This past Thursday, at around 5:03pm (so as to be fashionably late), the summer associates started making their way down to the 14th floor terrace to attend the quarterly Cross-Department Social Enhancement Event. While the event started slow, the terrace was soon packed with a little over a quarter of Bilzin Sumberg’s attorneys, including several partners.  Topics of conversation ranged from predictions about Thursday night’s Heat game, which were sadly almost all proven wrong, to the differences in lifestyles of transactional lawyers and litigators.

As summer associates, the event was an opportunity to learn more about, and network with, Bilzin Sumberg’s attorneys in an informal setting. But to us, the event was far more than a networking opportunity. The event embodied two of the many factors that drew us to Bilzin Sumberg in the first place: work-life balance and sense of community.

While speaking with Kyle Morabito, a former summer associate and real estate associate, about Bilzin Sumberg’s real estate practice, I asked him how he had the time to attend the event. He explained that at the beginning of a given week, he usually knows what he has to accomplish for the week, as the attorneys he collaborates with and the attorneys who assign him work are clear and realistic about expectations. Kyle explained that this gives him the flexibility to work late when he can so that he has the ability to leave early on occasion.

The event was one of many that Bilzin Sumberg holds regularly to foster the firm’s sense of community. However, the firm’s sense of community extends far beyond the social events it holds. As Marshall Pasternack made it a point to stress upon extending our offers, when the firm hires an associate it hopes to be hiring a future partner. In our first few weeks at the firm, we have quickly realized that Bilzin Sumberg is not only a law firm, but a community that is committed to our long term success.