Jackson Walker

• “Training was similar to onboarding training as a first-year associate.  Except for one or two, assignments were substantive or contributed to actual client work.”
• “Work assignments were distributed through a central coordinator to ensure that everyone had a chance to do meaningful assignments. I worked with a number of different attorneys, which helped build relationships before I started as a first-year associate.”
• “The summer associates are given substantive projects. The attorneys take time out of their days to explain and train the summer associates. Moreover, summer associates are invited to sit in on calls, etc. to get a better understanding of the entire deal process.”
• “The firm gave work similar to what a first-year associate would do. We received trainings that helped us understand business development as well as subject matter.”

• “Meeting the other summer associates and firm attorneys is one of the best parts of participating in the summer associate program at Jackson Walker. The firm scheduled lots of lunches and activities that fostered relationship building and camaraderie. As a summer associate I went to a Rangers game and participated in a tennis lesson.  Also, Jackson Walker hosts a firmwide summer associate event where the summers in all the offices were able to meet.”
• “Very fun and social summer. The big events are fun (e.g., suite at a Texas Rangers game, bus to a suite at a horse race track), but the thoughtful lunch outings where the recruiting team paired you with folks in different practice groups were my favorite part.”
• “JW's summer program does not overload you with events, i.e. you dont have events every single day (which would be exhausting). The events are fun and they rotate out the attorneys who attend so you are always able to meet someone new.”
• “Summers are given many opportunities to bond with each other and with the firm attorneys; activities are often geared towards social interaction over flashy experiences.”

• “I was able to pick my practice area; I didn't think I would get along with my coworkers as well as I do; I am impressed by the mentoring I receive from my formal and informal mentors.”
• “It has not changed. On day one as an actual associate I was doing the same types of assignments that I had been doing as a summer associate. The only big difference is as a summer there was a work coordinator who dished out assignments to the associates. But as a full-time associate, you don't have a work coordinator and you have to manage your assignment workload on your own.”
• “I was waiting for the ‘rug to be pulled out,’ and to discover that the summer associate experience was not reflective of the day-to-day experience at Jackson Walker. But that has not been the case. The interactions and social nature of the firm has been consistent with what I witnessed as a summer associate.”

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 summers witness 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, Jackson Walker attorneys act as presiding judges and trim down actual cases that have been or will be tried. In other instances, 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.