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Associates who join us directly from law school or after having clerked
for a year following law school are not assigned to a department
during their first year with the firm. We survey the members of each
group of entry-level associates before they arrive in the fall and
identify the departments from which they would like to receive assignments
in their first year. We try to match individual interests with firm
needs and emphasize exposure to a broad variety of experiences in
the early years of practice. Associates generally join a department
at the start of their second year with the firm, although some associates
either remain unassigned or split departmental assignments for an
additional period of time. In determining departmental assignments,
we balance associates' practice area interests with firm needs and
our belief that the best lawyers develop from an exposure to a variety
of projects and clients. |
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Our low associate-to-partner
ratio assures that each associate receives responsibility early and
advances as quickly as skills develop. In larger departments like Corporate
and Litigation, each new associate has a mentor for the first year
and reports ongoing projects to one of the department heads. In smaller
departments, each associate works with all or nearly all the senior
associates and partners in the early years of practice. Each new associate's
work and development are reviewed semiannually by the Associates
Committee.
A partner from that group serves as liaison for each associate during
the first five years of practice.
New associates become involved quickly. First-year lawyers have client
contact immediately after joining the firm; litigators routinely find
themselves speaking in court or at depositions during their first year;
and transactional lawyers quickly assume negotiating responsibility. |
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After completing their unassigned year,
Sonwha Lee (University
of Pennsylvania Law School '03), left, and Jacob Comer (Washington
and Lee University School of Law '02), right, both joined the Corporate
Department. Sonwha practices in the New York office, and
Jacob practices in the Boston office. |
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