Here goes nothing! After a long school year of waiting to finally start at Bilzin Sumberg, the summer associate program has officially begun. Better yet, the five wonderful summers of 2014 (Desiree, Jared, Jerry, Moshe, and I) have quickly become friends! We met for drinks at Batch Gastropub in Brickell the night before our first day and have really enjoyed spending time with each other since.

So far, we have attended meetings where we met departmental managers, learned firm policies and were introduced to tons of new computer software.  While orientation has definitely been busy, it hasn’t been without excitement. We got to choose our first assignments!

The assignment pool included some very interesting topics – local issues, large corporate deals and research on same-sex marriage were among the offerings. However, the five of us didn’t want to risk taking an assignment from another who might have had his eye on it.  To resolve any potential conflicts, Jerry suggested that we meet to discuss our first assignment selection. I invited everyone to “step into my office” and talk it through. Luckily, Jared was comfortable sitting on top of a bookcase!

The five of us went through the list, each naming our top assignment choice. Miraculously, no two summers wanted the same one! The 2014 summer associates are surely off to a great start.

2014 Summer Associates
From Left to Right: Leah Aaronson, Desiree Fernandez, Jared Spector, Jerry Goldsmith and Anosh Zaghi.

Bilzin Sumberg is thrilled to welcome our 2014 Summer Associate class on their first day of the program today.  To learn more about our 2014 Summer Associates, click here.

The Summer Associates spent the first day of their 9 week program in orientation, which included an introduction to the different firm departments, an overview of what they can expect during their summer including mentoring, assignments, evaluations, training, social events and a personal welcome from the hiring partner, Marshall Pasternack.

In addition to the traditional professional development trainings & social events like the real estate mock transaction and the summer associate alumni Two Chefs private cooking event, we are most excited about the new events that have been introduced this year.  Some of my personal favorites include the fishing trip to Key Largo, the Wynwood Culinary Tour and the meal service benefitting the Chapman Partnership.  Stay tuned to learn more about this year’s program from our newest bloggers!  Welcome!

 

On March 20th, we participated in the 2nd Annual United Way Dare to Dodge Dodgeball Tournament.  Our dodge squad, cheer squad and fans definitely brought the most spirit to the Downtown Athletic Center as we united with 7 other Miami law firms to benefit the United Way of Miami Dade.  We had cheers, chants, dances, signs and as many noisemakers as we could carry to represent Bilzin Sumberg pride for one of our favorite charities – the United Way of Miami-Dade.

Our team was led 2nd place along with the support of the “tu-tu cute” cheer squad and the dedication of our dodge squad.  Associates and summer associate alumni joined in the fun alike.

Although we didn’t bring home 1st place, we had a blast coming together for a great cause.  We made countless memories and bonded with our Bilzin Sumberg family during practices, the sign making pep rally and our pep lunch on the day of the event.  My favorite memory was rushing the court after each victory to celebrate with our team.  I know I speak for others when I say that we’ll be back again next year to show everyone that we truly are “Mighty Mighty Bilzin”!

Click here for more information on the 2014 “Dare to Dodge” Dodgeball Tournament.

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Michael, Kyle, David, Shalia & Amy post bar admission!

Bilzin Sumberg has five newly admitted bar members.  I am overjoyed to congratulate our very first bloggers (David De La Flor, Michael Levine, Kyle Morabito, Amy Podolsky and Shalia Sakona) on their admission to the Florida Bar.

Today, we were most fortunate to have the oath administered by The Honorable Jennifer Bailey who spent some time talking to the group about the integrity one needs to practice with professionalism.  She made the event special by swearing in each associate individually. 

It wouldn’t be a true celebration without food, so we headed to La Loggia with the first year associates’ family and friends.  Only when tiramisu is present, is it a true fete!

L to R: Amy, Kyle, David, Shalia and Michael pose for a picture after orientation.

 

 Yesterday, we welcomed the complete 2014 First Year Associate class (a.k.a., The First Bloggers).  Bilzin Sumberg is delighted to have David, Michael, Kyle, Amy and Shalia joining us full time as associates.  I’ll have some even more exciting news about them, later this week!

It was our pleasure to extend first year associate offers to the 2Ls of the 2013 Summer Associate Class.  We are even more delighted to announce that all of them have accepted those offers to join us in 2014!!

