Maximizing Opportunities: Advice for Summer Associates
Holland & Knight's Summer Associate Program offers aspiring attorneys an opportunity to gain real-world experience within a dynamic law firm. Participants will find numerous possibilities for professional growth while collaborating with associates and partners on complex client matters. In this video, previous summer associates share valuable advice to help you make the most of your time with the firm.
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Bishop Walton: My advice for incoming summer associates would be to make yourself known to other associates, introduce yourself to partners, ask folks for coffee so that you can get to know other people and also ask for interesting work so that you can see if you like a certain practice area.
Katie Pine: Don't be afraid to ask questions. You know, you get challenging assignments. That's the point of the job. And people are really eager to help you along the way so that way you can put forth the best work product. So just don't be scared to go into someone's office or send an email and ask all the questions you have so that way you can put forth the best work.
Elizabeth Brownstein: You really just have to focus on working hard, taking ownership of what's in front of you and trying to create a path that is rewarding and interesting for you.
Yarenis Cruz: Definitely just make the most out of the program. It's a fantastic opportunity. So just be proactive and try to learn as much as possible, but also try to make as many relationships and connections as possible.
Gabriella Leccese: Actually say what you want out of your summer experience. I think that you should advocate for the matters that you want to work on, the type of work you're interested in, and kind of give yourself a direction. But if you don't have a direction, I would recommend going to Bloomberg Law or other legal news sources to try and just pick up things that you're interested in.
Collins Yawe: The biggest lesson I took from last year's summer program is that it's better to overcommunicate than under communicate when given a project. The attorneys are always willing to help, and being as communicative as possible is the best way to make sure you're taking the most out of the experience.
Elizabeth Cassillo: There are so many opportunities at a firm like Holland & Knight, whether it's to get involved in doing pro bono work, to work on a project outside of your practice group, to get lunch with someone who has been in the industry for 35 years, whatever it may be, there are so many opportunities to have really unique experiences here. And so I would just encourage someone to take advantage of every single opportunity.