2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP

• “I summered in 2020, which was a very difficult year for summer associate programs. Firms had to scramble to prepare remote programs. I think my firm did an excellent job, given the circumstances. We got more work than summers usually get, because we weren't spending as much time out to lunches and dinners, etc. I definitely felt like I learned a lot.”
• “We were assigned multiple mentors, and had many people working with us to ensure high work quality, and to keep us staffed on substantive deals. I was able to participate in several financings and a merger.”
• “There were many opportunities for substantive work, and all of the associates were willing to take the time to explain the assignments and the context to me. There was ample training, and the firm organized mock exercises for the summer associates to do in groups to mirror what life as an associate would be like.”
• “There was a dedicated workflow coordinator, which made it easy to reach out to someone for work, and also to let someone know when we felt a little overwhelmed. It also helped them keep track of how many projects we were all working on, to make sure everyone had around the same amount of work.”

• “The social events are at least once a week, and are well attended by all levels of attorneys.  The summer associates are encouraged to do almost everything together, so they can develop camaraderie.”
• “Our 2021 summer was remote because of COVID, so it was a unique experience. The firm still did a great job planning weekly events on Zoom, and associates and partners made an effort to join and engage in these activities as well. A few highlights were a casino night, a painting night, and a virtual cooking class.”
• “Our summer program was during the pandemic, so all of our social events were online. The firm made it a point to organize multiple events a week, and many associates attended, which was great given the circumstances.”
• “The social aspects were as good as they could be for a remote program. We were given a budget to have virtual lunches with the lawyers at the firm. There were virtual events, such as wine tastings and pizza-making lessons. Partners and associates made themselves fully available to meet with us.”

• “The transition to first year associate has, if anything, been easier than the attorneys I worked with made it sound like it would be. Some of the attorneys made ominous comments about workload that I have not found to be true.”
• “My experience has not differed from my expectations. I was told that I would be doing substantive, client-facing work from the start, and that has been my experience so far as a first year associate.”
• “The type of work as a summer is very similar to the type of a work a first year associate is expected to do; the biggest difference was the volume of work as a first year is much higher.”
• “I do not feel as though I was misled about the firm in anyway. I was surprised to learn that the firm matched my expectations, which were high, given how positively the attorneys in my office spoke about the firm. I was pleased to learn that the firm (or at least my office) was more social and connected than I expected.”

• “We were virtual in 2020, so events were a bit different. I'm excited for the firm's Tahoe summer retreat this summer.”
• “The firm hosted a wine-tasting trip in Napa, a TopGolf event, and a San Francisco Giants game, among others.”
• “An event where we all made our own succulent terrariums.”
• “There was an online Zoom scavenger hunt that was quite fun, it required teams of four to scour Google Maps and other resources to solve complicated puzzles.”

Our Summer Program is offered in our Ann Arbor, Austin, Bay Area, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego offices. It is designed to give you an idea of life as a junior associate at Gunderson Dettmer in our three core practice areas: corporate & securities; venture & growth equity fund formation & representation; and licensing, strategic partnering & commercial transactions. You’ll work directly with partners and associates on projects that may include seed and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing, privacy compliance, venture and growth equity fund formation, and public offerings, as well as a range of other impactful and substantive work for our clients. In addition to work assignments, you’ll attend a series of trainings and participate in mock transactions specifically designed to provide a strong legal foundation so you will hit the ground running when you return as an associate. By the end of our summer program, you will have gained direct experience with the emerging technology companies and investors and insight into building a career at Gunderson Dettmer.