At the beginning of November, the Associate Committee at Bilzin Sumberg organized an Associate and Of Counsel Day focused on networking, business development, and collaboration. The Committee, consisting of Erin Stafford, Hannah Lidicker, Ellina Berdichevsky, Brianna Sainte, and Alexandra Barshel, started the initiative to build camaraderie among new attorneys and to
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THERE IS MORE THAN ONE (1) CORRECT WAY TO DRAFT
As the Real Estate group’s own Marty Schwartz has been advocating for 15 years, documents can be drafted in different styles. No particular style will earn you favor with a client or in litigation, but lawyers adopt different styles throughout the
“What exactly does a Summer Associate do?”
I remember asking myself this question when I was in the process of applying to Bilzin Sumberg last year. Much has been written about the exciting social events we’ve been able to attend during our summer at the firm. Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about
My computer chimed shortly after two o’clock. It was an email notification from Jessica announcing that it was time to schedule our end-of-summer reviews. During our
On June 23, 2021, Bilzin Sumberg summer associates gathered on Zoom and watched a recorded message from Mary Fitzgerald of Netflix’s trending reality show, “Selling Sunset.” We also received a digital binder with a hypothetical scenario that blends the drama of the luxe life of real estate brokers at The Oppenheim Group with facts that would catch the attention of any issue spotting law student. The real fun started when the summer associates were split into two different groups and tasked with representing either the buyer or seller of a prime slice of real estate in Miami’s Brickell community.
Under the direction of Alexandra Lehson, a Partner in Bilzin Sumberg’s Real Estate Practice Area, John Trach, Saron Musa, and I are representing Nathifa Parker (Selling Sunset, LLC), the buyer. Danielle Hall and Joseph Beguiristain are representing Lucas Pizzutti (This Isn’t Us, LLC), the seller, with support from Partner Sara Herald. Thus far, we’ve attended two of three seminars aimed at providing us with an overview of each step in the real estate transaction process. Led by Partners Timothy DeKeyser and Phillip Sosnow, the seminars provide us with substantive and technical guidance for the immediate next steps in the process: negotiating terms and drafting agreements.
Continue Reading Learning by Doing: “Selling Sunset” Style
In the final weeks of the summer associate program, we had the opportunity to debrief with an experienced attorney at the firm—Marshall Pasternack. In his infamous “10 at 3” meeting, Marshall took time out of his busy day to share some of the things he’s learned throughout his career with myself and
Now that we are officially half-way through the summer (time flies!), I think it is a good time to reflect on some of the assignments that I have had so far. As someone who was not entirely sure what practice group I was interested in when I began the summer, having the opportunity to take
One of my primary objectives coming into the summer was to establish a plan of action for my future, both at Bilzin Sumberg and in the Miami community. Of course, at the top of the list was figuring out which of the firm’s prestigious Practice Groups I would prioritize, but I also wanted to put myself on a path to career development and community entrenchment that would carry me for the duration of my career. Over two-thirds of the way through the summer, I can confidently say that the summer associate program has helped me to accomplish this goal through meaningful work with substantive feedback and consistent attorney mentorship opportunities. Everyday has proven to be a new chance for us to learn, grow, and have fun, and Bilzin Sumberg could not be more welcoming in helping us to feel at home while providing us with a practical dose of real legal work.
Continue Reading Learning from Lawyers over Lunch: The Life of a Summer Associate
The summer has flown by, and we officially have three weeks left before the summer associate program concludes! As summer associates, we have each taken on a breadth of assignments among the various practice groups.
In general, the attorneys post assignments in a centralized database from where we select projects. Each assignment contains
This summer, I’ve had the honor of writing both the first blog post and the final blog post. In my first post, I talked about the welcome wine and cheese event, the training sessions, and being back at Bilzin Sumberg. It is hard to believe that when I was writing that post nine weeks ago I barely knew Forrest, Luis, Alex, and Eric (Lauren I knew from last year!), and I had no idea that they would become such great friends and supportive colleagues.
Before we get to the end of summer fun, we have to get through the last of our assignments and our end of summer reviews. While I’m always a little bit nervous before the reviews, the attorneys always seem to provide helpful and encouraging feedback. Plus – my great mentor Lindsey Parker is always there with me! I’ve also tried to make an effort this year to reach out to individual assigning attorneys for feedback before my review — a suggestion from Jay Sakalo and Jessica Buchsbaum that I think has been helpful in improving my work and to building stronger relationships with the attorneys at the firm. Continue Reading The Final Few Days of a Great Summer