Special recognition goes to those attorneys and staff members who ensured the summer program was successful.  Our attorneys participated in our program by giving meaningful feedback; providing formal and informal mentoring; conducting training programs; spending time getting to know the summer associates at firm functions; and offering meaningful work and tag along opportunities.  They were generous with their time and helped to make the summer associate experience a “real” one.  Congratulations are in order to the incoming first years and to the firm!

We are in full on-campus and callback interview mode and are looking forward to the arrival of our 2013 first year associates soon! 

 

Enjoying the ice cream social farewell.

The first week of the summer associate program, Marshall Pasternack and Jessica Buchsbaum told us that the summer was going to fly by. Now, nine weeks later, I realize that they could not have been more right. My summer at Bilzin Sumberg has been an invaluable and unforgettable experience.

From the start, I was able to work on interesting and important assignments in a variety of practice areas because the firm encourages summer associates to work on projects from all practice groups. I worked with knowledgeable, skilled attorneys in Corporate, Tax, Real Estate, Litigation, Insolvency, and Land Use.

In addition, Bilzin Sumberg’s commitment to community involvement led us to participate in a host of enriching endeavors like the Virginia Key Restoration Project, a trip to the United Way of Miami-Dade, and a firm-wide “jeans day” to support the National Alzheimer’s Association. Fun and exciting social events like bowling and baseball were also on the summer calendar.

Two other highlights of the summer program: the mentor-mentee relationship and the Real Estate Mock Transaction. The firm provides mentors to help guide the summer associates, and I could not have been paired with a more perfect mentor (thank you Jessica!). In addition, the Mock Transaction allowed the summer associates to see and participate in a real estate transaction from beginning to closing.

And after nine weeks as a summer associate, my most difficult task has been trying to fit all of my amazing experiences into one blog post.

Remember the first day?
The original bloggers enjoying a post-bar dinner.

 

. . .and a window opens.  As we end the 2013 Summer Associate Program, I can’t help but think of the 2012 Summer Associates (the first bloggers!).  My thoughts are with them because they took the bar exam this week.  They managed a celebratory dinner to reminisce about their experience together and make plans for their future.

They will be joining us in the fall as first year associates and I am looking forward to seeing them at Bilzin Sumberg as lawyers!

As per usual, last week was filled with events.  The summer associates were invited to dinner with the Insolvency Department at Cibo Wine Bar on Miracle Mile.  It was a great ending to a very solid run of practice group events.  Throughout the summer we had many different types of these events including a Marlins game, bowling, and a yacht tour.  They gave us a great opportunity to interact with different attorneys in a more relaxed and social setting.

Last week I also had the chance to tag along in a Land Use meeting and Corporate conference call.  Tag alongs are a big part of the Bilzin Sumberg summer associate program and provide an opportunity to interact with clients and learn more about the business side of the legal profession.  The partners in charge of the assignments take the time out of their busy schedules to provide ample background information and also debrief afterwards, answering any questions you may have.

The other big highlight of the week was the grand finale of our mock real estate transaction, the closing.  The legal side of the closing was informative and interesting, but nothing compared to the summer associate bake off.  I am proud to say that Om Pandya took down the competition with a delicious fried cheesecake.  Om stepped up to the challenge and changed the closing process for the better.  A special thanks to Jessica Buchsbaum and her food network worthy baking skills for also preparing some goodies just in case the summer associate attempts were subpar.  Fortunately for all, the desserts were all delicious and a big hit around the office.

Created six years ago, Bilzin Sumberg Cares is a community involvement program that provides Bilzin Sumberg’s attorneys, staff and their families with opportunities to work together to benefit local South Florida organizations. This Tuesday, we were introduced to the program with a visit to one of the organization’s partners, United Way of Miami-Dade.

At our visit to the United Way, we described our past experiences in volunteering. It was great to hear about my peers’ interests, but it was even better to know Bilzin Sumberg is committed to shaping our South Florida community in more ways than one. At the end of our visit, Marshall reminded us: Being a lawyer is what you do. What you all just described, your experiences volunteering, is who you are.

In addition to United Way of Miami-Dade, Bilzin Sumberg Cares also partners with organizations like the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, the Miami-Dade Special Olympics, Voices for Children Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami, and numerous other non-profit organizations. For the summer class of 2013, we will start our commitment next Friday. We have chosen to donate all funds from an office-wide “jeans day” to support the National Alzheimer’s Association.