One of the best parts of being a summer associate at Bilzin Sumberg has been getting to know attorneys and fellow summer associates outside the office. Between assignments, trainings, and learning the ins and outs of practicing law, the firm has created opportunities for us to connect in ways that have nothing to do with billable hours or legal research.

One of my favorite events so far was a murder mystery dinner with the Real Estate team and the rest of the summer associates.

The premise seemed simple enough: enjoy a great dinner, question suspects, gather clues, and solve a murder.

As it turns out, I may have been slightly overconfident about my detective skills.

From the moment we arrived, I was fully committed to the role. Professional witness interviews? Check. Cross-examinations? Absolutely. Drawing conclusions based on circumstantial evidence and questionable assumptions? Unfortunately, also check.

Throughout the evening, as various characters moved between tables while we collected clues and interrogated suspects. Between bites of pasta and rounds of questioning, our team worked to piece together what happened. I treated the entire thing like a trial strategy session.

By the end of the night, I was convinced we had solved it.

Not “I think we might be right” convinced.

I mean “I could write a closing argument on this” convinced.

I had an entire theory. I had motive. I had opportunity. I had supporting facts. I had convinced not only myself, but most of my table, that we had cracked the case. We were so certain of our conclusion that we barely entertained alternative theories.

The suspect? The doctor.

We were all in.

When the host finally gathered everyone together to announce the winners, I was already mentally preparing to celebrate our investigative brilliance.

Then came the announcement.

“The award for Dead Last Place goes to…”

Our table.

I genuinely thought I had misheard.

Not only had we not won—we had finished last.

Dead last.

As if that wasn’t humbling enough, the actual murderer turned out to be someone sitting at our very own table the entire time. Looking back, the clues were there, but we had become so attached to our theory that we completely overlooked other possibilities.

The resulting photo of our “Dead Last Place” certificate may be one of my favorite summer memories so far.

The experience turned out to be a funny reminder that confidence and being correct are not always the same thing. In law school and in practice, it’s easy to become attached to a theory once you’ve invested time developing it. Sometimes the best answer is the one you haven’t considered yet.

More importantly, the evening was a great opportunity to spend time with people across the firm in a relaxed setting. One of the things I’ve appreciated most about Bilzin Sumberg is how welcoming everyone has been. Events like this make it easy to build relationships, share a few laughs, and get to know colleagues beyond their practice groups.

Although I still maintain that my theory was excellent, I have reluctantly accepted the official results.

Mostly.