Entrepreneurship through Pro Bono
My time spent working on a pro bono project at Weil was definitely one of my favorite experiences of the summer. I was given the opportunity to work with an organization that helps under-resourced entrepreneurs build businesses. Working with start-up organizations is not something Weil is usually involved with. This coupling of pro bono and a new area of law for the attorneys involved provided me with a large degree of responsibility that I wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise.
For this project I was the first person to research and draft multiple different documents related to the businesses’ Articles of Incorporation and other supplementary documents. Because we were working with a small business that has its own unique needs, it was a valuable experience to be given the opportunity to read through the different ways of structuring these documents that would best serve the client. I also prepared a significant amount of the presentation that would be used to instruct the client on what they would need to consider going forward as a business. This presentation was made for our specific client but also to be easily adaptable so other members of the firm can use it for their clients in the future.
Just having this opportunity to really delve into an area of law and actually make decisions regarding how documents and presentations should be structured was an invaluable experience that is not often provided to junior associates, let alone summer associates. This pro bono project allowed me to work directly with senior members of the firm and get real-time constructive feedback on the work I was doing and I will definitely remember it as my career progresses.