Summer Associate Testimonials

On my first day of the summer program, I had lunch with my mentors and got to hear about their exciting work. By that evening, I was working on their cases. One of these cases was a pro bono employment discrimination case with some novel twists and turns. I got to meet our client, draft a motion for sanctions, and attend the settlement conference. Within the first few weeks, I had attended numerous federal district court hearings. The associates on the case made me feel like a valuable addition to the team, and they encouraged me to draft pivotal motions. Some firms encourage you to learn by observing top-notch attorneys; at Quinn, those attorneys hand you the reigns. Overall, the Quinn attorneys I worked with were truly excited about their work—and I found that I grew enthralled with it too. I can’t wait to return as a full-time associate and dig into more.

I received real, substantive work from my very first day in the QE office. I was paired with an associate who gave me clear instructions on what to research and how to present my findings to him. While the work was on a tight timeline, I felt like I was a valued part of the team from the very beginning. I researched New York state case law and legislative history and provided written work to that attorney on my first day. Later, once we had completed the research process, I discussed my research with the Partner overseeing the project. He was engaged and interested in what I had to say and even included some of my research findings in his email to the client outlining our team’s legal conclusions and recommendations. Quinn Emanuel is a firm where I felt like I got the hands-on experience that I wanted out of my summer associateship.

During my summer at Quinn Emanuel, I had a more well-rounded, authentic experience than I could have anticipated when initially applying to firms. While applying, I worried that I would land at a firm that would lock me into a practice area right away and have me spend my summer socializing with my future colleagues without doing any work. That was not the case here. I came to Quinn with a strong interest in white collar criminal defense, so I was asked to do real work for cases of that nature starting week one. Then, by the middle of the summer, I found myself accepting an opportunity to draft a client memo for a sports litigation case. Later in the summer, I was asked to draft a motion to strike for a patent case. The diversity in cases that I experienced was no coincidence- the summer program was intently organized to allow great exposure to the various practice areas. For instance, we would have summer partner chats once or twice each week to hear about different practices. Further, partners and associates would often take us out to lunch and attend our summer associate activities, like bowling, for us to have more informal conversations about their litigation experience. I am extremely satisfied with my decision to join Quinn Emanuel for my summer experience.

As my partner mentor put it, Quinn is a “choose your own adventure” kind of firm. As a summer at Quinn, I felt encouraged to choose which assignments I was interested in. This enabled me to work on cases regarding entertainment law, first amendment issues, and applications for asylum. I prepared witness outlines and wrote the entire first draft of a brief. I was a participating member in meetings with partners and clients. And just as the work experience was invaluable, so was bonding with my fellow summers during events like the Hampton’s Day and trapeze class.

The best thing about working in the Miami office is the people! Besides being brilliant lawyers, the people in the office are kind and generous with their time. I learned a lot this summer and truly felt like part of the team. The office has a variety of interesting and unique cases. I had substantive assignments, including drafting motions, conducting research, and helping edit briefs. I got to go to court to observe the lawyers in action very closely. I was also able to attend depositions, and client meetings. Associates and partners took the time to mentor and help me improve. We also went to many fun social events and got to try the best restaurants in Miami.