The first week has really flown by and it is hard to believe it is already the end of our first week of the Academy. The morning started out with a firm-wide breakfast for Teach for America – an organization near and dear to both the firm and our clients.
After the breakfast, Stacia
Over the summer, we have had the chance to experience every stage of a typical real estate transaction through the Mock Real Estate Transaction program. From the initial contract negotiation to contract amendment, Adam Lustig and Phil Sosnow led the summer associates through each step to closing. This week, after preparing a special warranty deed, a general assignment, a no lien affidavit, and a closing statement, we were finally ready! The teams showed up prepared (or so we thought).
Continue Reading (Almost) Getting to Closing
By mid-week, our summer associate training mostly complete and it was time to get to work and choose our first assignments. Following precedent set by previous summer classes, we got toget her to discuss who was most interested in the available assignments from the different practice groups. In just the first week, we have had
Last week mark
ed the culmination of the Mock Real Estate Transaction–a training program designed to give the summer associates exposure to the full life cycle and many phases of a real estate deal. The summer associates were divided into two teams, buyers (Team Captain America) and sellers (Team Iron Man).
Weekly sessions led by Adam Lustig and Phil Sosnow covered each phase of a real estate transaction, from Letter of Intent to Closing. Coaches Manny Gonzalez and Kent Koch were assigned to each team to help us understand and draft documents, as well as advise us in conducting negotiations. After the informative introduction, the teams would conduct a negotiation, attempting to reach a compromise by the end of the session. Buyers and sellers were given unique fact patterns for each phase, highlighting needs and wants to drive negotiation priorities.
The path to closing was not always smooth. In fact, during the Contract Amendment phase, our deal almost broke down entirely. Buyers and sellers fully embraced their roles and negotiations for an extension of the property inspection period got very heated. Personally, I learned a valuable and mildly embarrassing lesson about the importance of stepping out of the room to confer privately. Thinking aloud in role of the seller, I blurted out “what do we think of $X for Y weeks extension?” Buyers enthusiastically embraced my suggestion, my team shot me looks of stunned disbelief, and Adam declared “that sounds like offer and acceptance!” I frantically back-pedaled and thankfully we were permitted to disregard my comment and move on.
Continue Reading The Summer War – Let’s Make a Deal
On Saturday, June 25th, the summer associates were invited to attend the annual firm dinner party. Spouses and significant others were included in the event, and it was very enjoyable to meet our colleagues’
The very first day of orientation, the summer associates were introduced to the concept of tag alongs. Bilzin Sumberg provides opportunities for us to shadow experienced attorneys as they interact with clients, learning by observing. We were asked to rank practice groups in order of personal interest, allowing Jessica Buchsbaum to assign the experiences in order of priority as they arise.
I don’t think any of us were expecting the number and variety of tag alongs we’ve experienced in just the first two and a half weeks of the summer. All seven summer associates have had opportunities to observe associates and partners “in action,” interacting with their clients on pressing matters. So far, our group has tagged-along with the Corporate & Tax, Litigation, Land Development & Government Relations, Business Finance & Restructuring, and Real Estate practice groups.
Continue Reading Summer Associates Tagging-Along