As one of the two Summer Associates returning to Bilzin Sumberg for a second summer, I have the honor of writing the first blog post! While I was participating in the recruitment process, I used the blog to get an idea of what the summer program here is like. As a two-time summer associate, I am happy to help spread the word about the great summer program here at Bilzin Sumberg.

The first few days back have been mostly filled with training: computer training, billing training, firm history, ethics, and much more. Since I was here last year I had heard a lot of this information before, but it was interesting to participate in the training sessions with more context and a little more perspective. We finished with our second computer training session yesterday afternoon and were able to head to our offices to choose our first assignments.

In accordance with the traditions of previous years, the Summer Associates got together as a group to discuss who would take which assignments and negotiate for what we found most interesting. The small size of our program enables us to really collaborate, and I think that is a major benefit of Bilzin Sumberg’s summer program. The nine weeks you spend here pass so quickly, so it is great to hear about what your fellow summers are working on and helpful to hear about their experiences and feedback.

Our two days of training wrapped up with a firm wine and cheese. This is the first major social event of the summer and I was excited to catch up with everyone I met last year. I chatted with my mentor, Lindsey Parker, about her work with the Real Estate group and with Eileen Mehta and Marjie Nealon about traveling to Nashville. Danielle Moriber had a restaurant recommendation in my neighborhood, and John Sumberg told me about a secret way to get from my apartment building to the firm without ever going outside. He did not tell me all the details of the secret route, but as I expect this will be useful when it rains, I plan to find it.

Now, on to the real work!