Fear No More

BOSTON – The prospect of starting a new job is frightening. You could be starting as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or as a new cashier at a grocery store, and it will still be frightening. You’ll lose sleep the night before just the same.

For Summer Associates starting at Weil, these feelings are magnified. For many of us, we’ve been waiting to start our legal careers since the time we were in college or high school. We’ve put in countless hours preparing applications, resumes and cover letters. We’ve spent time networking, researching and interviewing. And then, once we finally had an offer in hand, we waited almost a year to step in to the Weil office as part of the team for the first time. You can try to convince yourself that starting your summer at Weil is just like starting any other job, but it’s not. It’s bigger. Hopefully, it’s the first step toward a long and prosperous legal career. So, needless to say, I did not get any sleep the night of May 13th.

Entering the Boston office for my first day on May 14th was nerve wracking, but over the course of that first week (if not day), my fears were firmly laid to rest. First, Weil’s recruiting team hit the nail on the head, working alongside the rest of the Boston Summer Associate class has been one of the easiest transitions I can recall. Both socially and professionally, our mix of personalities, skills and backgrounds complement each other seamlessly. It took no time at all for our summer class to come together as one cohesive group. Second, the support staff, the associates and the partners repeatedly reminded us how excited they were to have us this summer. Where I thought this excitement might fizzle, it has only grown stronger. Partners and associates alike stop by on a daily basis to ask me to coffee, to lunch, or just to check in and see how things are going. The support I’ve received from these partners and associates has extended well beyond work matters as they’ve demonstrated a genuine interest in me as a person.  My anticipatory fears have fallen by the wayside in this office environment where I’m so clearly valued.

While my assignments have certainly been interesting and fulfilling, it is the people in the Boston office that are so positively shaping my Summer Associate experience thus far.