Brian Adler and David Jessup Jr.

Dr. Maya Angelou left us with the following words: “[P]eople will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Small gestures can have a tremendous impact. Collectively such experiences create a culture. Before I started as a summer associate at Bilzin Sumberg this month, a small yet validating gesture led me to submit an application for employment to the firm.

It was March 2020, days before the world shut down. My day had a rocky start with a “Breakfast with the Bench” event at 7:30 a.m., where a law student’s nightmare came true: I spilled coffee on my white shirt—the same shirt I needed to wear to my interview at another firm later that day between my second and third classes. #MiamiTraffic made the prospect of returning home to change my shirt a pipedream.

But, it wasn’t the Miami traffic that got me; it was the interview at the firm. I received a less-than-warm greeting from the receptionist before waiting thirty minutes for the interviewing attorney. While the interview went fine, upon my departure I was informed by the receptionist that parking wasn’t validated for interviews. So, I returned to campus and entered class late in my stained shirt, with $21 less in my pocket.
Continue Reading Go Where You Are Validated

CrossroadAs law students, we are often told that we have to choose one of two paths for our career trajectories. We can either go the public interest or the private sector route. While we are by no means locked into one route for the remainder of our careers, our starting point is critical. This crossroad was particularly difficult for me because I have always been passionate about service and giving back to my community. Part of me wanted to start my career in public service, while the other part wanted to explore what “big law” had to offer. After much thought, I decided to go the private sector route, but I made it a priority to find a firm that values Pro Bono work as much, if not more than, billable work. This, among many other factors, made accepting the opportunity to work at Bilzin Sumberg a no-brainer. From the Bilzin Sumberg Cares initiative to learning more about the Pro Bono work that attorneys are actively working on, it became very clear that Bilzin Sumberg truly cares about its local and national communities.
Continue Reading The Best of Both Routes: Pro Bono at Bilzin Sumberg

On Wednesday, the other summer associates and I had the opportunity to teach a group of middle school students the relationship between freedom of speech under the First Amendment and cyber bullying.

The small group of students visited the firm through the Breakthrough Miami program, which Sara Herald is deeply involved in. Breakthrough Miami is an academic enrichment program that uses student-teaching-student models to ensure that young children attending under-resourced schools still have access to educational opportunities. The program has a 100% high school graduation rate as well an over 90% college attendance rate for the young students involved.
Continue Reading Breakthrough Miami Visits Bilzin Sumberg

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 second day of The Academy highlighted a common theme attributable to the success of the professionals I have encountered: unwavering dedication to improving our community. Representative David Richardson is such an example. We had the pleasure to learn of Mr. Richardson’s contributions to the reform of Florida’s correctional system. His commitment and passion