In the evening program, the summer between your 2E and 3E years counts as your 1L summer. For my 1L summer, I was a summer associate at a firm downtown. It was an amazing experience, both in regard to the work and to the other benefits.
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My Office With a View |
Substantively, I made real contributions to actual ongoing matters. For example, I prepared materials for a client meeting which helped the team evaluate whether a supervisor in a factory could be held personally liable for an employee's death at work. Among other assignments, I also researched whether high level executives can be held exempt from time-consuming depositions brought on by potentially frivolous lawsuits. Throughout the summer, I found that the writing skills I developed during Legal Writing and Research, as well as Appellate Advocacy, were essential. Additionally, I found that even for matters I knew very little about, I had no problem delving into the case law and feeling comfortable with the lay of the law. All in all, this experience showed me how the skills I have been developing in school translate into the realm of legal work.
But all work and no fun makes Jack a dull boy -- and there was certainly a lot of fun to be had this summer. All the west coast summer associates flew to San Francisco for deposition and oral argument training. As a bonus, we saw expert witness examinations at the NCAA v. O'Bannon trial. Throughout the entire summer, there were many events where the summer associates could get to know the attorneys better in informal settings. Besides impromptu lunches and dinners, we also had events like guacamole and margarita making classes, a wine tasting event, Dodgers night, and bowling.
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My (Very Rough) First Deposition |
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A Beautiful Day at the Frank Sinatra Suite at AT&T Park |
Overall, this summer was an amazing experience. I could not imagine a more supportive environment filled with talented and collegial attorneys. As it draws to an end, I am thankful to have gotten a glimpse of what the light at the end of the law school tunnel looks like.