Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

• “I had real substantive opportunities to work on real cases where my work was important to the client's goals. I was asked to research substantive issues and draft portions of an appellate brief.”
• “The summer program was well organized, and a work coordinator gave associates assignments. Every summer also participates in a mock trial and gets practice stand-up experience. I worked on substantive matters that were billed to the clients and attended a hearing.”
• “On day one, I was given substantive research and writing assignments on active matters. Part of Quinn's ethos is being light on formalized training, but I still had ample opportunity to ask questions and get meaningful feedback on the assignments I undertook. When speaking and working attorneys at the firm, I always felt there was genuine interest in my opinion and perspective.”
• “There wasn’t a robust training program—I think we had maybe a day of onboarding. Generally, a lot of associates and partners are happy to help if you need additional guidance. There was a mock trial program for all summer associates about halfway through the summer, and that came with a few days of pretty vigorous training.”

• “The summer program is relatively involved. It includes multiple weekly social events, but Quinn also stresses that, other than a few key events, your work comes first—even as a summer.”
• “The social aspect of the summer program is excellent. There are lots of lunches to attend and a wide variety of different events that show off the best the Bay Area has to offer. There are many chances to interact with firm attorneys and enjoy yourself at the same time.”
• “The social events were pretty standard—happy hours, parties at partners' unbelievable Hamptons houses, and a baseball game. The associates were encouraged to take summers out to lunch, and that was a great program with huge uptake. The summers also ended up bonding on our own and doing a number of solo hangouts and parties.”
• “Smaller class sizes resulted in a more personalized summer. It was easier to acclimate into the firm.”

• “I think a lot of what I've done is expected from my experience during the summer—or, at least, I knew what to expect and that the summer would not be completely representative of being an associate. I've found that most tasks are entirely independent, and I have to manage much more on my own.”
• “I think I expected a bit more guidance as a law clerk/first-year associate. I'm grateful for just how much substantive work I'm getting and how much I'm learning, but a lot of it is just ‘write this motion to dismiss,’ and it can be hard to get a hold of partners for feedback or more explicit guidance. I also expected more mid-level or senior associates on my cases, and for my niche practice area, it's often a very small team, which has benefits and drawbacks.”
• “I was expecting more training before being thrown into the deep end. People are patient and understand that new associates don't automatically know the processes/expectations, but there was about five hours of training total, and everything else has been a ‘figure it out’ situation.”
• “At QE, what you see is what you get. The summer isn’t as glamorous as some other firms, but I accepted my offer knowing what I’d find when I started a year later.”

• “The week-long mock trial in New York with the other summer associates.”
• “Taking a trapeze class, a sip-and-cycle through wine country, a cooking class followed by eating the meal we all prepared.”
• “The firm hike this most recent summer was phenomenal—we hiked in the Tetons and met people from QE offices around the world. Gorgeous and fun.”
• “Hike in Switzerland.”

The goal of our summer program is to provide a unique and personalized experience for a small group of top, litigation-focused students. Our exclusive program provides our summer associates with a realistic and thorough perspective of life as an associate at our firm. With partner mentors tailoring assignments to the summer’s preferences and associate mentors providing guidance and friendship, summer associates are fully integrated into case teams from day one and encouraged to share ideas, thoughts, and work product. All summer associates have the opportunity to go to court, attend depositions, and get face time with clients. In addition to exciting professional experience, summer associates are invited to participate in all firm social activities, from our annual summer party to weekly firm happy hours and our traditional firm hike.