We view our summer associate program as the major source of our future associates and partners. Shumaker recruits summer associates after their first and second years in leading law schools nationwide, and we accept you for inclusion because we see you as a "Shumaker lawyer." Your learning experience shows you exactly what to expect at Shumaker if you practice law with us, as you will have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects involving multiple practice areas. You'll attend court appearances, discovery proceedings, client meetings, and transaction closings. You'll draft legal documents that are filed with the court system or delivered directly to clients. In other words, you'll find out very quickly what it's like to practice law!
Why You Benefit
Wherever possible, you'll have the opportunity to attend client meetings, closings, negotiations, depositions, trials, and courtroom hearings. The lawyers you work with will also ask you to draft research memoranda, litigation pleadings, motions and briefs, and a variety of transactional documents. It's a well-rounded approach that lets you demonstrate your analytical, advocacy, and writing skills, and that is as close to a first-year associate's experience as can be made.
It's a realistic approach that you don't get at school—or at other firms, where summer associates are rotated through to multiple practice groups. Doing multiple projects for multiple people is not only more realistic, but it also gives you the opportunity to learn more about your own optimal skill set. That's to your advantage—and ours.
You'll definitely have an enjoyable time, but with a purpose: getting to know your peers and the other lawyers we hope to have you work with in a year or two. We encourage you to participate in events like dinners, sporting events, and practice group get-togethers. Much of what we have planned will allow you to experience the city where you chose to spend the summer.
What You Can Expect from Shumaker
Your summer experience begins with our recruiting process, which we're proud to say we never suspended during the recession. We focus on schools that are leaders in our geographical—for example, The University of Michigan, Notre Dame, and The Ohio State University in the Midwest and The University of Florida, Florida State University, and Stetson University for our Tampa and Sarasota offices.
Additionally, we cover major national schools like Emory University and Georgetown University. You'll meet with one or two Shumaker lawyers for on-campus interviews, then receive a callback for further interviews with partners and associates at each office based on what we’ve learned from you, as well as our assignment needs by office.
Once you begin in the program, your summer coordinator will oversee your workload and make sure you are assigned projects that match your interests. You'll not only be invited to attend regular practice group meetings where legal training is provided, you'll also attend formal in-house seminars on topics like bankruptcy, trusts and estates, employee benefits, and mergers and acquisitions. It's all part of an experience specially designed to help summer associates develop the key professional skills and legal insight unique to their practice area.
As you continue to work on projects, you will be evaluated throughout the summer on each project you do. Lawyers who assign projects to you are required to provide substantive feedback in connection with each project, and if we feel you need improvement, we bring it up at once in a way designed to help you. Additional mid-summer and final evaluations let you know where you stand, and we review all of these evaluations when making our offer decisions.
