After a full academic year of waiting to start at Bilzin Sumberg, the summer associate program has finally begun! For the next nine weeks, Jessica, Camille, Anthony, Brendan and I are trading in classrooms and lecture halls for offices and board rooms! As a group, the five of us emailed throughout the duration of the academic year, so we quickly became friends after meeting on the first day. Bilzin Sumberg welcomed us on May 26, 2015, and it has been jam packed with excitement ever since!  Between orientation, meeting new people, choosing our first assignment and settling into our offices we have really hit the ground running!

We kicked off orientation with a warm welcome and immediately jumped into training. We met with partners Marshall Pasternack, Jay Sakalo and David Trench to learn about firm policies, while getting to enjoy the picturesque waterfront view from Bilzin Sumberg’s beautiful boardroom. We were introduced to new computer software and were given time to settle into our very own offices on the 24th floor.

The last two days of orientation have been busy, but of course, we have still found time for fun. On Wednesday night, the firm hosted a welcome wine and cheese reception in our honor. Our wonderful mentors introduced us by sharing interesting and silly facts about us, and we spent the duration of the evening getting to meet lots of new people. It was a great opportunity to talk with a variety of people, including many associates who also went through the summer associate program, and even many of the named partners. Despite being called the wine and cheese reception, there was actually so much more! We got to develop relationships while enjoying sushi, salad, chicken tenders, various appetizers and naturally, wine and cheese. Everyone made us feel very welcome.  So far the summer is off to a fabulous start. I can’t wait for all of the assignments and social events that the next nine weeks will bring!

[portfolio_slideshow pagerpos=disabled showcaps=true]