I always heard that I should take advantage of any observational opportunities that I can during the summer program, so when I was invited to sit in on a proceeding in a federal bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, I was both excited and curious as to what I would experience. My only conception of what actually went on inside a courtroom came from what I learned in law school and T.V. shows, so I really had no idea what it would be like. The appearance and atmosphere of the courtroom was about what I expected, albeit more laid back than courtrooms on television. What surprised me was the…

When I began my Corporate rotation at Weil, I was frankly quite nervous. Besides a basic corporations class at law school, I was unfamiliar with corporate law and thus doubted whether I would be able to excel in this rotation. As I tried to unscramble the differences between mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and private funds, I felt self-conscious about my lack of knowledge and so initially held back from asking for help. However, I was lucky to have a very supportive summer sibling (a junior associate mentor) with whom I felt comfortable confiding in and she urged me to simply grab coffees with junior associates and to ask them…

I was able to work on a wide range of assignments during my Litigation Department rotation, which allowed for a very effective introduction to the department. Over the course of my rotation, I researched issues related to intellectual property, bankruptcy, e-Discovery, privacy, and antitrust law. I also received opportunities to draft different types of documents, including an update to a treatise, two versions of a memo relevant to an ongoing case, material for inclusion in a motion to dismiss, and a slide deck for a presentation to a client. These assignments all provided a great introduction to what the work of a junior associate in the department might involve. Some…

One of the great things about the Weil Summer Program is the ability to rotate through more than one department. During my first six weeks, I rotated through the Corporate Department. While you may come in knowing you want to be either transactional or litigation, rotating through multiple groups can open your eyes to new areas of the law or confirm your initial views. Personally, rotating has done both. I came in really interested in the Private Equity practice. Through my experience, I have had the opportunity to listen on phone calls, draft ancillary documents, and learn about the strategy and structure behind high-powered deals. I confirmed my interest in…

Prior to joining the Summer Program, I identified the Banking & Finance practice as a particular interest of mine. Before attending law school, I worked in banking and hoped to build upon this experience in my legal career. Early in my eight-week rotation in the Corporate Department, I was given the opportunity to take on two Banking & Finance assignments. The first assignment allowed me to gain exposure to representing a borrower, whereas my second assignment focused on a lender-side representation. Through these experiences, I gained an introductory perspective for the complexities involved in acting as counsel for sophisticated credit facilities for multi-national corporations. The assignments have confirmed my interest…

Prior to starting this summer at Weil, I did not know what to expect regarding the substance of our assignments. I was prepared to do a lot of legal research and write numerous formal emails. What I did not expect was the depth of work that I received within the first few weeks, and the intriguing matter I would be working on. My first rotation was litigation, and I have been working on a few large cases. While my first week was mainly focused on case law research and drafting formal emails, during my third week, I received an email from a very senior partner, asking me to come meet…

It’s early June, and three weeks have passed since the Weil summer program started. While I am constantly awed by the stunning Central Park view, what is more remarkable is the collegiality of Weil New York. From the first day of the program, Weil has sent an unequivocal message that Weil truly values respect, collaboration and friendship. I have felt welcomed by every person I interacted with, whether it be attorneys in or outside of my practice group. Everyone is willing to take time out of his or her busy schedule and go to lunch or coffee with me, give advice on my last year in law school and answer…

A little less than a year ago, I came to Weil’s New York office for my Summer Associate interview. Recently, a partner asked me why I decided to come to Weil. I told him I remember walking through the halls with a very prominent partner during my interview and saw the partner greet everyone that walked by and knew many of the administrative staff by name. Although this may seem to be a very inconsequential event, I knew from that moment that this was a firm I wanted to be part of. Everyone was friendly, respectful, and open. I saw with my own eyes that each person at this firm,…

This past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet many of the Weil partners during the Summer Program Kick-Off reception. While I had previously met quite a few of the corporate department’s partners over the course of various practice group receptions, lunches, coffees, and assignments, I really appreciated the opportunity to be able to meet Weil partners from across all of the different departments in a more relaxed social setting. I found it invaluable to hear advice from various partners on how to make the most of the summer program and get the best exposure to the firm’s different practice areas during my time here. I fully enjoyed chatting…

Unsure of what practice area I wanted to join at Weil, I worried about having to make that choice at the end of my summer. So, I chose to rotate through three departments – Business Finance and Restructuring (“BFR”), Corporate, and Litigation—in order to try a variety of practice areas. My concerns about choosing a practice area quickly evaporated upon my first rotation with the BFR Group. I was immediately staffed on substantive assignments such as researching novel legal issues, drafting research memos, and helping write portions of a brief. And even though I have no background in bankruptcy, each attorney provided a background of the cases to which I…

