About Our Summer Programs

Each year, Pierce Atwood hires first and second year law students as summer associates. Most of our associates are drawn from the summer program and so we believe that the summer program is the most important aspect of our recruiting efforts. Our summer program aims to expose summer associates to the breadth of the firm's practice and to its lawyers, and to assess the ability of our summer associates to contribute to our practice as full-time lawyers. 

Hear about our Summer Associate program from our 2012 Summers:

The Work

By furnishing summer associates with challenging, hands-on work for clients, and the opportunity to interact with the members of the firm, we seek to provide summer associates with a realistic view of the firm and the essential information they need to reach an informed decision about joining Pierce Atwood after graduation. Work assignments range from research assignments that allow our firm to evaluate legal analysis and writing skills, to attending negotiations, closings, trials, and depositions. Summer associates observe our attorneys dealing with clients and other counsel and see first hand the collaborative, team effort fostered at Pierce Atwood.

Feedback Evaluation Mentoring

Feedback is critical to the development and training of summer associates. It is why we encourage all of the attorneys with whom the summer associates work to provide informal feedback to summer associates on their assigned projects. Additionally, at mid-summer, the Chair of our Summer Program provides each summer associate with a formal evaluation of the work he or she has performed to date. Each summer associate also has an associate mentor. The mentor is available to assist with the transition from studying at law school to practicing within a firm, to answer questions, and to provide guidance as necessary.

Social Events

Our summer program provides summer associates with the opportunity to get to know the members of the firm outside the office in a more relaxed, informal setting. Each year, we hold a number of social functions such as softball games, gatherings at attorneys' homes, kayaking around Casco Bay, attending Boston Red Sox games, and hiking in New Hampshire's White Mountains. We encourage all attorneys to join summer associates for lunch throughout the summer.