As part of the summer associate experience, Bilzin Sumberg coordinates tag-along opportunities for the summer associates to attend. This week, Elise and I witnessed Al Dotson represent Related Urban Development Company before the County Commission. Hundreds of Liberty Square residents stepped up to the podiums to remind those present of the exigency of the approval of the redevelopment. Continue Reading One Step Closer
Favorites among the attorneys include the grilled octopus at PM, a restaurant that is practically attached to our building and is an especially great option when it is raining. Another is the Novecento Salad at Novecento, which has a surprise pile of French fries underneath the otherwise classic dark green lettuce, avocado, tomato and steak salad. Obba is the definite favorite for sushi. Edge, across the street from the firm in the Four Seasons hotel, is probably the most popular. It has great salads (like the Chicken Chop Chop), and is affectionately referred to as the “Bilzin Sumberg Cafeteria,” as you are bound to run into other people from the firm during your lunch.
Our lunch schedules filled up quickly, so some attorneys invited us to their homes, to dinner, or to happy hours as alternatives. The Land Use event at Brian Adler‘s house was one of the most memorable. Brian and his husband whipped up a real feast; there was gazpacho, baked brie with fig jam on a baguette, assorted meats and cheeses with honeycomb, and pan seared foie gras – and these were just the appetizers! Richard Goldstein’s happy hour at a cigar bar was also a fun event and included cigars, rosé champagne, and a surprise appearance from Richard’s son.
I also consulted some of my fellow Summer Associates about their favorite events. Lauren reiterated how many new restaurants she has tried since starting at the firm, despite having lived here in Brickell for more than a year! Two of her new favorites are Coyo Taco (try the fried grouper tacos!) and My Ceviche. Claudia thought our lunch with Mitch Widom at Rosa Mexicana was the most memorable. She enjoyed hearing about Mitch’s fishing trips and how he has balanced his personal life with his life as a litigator. Geoff loved going to El Carajo with Richard Goldstein and Michelle Weber. If you haven’t been, El Carajo is a cute Spanish restaurant hidden inside a nondescript-looking gas station off US1. You would never know it was there from the street. Jenny and Elise both said amazing things about Zak the Baker in Wynwood. Frankie and I agreed that one of the most memorable afternoons was at Sea Spice with Scott Baena. He told us stories about his travels and his passion for barbeque over shared appetizers, lobster rolls, and a great view of the Miami River.
Overall, it has been great to be able to try so many new restaurants and have so much time with the attorneys outside of the office. I can’t believe we have less than three weeks left!
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.
Last week, Jenny and I had the opportunity to attend the 2016 Federal Court Observer Program. The program was created by the Honorable Paul C. Huck, a Southern District of Florida Federal Court Judge. Every summer he invites law students working in Miami to the federal courthouse to interact with federal judges and local attorneys as well as hear from them through panels on various topics. The morning began with breakfast and registration where both Jenny and I got to catch up with friends from law school who are also working in Miami this summer.
Continue Reading Order in the (Federal) Court (Observer Program)!
As Summer Associates at Bilzin Sumberg, we have been blessed with both an innocuous and nurturing work environment. At times, the legal questions we face can be more overwhelming than the near-lethal scent of the Axe/ Drakkar Noir body spray cocktail that Geoff bathes himself in after the firm-wide yoga classes, and we are lucky to be able to turn to our mentors for guidance (Shout-outs to Craig, Naomi, Phil, Veronica, Mildred, Carly, and Brandon). Thankfully, all of the mentors abide by the policy that “no question is a dumb question”. (Unless you are asking who got the highest score on the July 2015 Florida Bar Exam.)
Our mentors have been especially helpful in navigating the plethora of hearty assignments placed on our metaphorical plates. Every day we are presented with brand new opportunities to practice in unique areas of the law (even though Lauren’s calling might actually be professional poker) . Our assignment pool spans the legal landscape and work is constantly rolling in from partners in Litigation, Land Use, Corporate, Real Estate, Business Finance and Restructuring, and Tax. This variety has motivated and energized us throughout the daily grind (picture this, not this). Although a great deal of our work involves billable assignments incorporating serious client interaction and written work-product, that is not all we have taken on this summer.
Continue Reading Drakkar Noir, Pugs, and Madonna: A Must-Read
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’ partners. We enjoyed a variety of delicious appetizers and mingled before taking our seats for dinner.
