Irell & Manella LLP

• “During my summer at Irell, I received high quality ‘real’ work on billable matters. Type of work was standard for summer associates (memos, etc.), but there was exposure to many different kinds of work and opportunities to learn about all stages of litigation. For example, I sat in on a deposition my summer. We had formal associate mentors who checked in at least once a week, and tons of social events. Fancy dinners with summers and other juniors three to four nights a week, scattered social events throughout (e.g., a cooking class) and two overnight retreats (one in Santa Barbara and one in Palos Verdes).”
• “It was a well-rounded summer program. I got a variety of assignments, and my assigned mentor took my preferences into account when finding me new assignments. There were a lot of social events as well, including frequent dinners and lunches. There was a firm-wide summer party that brought together attorneys from across all three offices. I liked that event because it allowed me to meet attorneys from other offices with whom I would otherwise not have much face-to-face contact.”
• “Received substantive assignments and worked closely with attorneys. Mentorship program allowed for integration with current associates. Enjoyed the annual summer party event.”
• “The summer program was curated in a way that allowed the summer associates to have a great time while simultaneously setting clear expectations regarding the caliber of work the summer associate was expected to produce.”

• “The summer program included a lot of social events and opportunities to get to know associates and partners at the firm. As a summer associate, I received high quality assignments that gave insight into the kind of work done at the firm, from writing research memos to drafting briefs.”
• “High quality of work as a summer. Lots of complex legal research that was actually used in briefs. Made slide deck for trial. Everyone was very approachable for questions. Weekly meetings with mentor to check in on how I'm doing and giving me advice. Social aspects were the best by far. Constantly going out to really nice restaurants, people were really cool/funny/nice. Favorite event was associate retreat and summer party. Each time we got to go to a five-star oceanside hotel for the weekend in Palos Verdes and Monarch Beach respectively.”
• “Summers were given real assignments for real cases, and we would receive feedback from the assigning attorneys, sometimes partners, about the quality of our work. As a summer, I felt like I received a lot of mentoring and feedback from attorneys, even those who were not assigned to be my mentor. Irell made sure that summers had the opportunity to have lunch and/or dinner with associates and partners, and there was a good mix of substantive work and social events. My favorite event would have to be the summer party, where we were able to meet attorneys from different offices and interact with people you might not see on a day-to-day basis. I felt like Irell really invested time in their summers and gave us a good taste of what it would be like to work full time at Irell.”

• “My experience has been aligned with the expectations I formed as a summer; if anything, I have been surprised by the accuracy of how the firm is advertised to summers. For example, the firm places emphasis on early experience during recruiting/the summer program. In my first year, I took two depositions, argued a discovery motion in court, and took the lead on drafting for multiple dispositive motions.”
• “Getting assignments as a first-year associate is certainly different than as a summer associate (although I was prepared for this). It can be tough to find consistent assignments as a new associate, whereas there was a lot of assistance securing assignments over the summer.”
• “Practice involves much more back and forth and collaboration than summer assignments did. This makes sense as the firm needs to evaluate the individual work quality of the summer associates. There is a lot of early responsibility on junior associates, whereas summer assignments were substantive, but limited in scope.”
• “The summer program was a lot more structured, with assignments being given to us. However, Irell is a free market firm, and as associates, we are expected to go out and find our own work. This was made clear to us as summers, but the free market system was not something summers had experience with.”

Our summer program is designed to provide an opportunity for summer associates to explore all areas of our practice; participate in client meetings, court hearings, depositions, and trials; and work with many of the firm's attorneys. The goal is for summer associates to end the summer with a sense of what practicing as an attorney at Irell & Manella is really like. We also want summer associates to develop relationships with each other and their future colleagues.