At Woods Oviatt Gilman, we are passionate about empowering and mentoring the next generation of attorneys to take us into the future. Our Summer Associate Program continues to be the firm's fundamental method of growth and development of new attorneys. Many of our most senior partners began their legal careers as Summer Associates, owing their success in no small part to the solid foundation established through our Summer Associate Program.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Our Program runs for an overall period of ten weeks, during which, our Summer Associates will rotate for periods of 2-3 weeks through each of our primary practice groups, such as Business/Tax, Real Estate, Litigation, and Trusts & Estates. During each rotation, Summer Associates can expect to work side-by-side with our attorneys on real cases, legal issues and transactions for actual clients. In addition, our Summer Associates will have opportunities throughout the summer to observe, and in many cases participate in, events such as client meetings, depositions, will signings, motion hearings and real estate closings. We avoid purely academic pursuits, such as writing articles or researching esoteric issues that have no relationship to client work. Our goal is for our Summer Associate Program to mirror as closely as possible the experience of being employed by the firm as an associate after graduation. Only by treating our Summer Associates similarly to our actual associates, including sharing with them the challenges and responsibilities that all attorneys face, can they experience what it would be like to be part of the Woods Oviatt team.

MENTORSHIP & DEVELOPMENT

To ensure that our Summer Associates receive adequate guidance and feedback throughout the summer, we have established a tiered mentorship structure. Our two Summer Associate Program Coordinators serve as the primary points of contact for our Summer Associates and hold weekly status meetings to discuss projects and monitor workloads. Moreover, each practice group rotation will have a Department Mentor specifically designated to answer questions and provide guidance on substantive matters within their area of practice. These Department Mentors are associates who have themselves been through the Summer Associate Program, and thus can provide practical and relatable advice based on their own experience.

SOCIAL EVENTS & NETWORKING

Although our Summer Associate Program is a true working internship, our Summer Associates can also expect many fun social events and outings throughout the summer. Baseball games, pedal tours, Friday lunches, happy hours, and fine dining are some of the events that summer associates experience over the ten weeks at Woods Oviatt. This provides an opportunity to get to know our attorneys outside the workplace environment while experiencing the best that Western New York has to offer. By the Program's conclusion, the wide spectrum of substantive projects and numerous interactions with Woods Oviatt attorneys will have provided our Summer Associates with a full understanding of the firm's culture and environment, with the goal of serving as the ideal springboard to begin their legal careers at Woods Oviatt Gilman upon graduation.