Mentoring and Feedback

Each summer associate is assigned a partner and an associate mentor who play an active role in his or her introduction and adjustment to the Firm. Mentors provide guidance, and can address questions about the summer associate's work, Firm culture, and office etiquette and procedure. Mentors also periodically take summer associates to lunch and attend social events.

Our summer associates are given challenging assignments on important client matters. We encourage communication between established Kelley Drye lawyers and summer associates. Feedback from associates and partners is delivered throughout the summer as each assignment progresses. Each summer associate has a mid-summer review and a final review conducted by our hiring partner and a partner member of our Recruiting Committee. Reviews are based on written evaluations of each work assignment completed by supervising partners and associates.

Training Programs

Kelley Drye’s summer program accurately portrays what you can expect to experience as a new lawyer. The work you will do is real; we emphasize practical skills training through work experience. Summer associates learn the basics of litigation practice and often observe trials, hearings, arbitration proceedings and depositions. Summer associates also participate in corporate, real estate and bankruptcy transactional work, including attending negotiation sessions, assisting with the preparation of deal documents, attending closings and summarizing contracts.

In addition, we provide summer associates with the opportunity to work on pro bono cases involving, among others, domestic disputes and child custody cases through either Victim Services Agencies or inMotion.

Our summer associates' on-the-job experience is supplemented with training sessions, including workshops on attorney-client privilege, regulatory issues relating to the New York Stock Exchange, deposition preparation, legal research and writing and departmental practices. Summer associates also have had the opportunity to tour a federal court, visit the New York Stock Exchange, have lunch with a judge and meet with general counsels of Fortune 500 clients.