This week was by far the quickest, which says a lot considering how quickly nine weeks came and went as summer associates at Bilzin Sumberg. On Tuesday, we closed our summer-long Mock Real Estate deal with signatures and ceviche. Even after the exercise I think we’ll always question whether the other side really did get the better deal of the vacant-lot Brickell property. That night, the five summer associates went to our last group dinner where we declared unofficial superlatives ranging from “Most Likely to Be the Earliest to Every Event” to “Best Dressed” and importantly, “Cleanest Car.”

Later in the week, we participated in the Land Development and Governmental Relations practice group event at the Chapman Partnership. Armed with hairnets and aprons, we served dinner to the homeless for two hours. Notably at the front of the food line was Al Dotson, scooping mashed potatoes like a pro. The work we did was unannounced, but certainly appreciated. Walking out of the Chapman Partnership to “Thank You’s” made the event well worth it. We finished the night at Proof Pizza & Pasta where we enjoyed locally brewed beer and great food with the department. We also had the chance to talk about upcoming projects and cases some of the attorneys will be involved with.

Thursday night we were invited to Marshall’s home for a summers’ end dinner. We reminisced on the summer and shared stories from office trip-and-falls to our celebrity look-alikes. The last we left it, Jay was deciding between One Direction and N.W.A. for his personal favorite artist.

On our last day in the office, we finished up ongoing assignments and had our last days’ lunch together with our mentors. Reminiscing on the summer again was inevitable, but the stories we could (and did) share were endless. People we’ve known for such a short time have become mentors, and friends. The time the five of us spent together this summer has taught us so much, from balancing a workload to forging new relationships and more. Summer 2015 did more than manage our expectations, it exceeded them.