2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE PREMIUM SPONSOR Mayer Brown LLP

• “I thought the work was really helpful and a good indication of life as an associate without too much pressure. I handled substantive assignments, some of which I was able to assist with once I started full time.”
• “The firm maintains a portal that is regularly updated with assignments. The portal was live and ready for use the moment we started for the summer. The firm also had a full training schedule ready on the first day, with training sessions spread across the entire summer program with a heavy focus during the first two weeks.”
• “I received substantive assignments that resembled some of those that I have been performing as a first-year associate. This has been helpful, as when I started as a first-year associate, I felt that I had a base of knowledge and experience that I could pull from.”
• “I got solid work as a summer associate. By nature, summer associate assignments will generally be one-offs, but I found that even these one-off assignments were interesting and engaging. On one occasion, some of our attorneys invited me to a client meeting after I had completed an assignment for them. I knew that summer associates would not get make-or-break assignments, and I was pleasantly surprised by the assignments I did get.”

• “The social calendar was packed with every kind of event imaginable. It made for a great bonding experience with my summer classmates.”
• “It was great. We had a soft policy of trying to get lunch with every attorney in the office, the costs of which were covered by the firm. We also had plenty of events, and they were quite well-attended.”
• “The attendance in the office was very high, as was the attendance at the summer events. The program coordinator did a good job of scheduling different people to come to the events so that summer associates got a chance to know attorneys across practice groups.”
• “There was certainly no shortage of social events, at which we had the opportunity to, and were encouraged to, interact with the attorneys and other firm employees. The types of events ranged from casual drinks after work, to welcome events, to weekly trivia with firm attorneys, to dinners at partners' homes, mini golf, and a trip to the U.S. National Whitewater Center.”

• “In the firm's smaller offices, workflow is still very free-market-oriented. I often reach out to partners and senior associates for work and have been pleasantly surprised at how quickly they respond with assignments for me to complete, however big or small.  People who seek out work and are not afraid to reach out will succeed.”
• “There is very little difference between my current experience and my expectations. The attorneys were very honest about the nature of the work and how the office dynamics work. Nobody was trying to hide the ball.”
• “The pressure of billing was less intense during the summer. The type of people and community remained the same, if not better.”
• “I feel like my time as a summer associate prepared me quite well for my time at the firm. The only difference is that there is ‘more.’ I have more work to do, and I am expected to be available more often, but that's not unexpected.”

• “We went to Disneyland, which was so much fun.”
• “The yacht ride and seafood lunch with the Black affinity group.”
• “The spa day, which was our final program activity. Amazing.”
• “Karaoke, pickleball, scavenger hunt.”

Our summer associate program is specially designed to aid summer associates in shaping the future direction of their careers in the practice of law by exposing them to day-to-day activities of practicing lawyers. We don’t use a rotation system or assign interns to particular lawyers. Instead, they receive assignments based on their preferences—by selecting projects from our online database or by approaching a lawyer with whom they’d like to work. Summer projects involve actual client matters, which provide invaluable hands-on experience, and there are plenty of opportunities to observe or participate in closings, document drafting, client conferences, and negotiation sessions. This multi-faceted approach leaves room for summer associates to explore different areas, as well as to work with a variety of lawyers. Summer associates are paired with l mentors who provide one-on-one guidance and help navigate the ins and outs of law firm life.