Alston & Bird

• “There is a central portal with work assignments so you can take projects in different areas of interest to you; you can also get projects informally through networking. There was significant training each week over Zoom, as well as at the summer retreat and orientation.”
• “The summer associate program equipped me with the skills and experience to transition seamlessly into my role as a first-year associate. It offers meaningful, substantive work that provides valuable insight into each practice area, with flexibility to try different practice areas.”
• “Attorneys at the firm were committed to giving summer associates substantial projects rather than busy-work and took opportunities to share knowledge they gained in the industry, which might be otherwise unintuitive.
• “The work assignments were given by associates and partners through a portal, which allowed for each summer associate to have a similar workload but also receive assignments from different practice areas. I think it was a great program to expose [summer associates] to the different groups in the firm and see what we were interested in pursuing.”

• “The summer was extremely social. There were often multiple events every week but at least one designated event every week. We were taken out to lunch every day and for multiple coffee trips, and we really got the chance to know a lot of the associates—particularly in litigation. ...”
• “The social aspect of the firm's summer associate program was the highlight of the summer. Each practice group held a weekday social event that was open to all summer associates interested in learning about the group. As a summer associate, I interacted with new firm attorneys every day, either through lunches, coffees, or planned evening events. ... My favorite summer event was the pickleball evening during the firm's retreat at the Painted Pickle. Even with zero experience, it was an activity I was able to pick up and play with other summers and attorneys, and it will be a lasting memory.”
• “The summer associates were all in a ‘bull pen,’ so we were able to build great friendships and bond throughout the summer. There were a lot of great social events where we were able to interact with attorneys at the firm at all levels. Attorneys would also often come by and ask us to coffee or lunch, which was another way to connect with more people. My favorite event was Magic Castle.”
• “This was a definite highlight of the summer. We went to Braves games, clubs, karaoke, cooking classes, bowling, a glass-blowing class, a community service event, a tour of Sweet Auburn, etc. It was jam-packed and there was no pressure to drink. Many events, in fact, were alcohol-free (much appreciated for me).”

• “I don't think it has, really. I came in knowing that the summer program wasn't going to be like the actual work, so I was prepared for the emphasis to be on work. There have been more training opportunities than I anticipated, which were front-loaded into the stub year, so it's been an easier transition than I thought it would. I don't know if the firm really prepared me for the workload over the summer, or if I just understood it based on what I've heard about BigLaw in the past.”
• “I've been pleasantly surprised by how invested the firm has been of its new associates within our first months of practice. The firm wants each of us to develop a distinct brand and to engage in business development during our onboarding.”
• “As a summer associate, I feel like I was more worried that I couldn't handle the workload coming in as a first year, but the AB Accelerate program in litigation has a similar portal system where for the first years there are coordinators who manage the assignments we each get through the portal to make sure we all have a manageable workload. I really like the program because I am able to take on work from different practice areas and don't have to choose right away what litigation group I want to practice in long-term.”
• “I found that my experience practicing was not significantly different from my expectations as a summer associate. Of course, there was more work to do and more substantive and long-term assignments, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the attorneys I worked with over the summer were just as excited to invest in me as they had been during my summer experience.”

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.