One of the best experiences of my summer associate program so far has been the in depth observational experiences I’ve had. I had the opportunity to sit in on an expert deposition preparation session and it was fascinating to see all the strategy that it entailed. I had the opportunity to read the expert report beforehand, which was dense and complicated. It was amazing to see the skill Weil attorneys had in taking a dense expert report and animating it with human emotion and experience. I was also so impressed at the depth of the understanding the attorneys had about the complexities of the report and their ability to guide…

Since the moment I arrived and throughout my first two weeks as a summer associate, I have had several exciting observational assignments related to a complex case. Only moments after arriving on my first day, my assignment coordinator dropped by my office to invite me to attend witness preparation that was about to begin. My first two days were largely spent observing this witness preparation alongside two associates and a partner, with the discussion primarily led by an associate. The following week I observed a deposition taken by an associate. Throughout the last two weeks I have attended multiple conference calls with associates and partners from Weil offices across the…

As I write this, I have been at Weil for only 16 days. In that time I have worked on an M&A matter, two capital markets deals (one debt and one equity), and have been staffed on no less than three structured finance projects, not to mention the two pro bono matters I am staffed on. That is eight projects in sixteen days. My contemporaries at other firms have asked how I managed to get on so many things when they are struggling to get one meaningful project. The answer is that I asked for it. On my first day, a group of associates swung by our office to take…

During my first year at law school, my classmates told me that summer jobs were a joke.  I learned that I would get half-hearted busy work and spend the summer having fun. Well, my fellow students were wrong about the busy work.  Weil’s attorneys make sure to give me real and interesting work.  I get to sit in on real calls and listen as big deals are put together.  A partner even let me take the first stab at drafting a subscription agreement (an agreement to buy shares in a company).  What’s so refreshing about Weil’s summer program is how practical it is.  As law students, we spend years sitting…

The summer associate experience at almost every law firm has two components: the work and the people. We have the opportunity to not only explore what legal work is like at a big law firm, but also get to know the people at the Firm, build mentorships and friendships, and decide whether this is the place where we can become more well-rounded and capable professionals. Four days in, I know Weil has tailored its summer experience to help me achieve just these goals. On the work end, every assignment I have received has been carefully thought through by the supervising attorneys to fit the needs, interest and capability of a…

Starting a new job is sometimes intimidating, especially as a summer associate. Weil plans an orientation for your first few days as a summer, which is very well-organized and informative. After that, the summer experience truly begins – and I’m here to tell you about my first day on my own at the Firm. I walked into work that day with no assignments, but I didn’t have to wait long – I hadn’t even reached my office when I saw an email on my phone from my assignment coordinator. I was assigned on three matters and was advised to reach out to the partners and associates I would be working…

One of the many advantages of the Weil Summer Associate Program is the ability to choose at least two of the firm’s four overarching departments to rotate through. I chose to complete eight weeks in litigation, followed by four weeks in BFR. During my eight weeks in litigation I have had the opportunity to work on assignments for almost every practice group within the department from Securities Litigation to Products Liability, and Complex Commercial Litigation to Employment. The firm overall has a very collegial culture, and receiving work from the many different litigation groups just elucidated for me that each practice group has its own unique personality that matches the…

Before beginning my summer associate experience at Weil, I had little idea of what to expect or how I would fare working at a top tier firm. I soon came to realize that Weil is much more than its headline deals. While the matters and work at Weil are nothing short of exciting, the partners and associates at Weil also genuinely care about summer associates’ experiences, both inside and outside of the office. During the first half of my summer, I had the opportunity to work directly with a partner, receiving substantive feedback. I also worked on and saw a deal through from start to closing, and was treated by the…

While there are plenty of Weil summer social events that I have truly enjoyed, I believe that it is the genuine interest that the partners and associates have expressed in helping me shape my future career at Weil that has been the most rewarding experience for me thus far.  As I close out my first six week rotation in the Corporate Department I cannot believe the opportunities that I have had. In the past six weeks I have had pleasure of working directly with several partners including the head of the Banking & Finance practice and the head of the entire Corporate Department. Every partner I have worked with thus…

BOSTON – During orientation, we learned that we would have two formal reviews during the summer – one halfway through and one at the end, in addition to receiving feedback on each assignment in real time. The last few weeks flew by, and last week brought midsummer reviews for the summer associates in the Boston office. While I was nervous about sitting down with my reviewing partner and discussing my work, I really did know what to expect, because I had been able to debrief assignments with people along the way. The partner began my review with a discussion of why the firm values having multiple formal reviews every year.…

During my first week at Weil this summer, I was given the opportunity to observe a drafting session, where Weil attorneys, our client, the banks and their attorneys all worked together to finalize the SEC filings for our client’s initial public offering. Not only was I able to sit in on the session and observe, I was asked to take notes on the changes being made to the original draft. Later, my notes ended up being used by the attorneys during the final stages of edits. It was incredible to be trusted to meet and interact with our clients, as well as to feel included and useful in the process.…

