What are the responsibilities and job description for the 2026 Summer Associate position at Fredrikson?
Fredrikson’s summer associate program is designed to offer a clear understanding of what it is like to practice law at Fredrikson, while also providing you the opportunity to meet people at the firm, hone your skills, and enjoy the summer.
We do not limit our summer associates to a rigid rotation; through our project portal, summer associates can choose to work on projects with various attorneys from the Des Moines office and partake in firmwide meetings and community. We give you real work; if you weren’t doing it, an attorney would be. Summer associates are exposed to projects from every area in their office location either through our project portal or through organic assignments with opportunities to work on and observe litigation and transactional practices. The program is flexible. If you are interested in a particular area of law practiced within your office, you should be able to get projects from and/or exposure to that area.
Summer associates routinely have the opportunity to perform legal research and draft litigation and transactional documents. Summer associates are also invited to assist with pro bono projects, with assistance provided as needed by a supervising attorney. Throughout the summer, summer associates are invited on field trips with attorneys, which could include the opportunity to attend closings, court arguments, witness depositions and/or attend client meetings.
We look for well-rounded individuals who have not only performed well academically and have strong intellectual, problem-solving, analytical, and writing skills, but who have also participated in leadership roles in their community and in law school. We expect that our employees possess and demonstrate inclusive behaviors when interfacing with team members and clients. Successful candidates display skills and interest in teamwork, an entrepreneurial spirit, taking initiative, a client-orientation, and the ability to create, advance, and deepen relationships. We prefer to see students who are in the top 25% of their class.
In your cover letter, please explain your specific interest in Fredrikson and Byron and practicing in the Des Moines area.
We welcome student applications on a rolling basis and through various avenues: through the posting on our website at www.fredlaw.com/careers, through OCI dates sponsored by your school, and/or through resume collect coordinated through your school. We invite you to learn more about us and begin the conversation through whichever time frame and method works best for you. Once you have formally applied through one of those three channels, we ask that you not reapply through another as all applications will be considered equally.
