Washington, DC

The work assignments handled by our summer associates offer a realistic and well-rounded view of the legal services we provide to our clients, and the complexity of the issues we confront on a daily basis. Summer associates receive challenging assignments that would otherwise be handled by our junior associates. Recognizing that not all second-year law students know what type of law they want to practice (or that they may change their mind), we encourage summer associates to choose assignments from a broad range of practice areas and work with a wide variety of attorneys.

A partner or senior associate serves as the Assignment Coordinator and solicits projects that reflect the depth, breadth, and complexity of the matters handled by various practice groups. The Assignment Coordinator maintains a diverse inventory of assignments and distributes work according to the summer associate's stated interests and the firm's needs. The Assignment Coordinator also seeks to ensure that our summer associates maintain a balance between substantive work, professional training, and social activities.

In addition to formal and informal project-specific feedback, each summer associate receives a mid-summer evaluation from the Chair of the Recruiting Committee. At the conclusion of the Summer Program, the Chair of the Recruiting Committee formally reviews each summer associate and solicits his or her feedback on all aspects of the Summer Program.

Training and Mentoring

To supplement the real-world training summer associates receive daily at our firm, we host a luncheon seminar series that is designed to increase summer associates’ substantive legal knowledge, and allow them to hone a variety of skills that are essential to delivering the high-quality legal services our clients expect from Sheppard Mullin. In addition, summer associates often have the opportunity to shadow attorneys during client conference calls and meetings, court appearances, depositions, and hearings and arbitrations, to name a few.

To facilitate the professional and social integration of our summer associates into the firm, and to provide insights and guidance throughout the summer, each summer associate is teamed with an Associate Mentor and a Recruiting Committee liaison, who facilitates his/her introduction to the diverse group of attorneys that make up our firm and makes certain that his/her summer here is both enjoyable and professionally stimulating. As a summer associate's interests develop, these individuals ensure regular, meaningful interaction with partners and associates, provide informal advice on projects and career development, and provide counsel on the recruiting process.