The beginning of summer at Weil comes with a variety of emotions—anticipation, eagerness, excitement, curiosity, and more. Prior to coming to Weil, we all heard stories about what it is like to be a summer associate, but no one can fully appreciate what it feels like to be a summer associate, until you are one. After two weeks, I now understand why a summer associate position may be difficult to pin down. Here at Weil, you have the ability to design your own experience based on your personal interests. Everyone’s summer experience is different. A summer associate has the opportunity to rotate through multiple departments—be it Litigation, Corporate, Business Finance…

Since arriving at Weil three weeks ago, I have been rotating through the Tax Department. It has so far been a great learning experience, thanks to the high-quality mentorship I have received. Most of my time has been spent on two ongoing transactions. In each, the lawyers involved have done an excellent job of conveying to me the big picture of the deal: who the parties are, what our client hopes to achieve, and how the tax law interacts with these goals. They have also included me in important correspondence with clients and opposing counsel, which is a helpful way to learn about the practical aspects of successfully executing a…

NEW YORK – Early in my Litigation rotation, I told my assignment coordinator that I wanted to go to court. A few days later, an associate popped her head into my office. “Would you like to attend an appellate argument?” I scribbled a maze of facts on my notepad as she rapidly described an upcoming case. Ten minutes later, I was pulled into an intense meeting about the case, then handed a thick briefing binder. “Don’t forget your suit on Tuesday!” On Tuesday, we took the subway down to the courthouse, a grand building with soaring columns and an exquisitely-ornate courtroom. Several arguments preceded ours—criminal, child custody, insurance, and mortgage…

NEW YORK – Within my first two weeks at Weil, I landed an assignment with the Technology and IP Transactions (TIPT) group where I was tasked with drafting licensing language of a new contract for a client. At first, the prospect of writing a passage containing the right type of language was daunting—contract legalese is far from intuitive—but the associate with whom I was working, sent me some examples of previous contracts and we talked over some of the main points together. She then sent me out the door and I was on my own, ready to write my first (fragment of a) contract. Soon we had a meeting with…

NEW YORK – Arriving in New York for my summer at Weil, I was very anxious to learn what types of assignments we would be working on.  While I had a general sense of the practice areas that interested me, I really wanted to explore different groups, while at the same time receiving substantive work in those groups in which I had the most interest.  Quickly upon starting my summer, I came to realize that this was exactly what I would be able to do at Weil. Starting the first week, I was assigned a combination of substantive assignments, along with some observational experiences that were truly incredible.  The associates…

NEW YORK – From sitting on calls with the SEC to observing a partner argue before the Second Circuit, my assignments thus far at Weil have been the paradigm of substance. It is the end of the second week of my litigation rotation, and I have yet to receive an assignment that I felt was menial or “busy work.” The Litigation Department has been consistently busy which translates into meaningful summer assignments that actually impact case direction. My case teams not only prepare me to effectively complete my work, but also include me on matters that are solely for my own benefit. I already feel like a valued member of…

NEW YORK – Before starting at Weil in May, I often wondered what the work assignments were going to be like as a summer associate. Would they be substantive or menial? Challenging or straight-forward? Plentiful or scarce? Would I be able to get a true sense of the work in many of the different practice groups?

NEW YORK – Sitting in your law school classroom only prepares you so much for the reality of working as a lawyer. We know that as students, but the next question is: how do you learn more about the day-to-day life of a corporate lawyer? The answer I was told – and one that I have found to be true – is by “doing and seeing” the work. This was one of the reasons I was most excited to spend my summer at Weil.

NEW YORK – The most seminal experience I have had since starting as a summer was attending a court hearing. I arrived at the courtroom early, excited for my first experience in court. I sat behind the wooden desk where the Weil team would carefully arrange stacks of meticulously annotated papers and binders. In law school, so much time is spent studying and discussing cases in the abstract that it is easy to lose sight of the purpose and reality of the judicial process. However, once I heard, “All rise,” and the judge entered the room, my studies in law school gained new perspective.

NEW YORK – My first weeks at Weil have gone by so quickly! It has been an amazing experience. These weeks have reaffirmed what I already knew: I made the right decision by choosing Weil. My assignment coordinator does a great job of giving me assignments according to my preferences. So far, I have worked on a variety of challenging and interesting assignments from different practice groups. This gives you the opportunity to learn more about the various practice groups and network with the attorneys in each. I have written a couple of memos on securities and employment litigation issues, attended client meetings, and presented my research to the partner on the case.

NEW YORK – Some of the first advice I received as an incoming summer associate was to try to get a chance to observe what partners and associates do on a daily basis. Seeing what partners and associates actually do is the best way to find out if a certain practice group is right for you. Further, many of the daily activities of partners and associates are never covered in classes, but are centrally important to success in the practice of law. During my first week at the firm, I was assigned to a case team in the litigation department. The associates working on the case quickly welcomed me and…