Summer Associate Program

At a glance

• Program length: ten weeks, typically mid-May through mid-July.
• Class size: four to six rising third-year law students.
• Rotation: each associate spends meaningful time in two or three practice groups of their choosing.
• Assignments: live matters from the firm's active docket, supervised by a partner reviewer.
• Salary: competitive with peer Hartford firms; full details provided in the offer letter.

What the ten weeks actually look like

Each summer associate is assigned a primary partner reviewer — typically a partner in the first practice group the associate rotates into — who is responsible for the associate's assignment flow, midpoint and final reviews, and general mentorship through the program. Work comes from the firm's live docket. A summer associate might spend the first three weeks drafting memos and a hearing outline on a Superior Court commercial case, then shift to a Corporate rotation to draft ancillary documents on an ongoing acquisition, and close the summer on a research project for the Trusts & Estates group. The program is intentionally structured to let each associate see enough of the firm's practice to choose a group — and, equally important, to let each practice group form a view of the associate.

The firm hosts a regular Monday-morning summer-class check-in, a weekly deposition or hearing observation (scheduling permitting), and one Friday CLE-credit lecture from a partner on a practice-area topic the associates have asked for. The class also receives a reserved seat at the firm's quarterly business-development lunch, at the Hartford County Bar Association's new-member reception, and — for those interested — at the firm's summer Pro Bono clinic at the Hartford Public Library.

Recruiting and offers

We participate in on-campus interviews at UConn School of Law and at a rotating group of Northeast law schools, including several of the schools our current attorneys attended. We also accept direct applications from rising third-year students outside our OCI program; direct applicants are interviewed on the same schedule as OCI candidates. First- round interviews are conducted by a mix of partners and associates from the practice groups the candidate has expressed interest in. Callback interviews are held at the firm's Trumbull Street office.

Lance Harrington, the firm's Deputy Managing Partner and Litigation chair, has supervised litigation recruiting since 2014 and is the on-site interviewer for every attorney candidate the Litigation group makes an offer to. Courtney Davidson, the firm's HR Director, oversees the recruiting process firm-wide and coordinates OCI scheduling, callback logistics, and offer communications.

"Our summer program is the most important recruiting channel we have, and we run it accordingly. Summer associates get real matters, real partner reviewers, and a real view of what the firm is like on its best and its hardest weeks. We hire back the ones who fit — which is most of them, most years."

After the summer

The firm's commitment is to extend offers to summer associates who are a fit — for the practice, for the client base, and for the particular mix of independence and oversight that the firm's staffing model produces. We do not hire back every summer associate every year, but we do not run a summer program in order to turn people away. Offers for entry-level associate positions after graduation are typically extended at the end of the summer program or shortly thereafter; associates begin in September of the following year, after the bar exam.

How to apply

If the firm's OCI schedule covers your school, apply through your career services office. Candidates outside our OCI program should send a resume, law school transcript (unofficial acceptable), undergraduate transcript, and a short writing sample to careers@oakelmbirch.com with "Summer Associate Program" in the subject line. The firm begins reviewing applications in late July each year for the following summer.