Future Bilzin Sumberg lawyers!

We previously discussed how it was our pleasure to extend offers to the entire 2012 Summer Associate Class.  Bilzin Sumberg is even more delighted to announce that all of them have accepted those offers to return to the firm!! 

In addition to the effort the summer associates put forth to receive their offers, we do want to acknowledge those attorneys who participated in making the summer associate experience a “real” one and they too deserve our collective appreciation. 

Whether those attorneys:

they did their part to ensure that the summer experience was a rewarding one and would make Bilzin Sumberg a place where the summer associates could envision practicing law.

Veronica is officially the first summer associate in the 2013 class.  We are in full on-campus and callback interview mode – as recruiting season has gained momentum. 

We are looking forward to announcing the full 2013 Summer Class in the next few months.

I think the summer associates had a fantastic experience during the program and I hope they feel that we honored our commitments to them.

From the firm’s perspective, we feel like they certainly honored their commitment to us.  They were serious about the work, made a strong effort to interact socially and professionally with everyone in the firm, and they worked collaboratively as a group.

We appreciate the efforts that our 2012 Summer Associate class put forth and are delighted to announce that we extended offers to each of them.  We hope the relationships the summer associates started to build with Bilzin Sumberg attorneys will endure and grow when they join us as practicing attorneys.

We will miss this class and are excited to begin recruiting next year’s summer class!

The Summer Associates on the last day of the program after their ice cream social farewell.

This summer has proven to be an incredible experience. Not only did I get a chance to meet and befriend an intelligent and interesting group of people, I was able to learn from them and sharpen my own skill sets.

From meeting clients, to attending court hearings, to simply sharing a meal with an attorney, I always felt that the firm and its attorneys had my best interest at heart.

Bilzin Sumberg truly invests a lot of time and energy on the summer associate program. For example, attorney mentors are carefully vetted so as to make our experience unique and rewarding. The ViDesktop system (the system where attorneys input assignments so that summer associates can pick from a pool) also allows the summers to tailor their summer experience to fit their overall career goals. The social events for the summer are organized in a way that allows the summers to meet as many attorneys as possible. Finally, the summer program stresses the importance of community service and involvement.

The efforts made by Marshall Pasternack, Jessica Buchsbaum, and my mentor, Wendy Polit, to make this summer unforgettable are truly appreciated!

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A picture taken from Veronica’s time volunteering

The firm encourages the Summer Associates to choose a charitable organization, and assists us in raising funds for the organization.  This summer our class chose Un Techo Para Mi Pais, an organization that Summer Associate, Veronica Gordon, spent a week in Uruguay working with.

Un Techo Para Mi Pais is an organization that builds temporary homes for families in Latin America.  The temporary homes are built in settlements by volunteers in the outskirts of major cities.  The organization wants these homes to be a stepping stone for the families and Techo works with the families to ensure they have adequate vocational training to overcome poverty. 

To assist in the fundraising, the firm allows all employees that donate five dollars to wear jeans on a designated Friday.  The day before the “Denim Day” our summer class brought a cart with baked goods around the office to entice donations.  This fund-collection happened to land on our second-to-last day of the program, and provided a great opportunity to say farewell to the attorneys.

All of the summer associates enjoying the view at Smith & Wollensky on Miami Beach

I cannot believe how quickly this summer is coming to a close. I’m sitting here at my desk on the last Wednesday, writing my last blog post, and working to finish my last assignments. The time has flown!

On the first day of the summer Marshall told us that the “social season” is upon us. How true this has been, and how true it is that social season has not slowed down. Last Friday, Marshall, his lovely wife Shelley, and Jessica took all of the summer associates to happy hour at Smith & Wollensky and then to dinner at Grazie. If you have not been to either place yet, they are both must-see Miami spots.  Each of us were also invited to bring a guest to Friday’s festivities. Good food, good drink, and good friends — it was a good night!

Our last week remains busy. Yesterday we closed on our mock real estate transaction, tonight we are going on a tour of 1111, and tomorrow night Marshall and Shelley are graciously hosting all of us for dinner. Additionally, we are all busy finishing assignments and spending a day shadowing an attorney.

I can say with certainty that this summer has exceeded my expectations. Not only have I worked on substantive assignments, but I have also learned from some of the best attorneys in Miami. The daily lunches and social events haven’t been so bad either. It’s going to be tough going back to school after these past nine weeks!

…have not yet been lived.  Or, so says my fortune cookie fortune from today’s lunch at P.F.Chang’s.  In a moment of panic, at the prospect of eating alone for the first time all summer, David De La Flor and I reached out to Jeff Snyder who, at the last minute, graciously agreed to have lunch with us in Mary Brickell Village. 

