Jackson Walker

Training & Assignments

•       “I worked on actual billable matters, as well as some interesting non-billable assignments. I had access to a wide range of firm resources, including research databases, research attorney/librarians, paralegals, an assigned legal assistant, to name a few.”
•       “Felt very supported being assigned mentors who I felt comfortable communicating with. Workload was manageable and gave an accurate expectation for associate life.”
•       “My work came from partners and upper-level associates alike. I was also included on client calls immediately and treated as a real member of the workflow team.”

Social Opportunities

•     “Social events were fun and interactive, and always had something new every week. There were also arranged opportunities to meet a vast amount of attorneys at the firm.”

•       “The events were either tailored to getting to know the city or the firm. Lots of activities around town and happy hours hosted by various members of the firm.”
•       “I constantly interacted with partners and other associates and social gatherings were fun and welcoming.”

Associate Experience vs. Summer Expectations

•   “I was told by a partner that I would be trained using real work and exposing myself to real situations where I would have to use my judgment to move a case along. There was nothing about that promise that wasn't true—from day one I have been talking to clients and managing tasks as if I had been here for three years.”

•   “My summer experience was a great transition to practice. I definitely had a lighter workload as a summer, but the substance of the work was largely the same.”

•    “No promises made. Apart from the daily responsibilities and scope/pace of the work, a day in the life of a summer associate is not too different from a day in the life of a first year. I was pleasantly surprised at how much experience and responsibility I was given in my first two years of practice. If you demonstrate your competence early on, the opportunities for more substantive and interesting work present themselves.”

Favorite Summer Events

•   “The weekly in-office happy hours and the Maroon 5 concert.”

•       “Cornhole tournament.”
•       “Meeting different attorneys and hearing their stories.”

The Jackson Walker summer associate program is a nine-week program. Summer associates are assigned Responsible Attorneys, who keep in touch throughout the program and maximize the opportunities available to do meaningful legal work while witnessing attorneys in action. Over the course of the program, students work on projects within their preferred practice areas and attend client meetings, closings, negotiations, depositions, trials, and courtroom hearings. In addition to substantive work assignments, summer associates have the opportunity to participate in a mock trial before a jury of non-lawyers. For this exercise, JW attorneys act as presiding judges and trim down actual cases that have been or will be tried. In other cases, summer associates may participate in a mediation seminar. Through these experiences, summer associates receive practical instruction designed to make young lawyers better advocates for their clients.