Summer Associates

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP’s Summer Associate Program is designed to provide law students with a complete and realistic view of our practice and management areas, as well as the culture of the firm. Several of the firm's twenty-four offices participate in the program. During the program Summer Associates gain a working knowledge of our firm, our clients, and our expectations for new attorneys. At the same time, this approach provides the attorneys at Hinshaw the opportunity to get to know each Summer Associate, with the prospect of hiring him or her following the completion of law school.

We aspire for the Program participants to have a thorough understanding of our client base and the work environment they would experience as full-time Associates. To help meet this end, our Summer Associates rotate through each of our departments. We encourage them to work with a variety of attorneys and departments to fully understand the opportunities available to them at the firm.

Although we view the Summer Associate Program as a working experience, it is our goal to make the summer with the firm both intellectually stimulating and personally rewarding.

Summer Mentors and Coordinators
Each Summer Associate comes to the program with a unique set of skills, goals, experiences, and interests. To make sure that the program meets their individual needs, Summer Associates are each matched with an Attorney Mentor as well as a Counselor. These Mentors and Counselors provide information on all aspects of the firm and can provide advice on how to manage and complete work assignments. Mentors are responsible for assisting in their integration into the firm, ensuring that appropriate feedback is given, as well as providing general guidance and support. A Summer Associate Coordinator assists the Mentors in making sure that Summer Associates receive diverse, interesting and challenging assignments. There is a Summer Associate Coordinator who manages the work flow for each of the four departments through which they rotate. The Coordinators are responsible for introducing them to the lawyers within the departments as well as making sure they receive substantive legal assignments from the attorneys.

Ongoing Feedback and Reviews
A key element in developing solid professional skills is receiving ongoing, constructive feedback on performance. To that end, Summer Associates receive two formal reviews – one at mid-summer and one at the end of the program – based on confidential written evaluations by the attorneys for whom they work. In addition, we encourage all attorneys to provide direct, ongoing feedback to Summer Associates while they work on current assignments.

Social Events
As part of the Summer Associate Program, we maintain a calendar of social activities throughout the summer so that participants can meet the firm’s attorneys outside of the working environment. In addition to activities to which all Hinshaw attorneys are invited, arrangements are made for our Summer Associates to get together as a group for events on their own. These include social as well as community service events.