The Summer Associate Program is finally here, and I am so glad to be getting started! I arrived at the Orlando office on Tuesday to begin work, and I quickly met my fellow summer associates. The Orlando office hosted a huge breakfast to welcome us to the firm, where I enjoyed meeting many of the people who I will be working with this summer! After that, the other summer associates and I began to cover our orientation materials before going out to a nice restaurant nearby for dinner.
On Wednesday, I moved into my office, which has a beautiful view of the Orlando skyline. I also received my first assignment from my summer mentor, associate Devin Topper. Devin asked me to draft a motion to overrule an opposing counsel’s objections in one of the firm’s cases. This assignment was a great opportunity to put into practice the legal writing skills I have built throughout law school and respond to the opposing counsel’s arguments.
Thursday morning, I drafted the Defenses section of an Answer for partner Patrick Delaney. This was an amazing experience to have so soon! It took me back to my first-year Civil Procedure class to remember that the firm would waive any defenses that I did not raise, so I made sure to be extra meticulous in completing this assignment. I also appreciated that Patrick provided detailed feedback on my work product and that I could ask him questions about why he made specific wording changes.
On Friday morning, Erica and I ate bagels with some associates in the kitchen before beginning work for the day. Partner Charlie Mitchell asked me to stop by his office later that morning to speak about a research project. The project that he asked me to complete involved reviewing whether newly-released appellate decisions had affected a brief that the firm was planning to submit later that afternoon. This assignment was especially enjoyable for me because I interned on the Sixth District Court of Appeal last summer, so I was familiar with the websites that I was navigating.
I am amazed that I was able to do so much substantive work in only three days and look forward to what the rest of the summer holds!
