Gibson Dunn

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Gibson Dunn Mentors

• “Interesting and substantive assignments with the opportunity to meet clients, attend depositions, sit in on calls with opposing counsel, and lead presentations. Feedback was timely, thoughtful, and constructive.”
• “Frequent trainings and panels were put on by the firm, and partners and associates would participate to give us real-life experiences and examples. Assignments were a great way to receive feedback and meet attorneys. Some attorneys even gave in-person feedback and marked up documents alongside me.”
• “Gibson runs an exceptional summer program. Summer associates have the opportunity to complete substantive work so that they can see what life at the firm might actually look like. More-senior associates and partners take time to provide meaningful feedback and remain available to provide guidance during the course of the assignment. Moreover, summer associates can get exposure to a range of practice areas if they are interested in doing so.”
• “The summer program is very well-organized with assignments filtering through summer coordinators with clear expectations on deadlines and work product. Summers have an initial meeting with the assigning attorney regarding the work product expected and background of the matter and are given feedback at the conclusion of the assignment as well. Attorneys are also available throughout to answer questions and provide guidance. During my summer, I felt I did substantive work, including research, sitting in on a client meeting, attending a mock deposition where we prepped a witness, and more.”

• “The social events were really fun and helped me develop meaningful relationships with other summers as well as associates and partners. My favorite events were a champagne-tasting party at one of the partner’s houses, a wine-tasting and barbecue event hosted at the partner-in-charge’s home in Sonoma, and a karaoke event.”
• “The people at Gibson are a large part of what makes it a wonderful place to work, and Gibson's summer program provides a real opportunity to understand that. The summer program provides a range of social experiences from exciting live events like concerts and sporting events to more relaxed events like dinners at partners' homes. These events are well-attended by members of the associates and partners, so they present a real opportunity to get to know people at the firm.”
• “There were a ton of social events to help the summer associates get to know attorneys and vice versa. There was one large social event for each week of the 10-week summer program. Through the events, summer associates were able to build close relationships with one another and interact with other attorneys at the firm.”
• “Everyone was extremely friendly, from the other summer associates to the attorneys I worked with. Our summer class was fairly large, but I still got to know nearly everybody. There was basically no drama or conflict within the class. The summer events were a lot of fun, but the one that stood out to me the most was a pickleball class followed by a pool party.”

• “The open market system has been an adjustment to how we received our summer assignments, but that was to be expected. Overall, the substance of the work has been about the same, although there has been a learning curve in being acclimated to the administrative tasks that come along with working in BigLaw, which we were more or less shielded from over the summer.”
• “My experience at Gibson Dunn has been one of pleasant surprise. As a summer, I knew the assignments I was doing—interesting as they were—were not one-to-one matches for the kind of work I would do when I returned. But much to my surprise, the work has been more substantive than I imagined, including briefing and involvement in depositions within my first few months at the firm and taking the lead on a summary judgment briefing for a billable matter by the end of my second year.”
• “As a summer, you get one assignment at a time, so you only learn how to juggle between one assignment and social events. As an attorney, you're obviously juggling multiple matters at the same time.”
• “I think the summer program was a true reflection of how things work at the firm. I have been able to continue to choose the work I take on and help with a variety of matters without being pigeonholed. I now have to network more to join matters, and sometimes the responsibility of managing my own docket can be complicated compared to the assignment system of the summer, but those are the main differences.”

Gibson Dunn’s ability to recruit and retain top talent from a diverse pool of talented individuals is crucial to our continued success. Our summer program is the primary method through which new lawyers become a part of our firm, and we continually attract the most intelligent, creative, and personable legal talent in the world to participate in our summer program. Designed to facilitate a smooth transition from law school to legal practice, the program provides substantive training in areas such as legal writing, depositions, and corporate negotiations/transactions. Our summer associates are actively involved in client representations, maximizing their exposure to a variety of practical aspects of lawyering. Summer associates also contribute materially to a wide range of pro bono matters. In addition, our program integrates summer associates into our offices and the cities in which they are located through unique events and activities that allow summer associates to make lasting connections with our attorneys at all levels. We provide practical training in the skills and techniques required to make top-notch lawyers, as well as the opportunity to get to know Gibson Dunn, its lawyers, and its staff.