The primary objective of our Summer Associate Program is to give second-year law school students an in-depth exposure to our practice. We give the participants a chance to determine whether they would be challenged by a permanent association with our firm and whether they would enjoy living and working in the Rochester community. In addition, the program is designed to give the firm an opportunity to evaluate the summer associates in a broad variety of situations so that we can confirm that they possess the analytical abilities and personal characteristics which we look for in future members of the firm. Every attempt is made to provide participants with a representative mix of research, drafting, and problem-solving assignments which are characteristic of the firm's "real world" practice. We include summer associates in situations where they can observe, and often participate in, interaction with our clients, the courts, and other members of the Bar.
The Summer Associate Program is supervised by a partner of the firm who is in charge of distributing work assignments, monitoring performance, and making certain that summer associates receive adequate feedback regarding the work they have produced. The supervising partner is available to meet once a week or as needed with each of the summer associates, to review the status of all assignments and to anticipate and assist with any problems that may arise. Each summer associate is also assigned a mentor from among our permanent associates.
Because of the size of our firm, we avoid a strict departmental rotation structure for our Summer Associate Program. The supervising partner sees that each summer associate is assigned work in most, if not all, of the firm's departments, and that each is given the opportunity to work with a majority of the attorneys in the firm.
If a summer associate expresses a particular interest in any substantive area of our practice, special emphasis will be placed on work assignments in that area.
One of the most important facets of our summer program is exposure to the lifestyle available to attorneys practicing in the City of Rochester. It is a city with a rich historical heritage and strong cultural and educational institutions, numerous parks, lakes and recreational facilities, pleasant neighborhoods and scenic surrounding countryside. We arrange for events as diverse as the annual firm picnic, evenings at the theater, symphony, Frontier Field, home of Rochester's AAA baseball team, softball games against other law firms, and other planned and impromptu social outings, which we hope will be both enjoyable and representative of the way we spend our leisure time.
Because we know that high-caliber law students enjoy a broad range of opportunities, we are very conscious that our Summer Associate Program is our opportunity to show these individuals the advantages of practicing in a firm of our size and make-up, in a city like Rochester - and why our firm may be a desirable alternative to practicing in a larger firm or in a larger city. We can only do this by planning a summer experience that is practical, involving, challenging and fun.
We conduct on-campus interviews at Albany Law School, Cornell Law School, SUNY at Buffalo, and Syracuse University. Law students at other law schools are encouraged to submit a cover letter describing their interest, a resume, and a current transcript by mail to:
Susan M. Gross, Human Resources Manager
2400 Chase Square
Rochester, NY 14604
Email: sgross@boylanbrown.com