As a returning Summer Associate–reflecting on the past summer’s orientation–I assumed my second orientation may be repetitive. This assumption proved incorrect on my second day, as I began working with David Schubauer and the Corporate Department on an acquisition.

My hands-on involvement in a complex acquisition this early in the summer speaks to the steep learning curve and real-world experience the summer program offers.  Jessica Buchsbaum’s in-depth knowledge of the summer associates–which resulted in her recognition that this project would suit me well–allowed me to apply my previously acquired financial knowledge in a legal setting.  I am looking forward to working on this assignment and to hit the ground running.

About two weeks before beginning our summer program, each Summer Associate was assigned an attorney mentor. I was very fortunate to be paired up with Wendy Polit, a fourth year associate in Bilzin Sumberg’s Litigation department. Not only is Wendy an incredibly talented attorney, but because she worked at Bilzin Sumberg prior to enrolling in law school, she is also especially familiar with the ins and outs of the firm and its attorneys.

Although I was a bit nervous when first meeting Wendy, her easy-going attitude quickly set me at ease. Over drinks at Rosa Mexicano, a local Brickell restaurant, we discussed my expectations and goals for the summer, as well as what the firm expects of me.

She was very direct about the summer being hard work: I would be working on complex issues for high-profile clients across all departments within the firm. But the summer, of course, wouldn’t be all work, and she assured me that my summer would be a fun and growing experience.

Bilzin Sumberg organizes numerous social events so that Summer Associates can meet many of the attorneys and better integrate themselves into the firm’s culture. In just the first week, we have had a couple of lunches and happy hours where we had the chance to mingle with associates and partners to learn about them and their practice areas. Wendy also stressed the importance of working on projects from all departments, not only to get a better feel as to what I am interested in most, but also to meet and build rapport with the attorneys.

Although I have only been working at Bilzin Sumberg for a week, the firm already feels like home. All the attorneys I have met so far, including Wendy, have been incredibly kind and accommodating. I am very excited for what’s to come in the next couple of weeks!

This has been a great week filled with many firsts: first day, first assignment, and first mentor lunch. But, there has been another first. This week marks the first time I have ever been allowed to eat and drink in a library! That’s right, the Bilzin Sumberg library hosted both a happy hour and a heated, competitive bake-off during their Summer Associate training sessions.

The librarians did an excellent job teaching us how to use the library’s resources. We learned about the library’s layout, how to access various online databases, and what are the best practices for utilizing print and online research tools.

Library, Bake-Off Venue, Happy Hour Venue? You Be The Judge!

In addition, we learned that chicken fingers are the most preferred library happy hour snack, that the Legal Information Specialist Kelley Darling can tell library jokes, and that Director of Library & Knowledge Management Paul VanderMeer’s fruit tarts will beat out Director of Legal Recruiting & Professional Development Jessica Buchsbaum’s rocky road pie any afternoon (don’t feel bad, Jessica won last year’s bake-off with her world-famous tiramisu).

By providing drink and snacks at the training sessions, the librarians made research all the more fun and certainly gave us an incentive to keep going back!

 

The Summer Class: First Day!

 Today was the first day of the summer program.  The summer associates were in orientation for most of the day, learning about the various administrative departments and procedures. 

We had lunch with the Managing Partner, John Sumberg, the Executive Director, Michelle Weber, and the Hiring Partner, Marshall Pasternack.  John provided us with an overview of the firm history and Marshall presented the firm’s vision.  It’s important for the summer associates to understand our firm culture and to share in our firm vision from the very beginning. 

After lunch, off to computer training and then the summer associates met their mentors.

By the end of the week, the summer associates will start blogging and you’ll hear from them directly about the remainder of orientation and the summer program.

 

Pictured: Hello, Summer originally uploaded to Flickr by Cooky Yoon

The summer program begins on Monday – we are less than one week away!!! 

Today, Marshall and I finalized some last minute details for the summer program.  The offices have been assigned, some assignments have been submitted, all the training programs are in place and 99.9% of the social events are finalized. 
 

My lips are sealed from now until the start of the summer program.  You’ll be learning about the program in – real time – from the summer associates.

See you on June 4th!

 
No Train, No Gain

Now that summer associate mentors are assigned and taken care of, it’s time to focus on our training program!  We start at the beginning, the very beginning – Orientation.  From day one we want our summer associates to have access to all levels of firm administration and to know how to use that support appropriately and effectively.  Various members of firm administration will give presentations on departmental procedures, availability and FAQs.  During orientation lunch, the summer associates will meet with the Managing Partner, John Sumberg, to learn about our firm history and vision.

The orientation program spans the whole first week with training programs on Effective Time Keeping, Tips for a Successful Summer and Research Skills – just to name a few.  The Research Skills Seminar, held in the library by our Director of Knowledge Management, Paul VanderMeer, may be my favorite seminar.  Paul and I might be a touch competitive. . .and last year this seminar may have included a blind bake off between Paul and I.  By blind taste test, the summer associates declared me the victor with my Tiramisu.  Paul didn’t stand a chance!
 
It will be interesting to hear the summer associates’ perspective on orientation and to see who they find victorious in this year’s bake-off.  I’ve consulted last year’s summer class to plan my entry.

After the full orientation program is planned, I’ll be planning the training programs that will be offered after orientation.

 

As part of the Summer Associate Program, we provide opportunities for summer associates to form personal relationships with attorneys through social events.  The social aspect of the program sets the stage for bonding, team building, learning about practices in a more relaxed environment and maybe even some friendly competition.

Each practice group hosts an event of their choice to interact with the summer associates outside of the office.  This year, among other events, our summer associates will be playing ping-pong at Chalk Miami, cooking dinner at Two Chefs, attending a client guided tour of 1111 Lincoln Road and relaxing during a private screening at the Viceroy Miami. The events are varied and the venues are located throughout Miami – giving the Summer Associates a real feel for the Miami lifestyle, not just professional life.

In my previous post, I discussed the importance of a good summer associate mentoring relationship – if we get this right, the summer is much easier for us and for the summer associates. 

Without further ado, we are pleased to announce that our summer associate mentors have been fully assigned.  Each mentor will be reaching out to his/her mentee in advance of the summer to become acquainted.  

In future posts, I expect that you’ll hear from the summer class about their mentor relationships.

Keep reading to learn more about the mentor program and mentor selection process. . . Continue Reading Good Pairings: Not Just for Wine!

This is NOT the time that we start working on our base tan!  But, it is the time when Marshall Pasternack  and I begin planning the summer program.  When the summer associates arrive during orientation, we promise them three things and it’s their job to hold us accountable for honoring these commitments:

  1. A Real World Experience – this means that by the end of the summer, they should know what it’s like to practice law at our firm.
  2. Feedback – this means that they should receive feedback (formal and informal) from their mentors, supervising attorneys.  On a more formal basis, we provide his feedback in the mid-summer and end-of-summer reviews.
  3. Client Interaction – it is our goal to make sure that summer associates get to know what makes us special and successful. . .our clients.  We strive to give each summer associate at least one opportunity to interact with our clients.

The aspect of the summer associate program that determines whether we succeed or fail in our commitments is the mentoring program.  If we get this aspect right, it can lead to long lasting professional and personal relationships (see left for a mentor/mentee pairing success story!).

So, right now, we’ll be focused on selecting the right mentors, tailored to each summer associate.  Stay tuned for mentor announcements!