The primary goal of the summer associate program at Rogers & Hardin is to give selected law school students a realistic law firm experience, involving substantive and challenging projects with their assigned mentors and other lawyers in the firm. Summer Associates are given billable work and are considered a valuable part of their assigned team and the firm. While we have organized social and networking activities for everyone to enjoy throughout the summer, the focus of the program is to afford each Summer Associate an opportunity to observe what we do on a daily basis, and to see how our attorneys interact with clients, judges, and other lawyers as the firm serves its clients. At the end of the summer, Rogers & Hardin hopes that a strong personal and professional relationship has been established with each summer associate. Additionally, our hope is that each summer associate has had a valuable learning experience and developed a strong desire to return to Rogers & Hardin as a first-year associate after graduation from law school.
“Summering for two years at Rogers & Hardin was a completely rewarding experience. The structure of the program is such that within the first week of my first summer I was given meaningful projects on active cases involving some of the highest level work available in the legal community. Because I was working on active cases, not fictional summer projects, I worked with the attorneys when their sleeves were rolled up. Similarly, they were able to see my work product first hand. The firm’s size, about 45 attorneys, meant that I had met nearly every attorney and worked with a majority of them in each of their practice areas by the end of my first summer, helping me decide which practice area I liked best and making my transition to an associate that much easier.”
Justan Bounds, University of Georgia
Litigation Associate, 2008 & 2009 Summer Associate
The law students who comprise the summer class at Rogers & Hardin are intelligent, highly motivated students with strong interpersonal and writing skills. In previous years, our program has included 1L and 2L students from distinguished schools such as Emory University, University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University, Harvard University, University of Michigan, Duke University, University of Virginia, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and Florida State University. We strongly encourage students from all schools to apply to our program, even if we do not conduct on campus interviews at your school.
Projects are assigned from Litigation and Corporate practice groups, as well as specific areas within those practices. In past years, Summer Associates have had opportunities to work on tasks within Securities, Broker-Dealer, Employment Law, Antitrust, Tax, General Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Real Estate, and the list goes on. The Summer Program Coordinator will work closely with every summer associate on the distribution of work projects. As the summer associate continues to build relationships with attorneys throughout the firm, attorneys may contact the summer associate directly to work on a specific project.
While all of our attorneys contribute to creating a positive summer experience for our Summer Associates, every summer associate is assigned a team of mentors. A mixture of partner and associate teams are assigned to serve as mentors to individual Summer Associates, and these mentors provide work assignments as well as opportunities to attend hearings, trials, closings and the like. Mentors and Summer Associates are paired based on a number of factors that include practice area, personal interests, background, alma mater, previous work experience, and office location. Mentors are expected to assist in the facilitation of work projects and provide constructive feedback to the summer associate.
In order to take advantage of the full experience of learning about Rogers & Hardin and our lawyers, we encourage social interaction between our Attorneys and Summer Associates both inside and outside the office. Throughout the summer we plan many events, such as welcome breakfasts, softball games, happy hours, and monthly practice lunches that everyone is encouraged to attend. We also hold many smaller events that provide a more personal setting to interact one-on-one with partners and/or associates and with small groups of attorneys.
During the Rogers & Hardin Summer Associate Program, constant and meaningful feedback is provided and formal evaluations are conducted at the end of the summer. These feedback sessions may be informal over lunch or more formal and held in a conference room or lawyer’s office. While the formal evaluations are important, there is no substitute for the assigning lawyer simply saying a few words or personally going over revisions to a written work product shortly after the project is completed. In addition, each summer associate is asked to turn in a copy of any written work product to the Summer Program Coordinator to be used at the end - of - summer evaluation meeting.
Summer Associate salaries are reviewed every year. First-Year Associates who have accepted offers to join Rogers & Hardin are reimbursed for reasonable moving expenses, bar exam fees, and fees associated with taking a bar review course. |