King & Spalding LLP

• “I engaged in similar work-related activities as a summer associate to what I do now as a first-year associate and felt like I received proper training and support to deliver quality work product that satisfied the assigning attorney's expectations.”
• “The summer associate program provides substantive work, even for transactional law where the life of a deal is hard to see through as a summer. Associates and partners make sure to explain the broader purpose behind all the assignments you complete. We also had many training programs that typically took place during lunch. We were able to learn from a mix of associates, partners, and attorneys who were previously at the firm and have since taken other paths.”
• “As a summer associate, I received work-related tasks that I would actually engage in as a first-year associate. Both the partners and all associates explained the big picture, the different roles that each person played, and how the task I was delegated fit into everything.”
• “Work was meaningful as I reviewed a small contract matrix. But I never felt overloaded or felt that work was more important than meeting with associates, partners, grabbing lunch, coffee, etc.”

• “I had a really fantastic summer at K&S. K&S's summer class sizes are relatively small given the size of the firm, which made it so that all the summer associates got really close. The summer programming was really well-run, and there were many fun events and happy hours, with some highlights being a NYC food tour, going to a Broadway show, a trip to Coney Island, and more.”
• “Our events were well-tailored to introduce us to lawyers across the firm and fellow summer associates. Through Connect K&S, I traveled to the New York office where I met other summers and partners who I worked with throughout the summer. Each event gave an opportunity to connect with the teams and built great camaraderie for the summers. My personal favorite was Chesapeake Bay crab-picking on an island in the Bay hosted by some of the partners.”
• “I never went to lunch alone, and sometimes even went to lunch in big groups. After 5 p.m., there were many different activities, like kickball, a bike tour along the beltline, tour of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, tour of the Georgia Aquarium, and lots of dinners at partners’ houses.”
• “There were regular events, lunches, dinners, and happy hours. We had fun events in Charlotte—white water center, traveling Broadway shows, minor league baseball games, etc.—and associates and partners alike commonly attended events. I would estimate over two-thirds of attorneys came to at least one event.”

• “I received some substantive work right away as an associate, which is not unexpected. The work is different than summer work because I have longer-term projects and can do things like document review and fact development that require longer-term exposure to the case. Summer work involved more discrete research questions, which I don't see as often as an associate as I may have expected to.”
• “The workload increases tremendously. As an associate, I feel that I have much more control over who I work with, and I can seek out the type of work I want to do (even if that's in other offices). I don't feel like I rely on my staffing partner as much, and I think most of the attorneys who I work for appreciate that I formed some kind of personal relationship with them (or sought work from them).”
• “K&S is very much as it sells itself. It's an entrepreneurial place where there is not much hierarchy. You will genuinely be given as much responsibility as you look to take on or as people believe you can handle. Sometimes this means you are thrown into situations that you may not have expected, but it's a great way to learn the ropes, especially for people who are confident in their abilities and want to take on challenges faster than you might at other firms.”
• “I've found the transition from summer to associate as expected and the work similar to what I did in the summer. As an associate, there are higher expectations and there is less management of your assignments. I was able to pick my practice area and have been happy with my opportunities as an associate.”

We think critically about each hire we make: A summer associate is not just a number and will not feel lost in the crowd. For the past several years, we have extended offers to 100% of our summer associates.

Summer associates are staffed on high-value, high-profile matters from day one, learning from the process of doing while working with industry-leading lawyers. They prepare for and observe depositions, investigations, and witness prep, join lawyers in court, attend closings and client meetings, and more.

Summer associates receive mentorship as well as consistent feedback and guidance, highlighting our lawyers’ interest in the development and growth of the firm’s future talent.

Summer associates participate in the K&S Summer Summit, a program that combines substantive training and networking opportunities, and connects summer associates across the country with our lawyers and each other. Summer associates are also encouraged to participate in our Connect K&S program, which allows them to visit another K&S office. Through this program, summer associates experience the benefit of having talented lawyers spread across a global footprint and experience our collaborative, cross-office approach to serving our clients. We invest in each associate and their career from day one, helping them gain the skills and expertise they need to build their practice. There’s more opportunity here.