2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE PREMIUM SPONSOR Mayer Brown LLP

• “The firm offered an open market system in which summer associates were able to log in online to view a project pool and pick up any assignment, regardless of the practice area. It was great for trying out new subjects and shaping your summer into the type of experience you want/prefer.”
• “Work included direct interaction with associates and partners across a variety of practice groups. It was meaningful and substantive to active projects, and I was given feedback and training for each.”
• “From the very first day, I was given substantive work, working right alongside mid-level associates in my group. I never felt as though I was being given busywork. There were ample training opportunities, both formal and informal.”
• “I was offered as many varied opportunities as I wanted to pursue. For example, I was brought into multiple deals as if I were a starting first year. I was charged with putting together and presenting to the global M&A team a presentation on digital assets.”

• “[There was] great camaraderie among our summer associate class thanks to the big push by the firm's summer committee and partners to interact with the summers.”
• “Our summer program was remote; however, the firm flew us all into New York for the last three days of the program, which was a great way to meet everyone in person. Throughout the summer, we had remote events such as cooking classes, happy hours, speed dating, etc.”
• “I think it's a very social program. The attorneys tend to get involved in large numbers, there's fun and creative events, and the summer associates themselves tend to form a fairly tight-knit friend group.”

• “I knew during the summer associate program that my experiences as a summer would not compare to the magnitude of thinking and production I would have to do daily as a full-time junior associate, and in that way, my experiences matched up to my expectations. …”
• “An unpleasant, but not unexpected, surprise has been the variability of hours in when you receive your assignments each day. An appreciated surprise has been the one-on-one mentorship opportunities and teaching provided by senior attorneys (including counsels and partners).”
• “My time as a summer associate prepared me quite well for being an associate. My first year felt like it flowed naturally from my time as a summer, rather than being a disjointed process.”
• “I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of partner contact and substantive assignments that first-year associates receive.”

• “River cruise down the Chicago River and closing dinner at Tao.”
• “White Sox box seats.”
• “Pool party at a partner's house.”
• “A classic MB summer event is a pizza tour throughout NYC.”

Our summer programs are 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 an attorney with whom they’d like to work as part of our free market system. 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 attorney advisors who provide one-on-one guidance and help navigate the ins and outs of law firm life.