Photo of Geoff Kirsner

This past Friday, our summer associate class spent the morning sorting through boxes of food that were donated in order to help feed hungry people across South Florida. Except for a few mishaps, our morning at Feeding South Florida was both exciting and fulfilling. The Bilzin Sumberg crew was, of course, a food-sorting force to be reckoned with.
Continue Reading Feeding South Florida

Before I begin this blog post, I’d like to take a moment to wish our great country a very happy birthday. 240 has never looked so good. Now, on to business…

This past Thursday, the Corporate and Tax Group hosted an event for our summer class. Following cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at Brava!, our group was treated to Summer Shorts Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami for a performance that is not likely to be forgotten any time soon. However, the show’s memorability stems less from the actual actors’ performances than the reactions of some of my fellow summer associates.

After fervently discussing her penchant for Olympic weightlifting, Claudia proceeded to demonstrate proper clean-and-jerk techniques to Jared Spector during the pre-show reception. While not a member of the Corporate and Tax Group himself, Jared was in attendance of his own accord due to his oddly specific passion for semi-professional live performances of ten minutes or less. Jenny must have similar preferences; she was adamant that, prior to the show, she personally shake the hand of not only every actor and actress but also the entire production staff regardless of how busy each person was. Continue Reading Summer Shorts and Sweet Shrimp Heads

Above-left: Frankie, my sous-chef, clearly jealous of my culinary prowess (my artisanal flatbread, seen here, was unanimously crowned “dish of the night”)

We’ve been told from day one that Bilzin Sumberg hires summer associates with the intent that they will one day become partners at the Firm. While this may sound too good to be true, attendance at last night’s dinner event exemplifies Bilzin Sumberg’s dedication to retaining the highly qualified attorneys that began their careers here as summer associates.

In addition to the 2016 summer associate stars, the event’s guest list included prominent members of previous summer classes, such as Leah Aaronson, Desiree Fernandez, Jerry Goldsmith, Jared Spector, Shalia Sakona, Lori Lustrin, Mildred Gomez, and Jeff Snyder. The night was made even more special thanks to guest appearances from Jessica Buchsbaum and Jay Sakalo who, while not summer associates at Bilzin Sumberg themselves, are certainly honorary members of the 2016 class.

Two Chefs Restaurant describes the private-party cooking class as a “cooking adventure… under the guidance of a chef… designed to build camaraderie while honing your cooking skills.” This description, while accurate, omits the wine that was certainly responsible for some of the more “imaginative” artisanal flatbread topping combinations. Other culinary highlights of the evening included pecan crusted lump crab cake, ahi tuna tartare, stuffed mushroom caps, Caesar salad, toasted quinoa, grilled salmon, and grilled New York strip steak (as if we weren’t already fed well enough).
Continue Reading Two Chefs (But We’ve Got Us A Few Here)

IMG_1862
Paul VanderMeer’s winning lemon tart

The “freshman fifteen” is a staple of any memorable college experience. You’re living out of the house for the first time, and the amount of fat in the one dish you know how to “cook” is surpassed only by its MSG content. You’re just a swipe away from the dining hall’s endless array of every fried dish you can possibly imagine, and you’re the only one stopping yourself from indulging in that second, third, or even fourth dessert.

As we end our first week at Bilzin Sumberg, my fellow summer associates and I have encountered similar gluttonous temptations. Thursday and Friday mornings’ legal writing seminars were accompanied by breakfast spreads that could’ve fed a summer class twice our size. Thursday evening’s library happy hour included a plethora of delicious finger foods and beverages, both of the adult and non-adult varieties. Finally, Friday afternoon’s bakeoff featured desserts that would’ve impressed Gordon Ramsay, and I’m not just saying that because Jessica Buchsbaum was a star competitor.Continue Reading The “Summer-Associate Seven”