The Summer Associate Program is designed to be an integral part of our associate recruiting process. Each year we hire for the summer program a small number of law students who have completed their first or second year of law school. Although all of our geographic locations may have summer associates, our primary summer associate program is in the Columbia Office. When making summer associate hiring decisions, we look at the same characteristics as we do for associates – academic achievement and prior work and life experiences.

Our summer program offers a unique and challenging opportunity. While we do our best to assign projects according to the students’ interests or experience, we believe exposure to a broad range of legal areas is most beneficial to the participant. It is our belief that experiencing diverse areas of the practice of law enables each student to make a well-informed decision when they make their career choice.

The Summer Associate Program is designed to provide our Summer Associates the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the culture of our Firm and its members through a series of formal and informal events. We provide opportunities for our participants to attend lunch and learn sessions, court proceedings, client meetings, mediations, real estate and financial closings, and depositions. More importantly, we encourage our Summer Associates to interact with our attorneys. We pride ourselves in the accomplishments of our attorneys and welcome the opportunity to share those experiences with our Summer Associates. Throughout the twelve-week Program, events are planned specifically for our Summer Associates to get to know our lawyers in a more relaxed setting. Past summer social events have included dinners with judges, golf outings, wine tasting, Atlanta Braves games, cook-outs, lake cruises, and family fun nights.

The Summer Associate Program is administered under the supervision of the Recruiting Committee and its Chair, J.Michael Ey. For more information regarding the Summer Associate Program, contact Bonnie Nelson, Recruiting Coordinator.