedback, and areas of improvement on work product, and overall realized that I would like working with people in my practice group.”
• “I was given extensive, substantive assignments in the practice areas in which I was interested. A&B did a good job of giving sophisticated assignments that you might see as a first-year associate.”

• “My class was very social and friendly with each other. There were several great events, in which we met different individuals in the firm, and learned a lot more about the different firm areas of practice. I felt that everyone was down-to-earth, and felt welcome at all the summer events.”
• “The calendar was full of social events, and nearly every day was busy except for Wednesdays, which is a scheduled day off. Interaction with attorneys and other associates was top notch—recruiting does a fantastic job.”
• “The social calendar is meticulously planned and expertly executed, and while it can be exhausting, the summer associate program provides meaningful opportunities to engage with partners, counsel, and other associates in real ways.”
• “The social events were creative, and had regular upper management participation, which provided an opportunity to feel seen, and have frank discussion with folks that would have otherwise felt inaccessible.”

• “It meets my expectations. The workload is intense, but fair. I'm on the team I expected to be on, and assigned to the cases that will let me grow and develop as an attorney.”
• “While the pace of work is certainly night-and-day different from when I was a summer associate, there were no misleading remarks, or any facades projected by the attorneys with whom I worked during the summer. These attorneys are still as approachable and collegial as before, the work schedule just really picked up once I joined the firm full time.”
• “I think the summer gave me a strong sense of what life would be like at the firm once I started. Though the summer program is much more social than work focused, the firm is up front about that, and it's not like I expected work to be the same constant stream of happy hours and long lunches. The relationships are the most important thing, and I had a great head start on those with the attorneys in my group. …”
• “The way you are assigned work and the expectations on how quickly that work is completed are different as a full-time practitioner versus as a summer associate. There is also a focus on your billable hours as a full-time practitioner versus as a summer associate.”

• “The firm sponsored a summer associate-only dinner/drinks that really allowed me to get to know my fellow summer associates outside of the office. We got a private tour of the state appellate/supreme court building, which was awesome, and really put into perspective what joining the practice of law would entail.”
• “One event functioned as a sort of choose your own adventure, in the sense that summer associates (and practicing associates) were able to choose one of three options. I enjoyed that event because folks generally chose something that they wanted to do, and the energy was great among both summers and associates.”
• “Dinner parties at partners' houses, the ‘summer associates-only’ party hosted at another summer associate's home, and the first-day dinner.”
• “Virtual cocktail making class.”

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.