Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

• “Scheduled training sessions each week were informative and helpful in getting a better sense of what each department does. Work assignments were substantive, allowing us to work on active matters.”
• “Cadwalader does an excellent job of giving its summer associates a realistic expectation of what life will be like as a first-year associate. I was able to work across all practice groups, achieve an understanding of the work and personalities that each has to offer, and make a selection of the practice group that I wanted to join long term. I received excellent training on both the substantive law and invaluable soft skills necessary to function at a top law firm. I had an excellent summer experience.”
• “We were kept busy with real assignments. They wanted us to know what the work was going to look like as an associate and definitely achieved that. I was sending emails to clients and distribution lists, helping draft ancillary documents, sitting in on meetings—all the things a first-year associate would do.”
• “I received mostly substantive work across the practice group in the office. I had the opportunity to participate in several training programs over the course of the summer.”

• “Social events that were scheduled were very fun and often led to creating meaningful connections with fellow summer associates and attorneys.”
• “The summer events were great opportunities to network with other attorneys across all of the firm's practice groups. The attorneys that I met were eager to engage with all of the summers, and I managed to forge several genuine friendships with people from my summer class.”
• “There were lots of opportunities to interact with firm attorneys, including partners. There was a definite sense of camaraderie with the other summers.”
• “Everyone was very engaged; attorneys were eager to connect with summers.”

• “By and large, there haven't been any unkept promises from the firm. I knew going in that the summer experience wouldn't be emblematic of my work as a first year. The work has been largely the same except that the bar has been raised higher due to the fact that I'm actually practicing now.”
• “There have been no surprises whatsoever. My summer prepared me for exactly what to expect as a first year.”
• “The pace of onboarding has been significantly less chaotic than I expected it to be, so that has been a pleasant surprise.”

• “Cooking class or paint-and-pour!”
• “The individualized practice group happy hours, which allowed for one-on-one conversations with partners and associates.”
• “Mentor/Mentee trivia night.”
• “The midsummer party. We started off at a rooftop bar and were able to interact with a lot of partners in a less-formal setting than work. We ended up going to a karaoke bar, and it was a fabulous time.”

Cadwalader’s summer program offers an opportunity to experience life as an associate. Our diverse summer classes comprise students from varied backgrounds from different law schools across the country, including interns participating in the SEO program. There is no formal rotation system for summer associates, and they are encouraged to take assignments from any of our practice groups through our assignment database or directly from attorneys. Each summer associate is assigned two associate assignment managers who filter work and ensure they are receiving assignments from the practice areas of their interest. Each summer is also assigned one partner mentor and one junior associate mentor. We offer a variety of trainings, both internally from attorneys and from outside consultants. Numerous social events are planned throughout the summer to encourage summer associates to get to know each other and the attorneys in a setting outside of the office.