The lavishly catered event was held at a truly unique venue–the Rubell Family Collection— in the Wynwood neighborhood. The Rubell Family Collection was established in 1964 in New York City, and is now one of the world’s largest privately owned contemporary art collections. Since 1993, the collection has been exhibited in a 45,000 square foot repurposed Drugs Enforcement Agency confiscated goods facility in Miami, Florida. Currently, the thematic exhibition is called “No Man’s Land,” and features the work of female artists exclusively. Having a dinner party surrounded by such unique contemporary art was a truly memorable experience.
It is hard to believe that the dinner party marked the end of the fifth week of our summer. It is amazing how quickly our experience as Bilzin Sumberg summer associates is flying by. With so many fun events, we are really getting to know the attorneys at the firm outside of the office setting. Next up, we have an evening of theater at the Arsht Center to see Summer Shorts with the Corporate and Tax groups to look forward to!
Yesterday the summer associates joined the Real Estate and Business Finance & Restructuring practice groups at the Coral Reef Yacht Club for an exciting night filled with food, drinks, and most importantly poker. For many of us it was the first time playing poker but thanks to a quick tutorial at the Coral Reef Yacht Club and Poker for Dummies, Elise, Jenny and I were able to catch up to speed–sort of.
The night went by very quickly, everything was fast paced as the master dealer kept us all on track to have a winner sooner rather than later. As an additional incentive, partners had a “bounty” on their heads, an AMEX gift card was given to any summer or associate who was able to eliminate a partner from the table, which made everything that much more exciting. Elise and I were at the same table and I have to say we held our own for a pretty long time… although we still don’t know if we actually have good poker faces or we were just so clueless it worked to our advantage.
As players were eliminated, the best players from each table gathered at one table for the final round. A crowd of spectators gathered and many of us thought previous tournament champ Jared Spector was going to blow everyone out of the water for the second time. Not this time… we were all watching intently as Lauren slowly eliminated everyone and became the first woman to win the poker tournament. Lauren went home with multiple AMEX giftcards and an iPad mini, she was stoked and mentioned this had been her favorite event by far.
It was an exciting night and all of us learned a lot, including to take it with a grain of salt when Lauren says she’s “rusty”.. must’ve been her good poker face!
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Between assignments and events, I soon found myself in week 5 of the summer associate program at Bilzin Sumberg. Along with week 5 came the highly anticipated Rosa Mexicano summer associate lunch in the wonderful company of Mitch Widom, Jessica Buchsbaum, and the litigation associates. After hearing plenty of stories from alumni about this lunch, my fellow summer associates and I knew exactly what to expect–Mitch would order us margaritas, and we would love them.
Over tasty guacamole later, Mitch regaled us with stories about his fishing adventures in Alaska and made me even more excited about our awaited fishing trip. While Mitch’s wife broke fishing records on their trip to Alaska, I’ll settle for a catch hefty enough to cook for dinner post-fishing.
I was especially blown away by Mitch’s ability to turn his passion for fishing into the Keymorada Invitational Fly-Spin Tournament. The tournament’s proceeds go to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and the UM Crohn’s & Colitis Center. Bilzin Sumberg’s devotion to the well-being of its community continues to inspire me everyday.
It is hard to believe that we are at the halfway point of our summer. So much has happened and we have learned so much, but it still feels like we just walked through the doors and saw Bilzin Sumberg’s amazing ocean view for the first time.
Even though it feels like we just arrived, the Summer Associates have had tons of opportunities to get to know the attorneys. We are having lunch with different people every day (most recently at the recently-opened Brickell location of Coyo Taco with David Resnick and Josh Kaplan) and we have had tons of social events, like the Two Chefs Summer Associate Alumni Event. On Thursday, some of the associates organized an informal happy hour at Burger and Beer Joint here in Brickell. It was fun to talk to everyone outside of the office and snack on some fried pickles and mini corn dogs. Everyone here has been so friendly and welcoming, and it is great to hear more about why everyone chose to come to Bilzin Sumberg. Two of the brand new Litigation Associates, Ken Duvall and Danielle Moriber, also attended and were able to get to know everybody.
The happy hour was also a great opportunity to talk to some of the past Summer Associates about our mid-summer reviews, which were on Friday. Everyone told us not to be nervous, but it was still nerve racking! Despite the nerves, it is always great to get some feedback from Jay, Jessica and our mentors and to have the opportunity to ask questions about what we could be doing better. I asked a few questions about narrowing down my interests, because I’ve worked on a really broad range of assignments, but the best part, in my opinion, was hearing the specific feedback from each attorney we’ve worked with on an assignment. Hearing what we did well and what could be improved, in their words, was a great way to re-center and gear up for the second half of the summer!
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)
