Local firms scaling back summer-associate programs
by Barbara L. Jones Associate Editor
Jin Kim, left, and Tim Manning are members of this year’s class of summer associates at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. With corporate work slow, Oppenheimer is giving summer associates the chance to work a week in-house for a client. |
There have always been social events scheduled that allow the partners and the would-be lawyers to size up each other during the summer employment period. On the East and West Coasts, this involved lavish dinners and entertainment offered by the firms seeking to woo the top law school talent. Consistent with Midwestern mores, Minnesota firms have never been quite as ostentatious about romancing their summer hires, but still have had their share of social events for them to meet and greet members of the firm and each other. This year local firms are scaling their summer programs back a bit (and in some cases shortening them), but still plan to offer social events to let firm members and summer associates mix.
At Dorsey & Whitney, the start of this year’s summer associate program coincided with the announcement of a substantial layoff of support staff and a 10 percent cut in associate salary.
“They got to see us go through a challenging week,” said Dorsey spokesman Bob Kleiber. He added that throughout the firm, “morale is pretty darn good for what we’ve been through.”
Dorsey has about 30 summer associates, a typical class size, Kleiber said. However, the firm has shortened the program by about a week. The firm still plans to have some social events, but will not bringing in summer associates from its other offices as it has in the past, he said.
According to Kleiber, the socializing element is important. “It’s all about getting to know each other, having some opportunity to see each other in action,” he explained. While the quantity of events has been reduced, the firm still wants to see the lawyers in different settings, he said. “We’re trying to be sensible and still see what they are about, and have them see what we’re about, with a better eye on the bottom line.”
Other large firms in Minnesota that typically have summer associate programs still do, though in some cases with a little more modest feel.
At Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly the summer program still involves about the same amount of entertaining — recently, for example, summer associates were treated to dinner and a trip to see “The Phantom of the Opera.” However, the firm has also added some other components.
This year the summers — and other firm members — will be involved in a number of community service events, said Travis Anderson, chair of the recruiting committee. The volunteer work includes assisting with a Special Olympics event and cleaning up a baseball field with the Salvation Army.
Despite the general slowdown in corporate work among all big firms, summer associates at Oppenheimer will have a chance to get some corporate experience working in-house for a week for one of the firm’s clients, an exchange very much appreciated by the clients, Anderson said.
“We’re giving them an opportunity to work with the clients. We don’t want them to be idle,” he said. The firm is keeping an eye on the bottom line but has always been practical, he said. “We’ve never been over-the-top.” The firm has 13 summer associates, more than it had last year.
The entertainment budget has not been slashed at Leonard, Street and Deinard, according to Kari Jensen Thomas, recruiting manager. The summer associate season was shortened slightly and started on June 1, but not for budgetary reasons, she said.
Professional development and networking activities are an important part of the summer program, said Thomas. The firm has had various outdoor activities as well as many lunches, she said. The firm has eight summer associates, one more than last year.
At Briggs and Morgan, for the most part it’s business as usual for the summer program, said President Alan Maclin. The firm has 10 second-year students and one first-year student, a typical number, and they are being paid an amount comparable to a first-year associate salary, which is at the rate of $120,000 a year. “It’s going great. It is a very good group,” he said.
However, the firm is not sponsoring the level of socializing it has done in more flush times, Maclin said. “Some of the frills we reduced or eliminated, but we kept the heart of the program,” he said.
At Lindquist and Vennum, the summer associate class of seven students will work for 12 weeks and will enjoy a “slightly scaled back” social calendar, according to hiring partner Peter Michaud. The firm had a welcome reception at the office, and will have a boat cruise and some events at partners’ homes, he said.
“We’ve never done a big blowout. We try to give summers a feel for what the firm is really like. We like them to meet people,” he said. Things are going well this year, with enough work to keep the summer associates busy, but also enough time for them to observe other lawyers in action, he said.
Robins, Kaplan Miller & Ciresi has 14 summer associates this year, a typical amount, according to Munir Meghjee, the chair of its hiring committee. The firm did cut the program back to 10 weeks instead of 12 but also had the flexibility to take in a summer associate whose offer at another Minneapolis firm was rescinded.
There haven’t been any significant changes in the social aspect of the summer experience at Robins, said Meghjee. “It’s important for the partners and the lawyers to get to know each other but [our events] have never been extravagant,” he said. “We’re heavier on work than on socializing.”
