2022 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER DLA Piper

• “I was assigned meaningful assignments on a variety of matters during my summer associate program that allowed me to understand what life would be like as a first-year associate, and which practice group would be the best fit for me.”
• “DLA rolled out a robust nationwide training program during my summer. Training sessions included billing seminars, writing strategies, elevator pitch workshops, implicit bias training, and more. My work assignments were varied, and based on my areas of interest.”
• “There was a centralized system through which summer associates could pick and choose assignments. This was effective to the extent that full-time attorneys made use of the system.”
• “Lots [of] opportunity to work on assignments and with people I wanted to. The work assignments I received were not ‘busy work.’ I was able to work on the same sort of assignments I took on when I rejoined the firm as a first-year associate.”

• “I met with each attorney at least once for lunch. I am still friends with the summers from my class.”
• “Events were held every week, held both in-office and at out-of-office venues. Summer associates were encouraged to attend group and one-on-one lunches with associates and partners.”
• “DLA really wowed us. The summer was conducted remotely, and we were frequently sent lunches, gifts, training and firm materials, as well as event-related boxes (like mixology kit, cooking class kit, wine for wine tasting, paint for a painting class session). We had tons of social events, and they proved to be a meaningful opportunity to connect with people, and meet other associates in particular.”
• “Our summer was completely virtual, but the firm made an effort to keep events fun and fresh. We made cannolis from scratch with the guidance of an instructor out in Italy, role-played in a murder mystery, mixed cocktails, and much more. We also received a ton of quality firm merch. The summer associates regularly communicated via a group chat.”

• “I think my summer experience was reflective of my experience at the firm. As a summer, there are work coordinators in between the summers and the partners, and as a junior associate, you get work directly from the partners, so that is something to adjust to, although not surprising.”
• “I was pleasantly surprised that I was handed substantive and important work to do very quickly upon starting, whereas the summer was mostly limited to legal research I didn't see realized in work product.”
• “My time as a full-time associate has matched the expectations I had as a summer. The firm did a good job at previewing what life as an associate is like.”
• “The nature of the work given is in line with my expectations as a summer associate. The firm also promoted the ability to reach out to various partners for work in areas you are interested in, as an associate, I find this to be true.”

• “Attending a Mets game; attending a full-firm evening at a shuffleboard venue.”
• “The Broadway show and the trip to Chicago, where we met other summers from other offices.”
• “I enjoyed some of the diversity training that was hosted by the firm. I learned a lot from the training, and about its impacts in day-to-day firm life.”
• “We had a murder mystery event that was a blast.”

From day one our summer associates are part of a team doing meaningful work for our clients. Our summer associates will be integrated into one of our core practice groups and supported by lawyers who are invested in their growth and development. Through fun social and community activities, they also will have plenty of opportunities to get to know the other summer associates and lawyers in their local office.

Summer associates will participate in a series of training and development opportunities to acquire the skills they’ll need as they launch their legal career, including a 2.5-day in-person event where they’ll have a chance to hear from and meet DLA Piper’s senior leaders, participate in learning sessions and make connections that will last beyond the summer.

To recruit for the 2024 summer associate class, we will participate in numerous OCI and job fairs across the country. We also welcome applications from students directly on our website.