Jeff works  in Insolvency, a small, but extremely talented department, well revered in its field.  He patiently talked us through the ins-and-outs of the insolvency process, a practice area which the summers have had minimal exposure to throughout the summer as a result of the fact that the majority of the insolvency assignments are beyond our current skill set.  Jeff’s passion for the work that he does was extremely self-evident and got me excited about my own future as a practicing attorney. 

Of course, the conversation wasn’t all business.  Jeff attended the Olympic games in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Vancouver!  With opening ceremonies of the 2012 games in London just hours away, David and I enjoyed hearing stories of Jeff rubbing elbows with Olympic athletes on and off the field/track/slopes/etc. 

In conclusion, today’s lunch with Jeff gave me confidence that my fortune cookie was right.  While the summer has been very rewarding, I look forward to what my legal career (and, of course, the 2012 Olympics) holds in store.

Miami has recently become home to a state-of-the-art baseball stadium, Marlins Park, which hosts up to 37,000 people and includes a retractable roof to shield fans from inclement weather. A stadium fit for the Magic City, the stadium features a fish tank behind home plate and a pool bar brought to baseball lovers by The Clevelander.

Last night, we had the chance to see the stadium in all of its glory when the summer associates were invited by the Corporate & Securities and Tax departments to a private suite at Marlins Park to watch the Miami Marlins play ball against the Atlanta Braves.

The event provided an opportunity for us to interact with attorneys we may not have had the chance to interact with yet. I was happy to get to know some of the attorneys, who I have not had the pleasure of working or grabbing lunch with yet. It was also an opportunity for celebrity sightings, since Juwan Howard, a forward from the Miami Heat was there, as were Tony Perez and Andre “The Hawk” Dawson, two Major League legends, who many of the attorneys and Michael Levine got to meet.

 As one can imagine, we had a great time. However, even though we were all impressed by the stadium and the company, the real showstopper was the dessert cart—as Wendy Polit can attest to.

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It’s hard to believe that over two months ago Jessica blogged that the summer associate mentors had been chosen.  With just two weeks left of the summer, I decided to re-read Jessica’s post and reflect on my own mentor-mentee relationship with my mentor, a veteran of Bilzin’s summer associate program.

Looking through Jessica’s criteria for the perfect summer mentor and for the expectations of the mentor, I can easily place check marks next to each number.  My mentor and I have a lot in common, and looking back I can see why Jessica and Marshall chose him.  We both attended the University of Florida, grew up in South Florida, share a similar sense of humor, and enjoy traveling and sports.

At least once a week we  meet to discuss the assignments I’m working on, the attorneys I’m working with, and the week’s events.  Besides providing his insights and advice, I also talk with him about the cases he’s working on.  One of the best parts of having a summer associate mentor is not only getting his input, but also learning about what it’s like to be a young associate at the firm.

Although Jessica and Marshall provide the summer associates with what seems like millions of resources, the mentoring relationship is certainly one of the best.

Last Thursday the summer associate class participated in a ping pong tournament with the Litigation Department at Chalk on Miami Beach.  Every department at Bilzin Sumberg hosts an event during the summer program.  These events are designed to provide the summer associates the chance to get to know the departments in an informal setting. 

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The summer events offer summer associates an ideal opportunity to see the interpersonal dynamics of the practice groups.  Everyone, from first year associates to named partners, attends the summer events.  Because most commercial attorneys have busy schedules, it can be tough to spend meaningful time getting to know them.  The event setting provides summer associates the unique opportunity to speak with these busy attorneys for an extended period of time over drinks and food. 

Events involving bowling tournaments, ping pong tournaments, concerts, and professional baseball games prove to provide an exciting evening and a welcomed break from the practice of law.  After an entire summer of department events, summer associates from outside of the area get a great sense of the nightlife Miami has to offer.

Bilzin Sumberg’s reception area

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to observe Michael Krietzer, co-chair of Bilzin Sumberg’s litigation department, and John Sumberg, managing partner at Bilzin Sumberg, in a client meeting. 

At Pieducks (incredible pizza joint), I shared with Michael that, as a summer associate, not only am I interested in developing my writing and research skills, but I’m also interested in learning more about the side of the business that young, soon-to-be attorneys like myself don’t often get to see.   He then graciously extended an invitation to sit down with him and his client that same afternoon.

Although I have some experience with client management, sitting in with Michael and John was an incredibly enlightening experience.  As soon as I got back to the office, I changed into my suit (for all the guys out there, here’s a tip: always keep a suit in the office because you never know when an opportunity like this will come up).  

The client meeting lasted about an hour.  Michael and John carefully examined the facts surrounding the case, and slowly began to construct a strategy.  They clearly explained to the client where he stood legally, and the strengths and weaknesses of his case.  At the end of the meeting, the client seemed satisfied, and Michael is now working on the case. 

 Exposure like this can be invaluable to attorneys just starting their legal careers, and I’m glad I’m at a firm that provides these kinds of opportunities.