2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Fenwick

• “The firm offered extensive trainings, not only on firm tools and software but also on industry dynamics and the substantive aspects of deals. Summer work was substantive, and we were encouraged to try our hands at all aspects of corporate practice and to work across offices.”
• “I was able to work on a wide range of projects with various partners and associates. We were provided with substantive training throughout the summer as well.”
• “Encouraged to take on a wide range of assignments and was able to get consistent and helpful feedback on projects.”
• “There is an internal portal of assignments for summer associates. Summers also can reach out to attorneys for work outside of the portal. There are many practice-group-specific trainings.”

• “Our summer class connected really well and carried that strong relationship into become associates. We had a variety of events, including a musical, a cooking class, a speakeasy/magic show, and baseball games. There were firmwide events and practice-group-specific events, so I got to engage with a variety of individuals. Overall, I did not feel too overprogrammed with events and felt it hit a good balance. ...”
• “The firm emphasized social interactions between the summer associates and attorneys throughout the firm. The firm flew the summer associates to the main offices in New York and Mountain View to network with the attorneys and bond as a summer associate class, which I think was incredibly effective.”
• “The firm provides ample time for socializing as part of the summer program. Given the small summer associate class sizes, events are more tailored to the actual summer class. I particularly enjoyed the paint-and-sip event.”
• “The firm's associates and partners are fun-loving and lively folks. I had good interactions with my fellow summers and enjoyed seeing them again as we began work. Fenwick goes out of its way to orient its summers and first years into a cohesive whole, which contributes to a unified firm culture across offices.”

• “It's a free market system, and I thought that I would have more discretion about the type of clients and industries that I focus on. But as an associate, I find that I generally work with the teams that I best get along with, regardless of their client base. It's been good for learning and training, but I would like more options to focus on my industry interests at some point.”
• “As a corporate associate, you can try a variety of the groups underneath the umbrella. The free market system is harder to navigate as an associate than as a summer as there is a learning curve. More so, there was a bit of a ramp-up period when we started. I felt I worked more with partners during the summer than now, but I still see them. One positive is I do get a lot of client interaction as a junior, which I saw some of during the summer, but not to the same extent.”
• “The main difference between the summer experience and actual practice is largely that the assignments during the summer were often one-off assignments by the nature of the short length of the program, whereas once at the firm, new associates are more integrated into a case team. I have been pleasantly surprised that I genuinely enjoy working with most of my coworkers and feel supported as a younger attorney, but also as a person.”
• “My biggest critique is that certain clients and practice areas … that were highlighted during my summer are no longer [at] the firm. While that's in large part due to the market, it's still unfortunate. The firm did a great job of meeting their standards on the flexibility associates have to choose their work and even branch out to other practice groups.”

At Fenwick, summer associates work on real-world assignments critical to our clients’ business strategies. Every individual joins a mentoring circle—with a mix of partners and associates—to help navigate the Fenwick experience. Summer associates are also supported with legal training and development programs and partake in social and networking opportunities that are a hallmark of our friendly culture and essential to developing a professional career.