The Dickinson Wright Summer Program
Get to Know Us
A central component of our strategic growth plan is to identify and attract the most highly qualified law students to begin their career at Dickinson Wright. However, our goal is not simply to hire law students. Instead, we focus on assisting new attorneys in their progression from summer associates, to associates, to the future members of our firm.
This process begins with our law school recruitment efforts, which include the following:
- on-campus interviews at nearly 15 law schools and job fairs;
- the screening hundreds of mailed-in resumes from a wide range of law schools across the country; and
- the hosting of office "call back" interviews during which qualified candidates spend a day meeting with our attorneys.
Second year law student recruitment takes place from August to November, and first year law student recruitment, if applicable, follows in the Spring.
Dickinson Wright maintains a 10-week Summer Program that combines high-quality client work, professional activities outside the office and fun, often unique, social activities. Our Summer Associates participate fully in our sophisticated and diverse legal practice, and they gain realistic insight into life at our firm, and the lives of the diverse attorneys who make up Dickinson Wright.
For statistical and other relevant information, check out our current NALP forms (300K, Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Structure
Our summer program is carefully structured and administered to provide a supportive environment of success because we want every summer associate to earn and accept an offer to become a Dickinson Wright associate.
The Summer Program is run by a "Summer Team," led by the Chair of our Recruitment Committee together with two Assignment Coordinators and two Social Coordinators. In addition, each of our summer associates are assigned two formal mentors (one member and one associate), to assist in professional development.
The Assignment Coordinators garner high quality written assignments from attorneys practicing in nearly every department in the law firm - from commercial, appellate and employment litigation, to corporate finance, real estate, bankruptcy and intellectual property. The Assignment Coordinators then match attorneys in need of assistance with summer associates, and they monitor the progression and completion of the written assignments. The assigning attorneys and Coordinators then provide the summer associates with timely, constructive feedback and evaluation.
However, during the summer our practicing attorneys also prepare for and attend deal closings, strategic meetings with clients, depositions, trials and arbitrations. Therefore, while we assign the kind and amount of written work necessary for professional growth and qualitative evaluation, we also leave time for summer associates to attend these professional activities in which our attorneys participate. Leaving time for "real life" attorney experiences provides our summer associates with a true understanding of the work they will perform if they continue their career at Dickinson Wright.
In Southeastern Michigan, our summer associates spend the majority of time in the Detroit office, but also typically complete a two-week rotation in our Bloomfield Hills office. Our Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Nashville and Washington, D.C. offices recruit law students specifically for those particular offices. We currently do not have opportunities for summer associates to work in our Toronto or Phoenix offices.
Technology
Our firm and our attorneys' practices are greatly enhanced by our cutting edge technology, for which we are rated as a national leader among major law firms. On their first day of work, summer associates receive a laptop and the requisite training to allow them to take full advantage of the technologies that we possess and that help separate Dickinson Wright from our fellow law firms.
Balance
Dickinson Wright attorneys maintain balance between our professional and personal lives. While we work hard, we also recognize and respect the need for family time and other personal priorities. We afford our summer associates the same opportunity to achieve an appropriate work/life balance during their time at the firm. Summer associates work an average of 35-40 hours a week and complete 10 to 15 substantive assignments over the course of the summer.
Fun
Summer also means fun, and there is no shortage of fun in the Dickinson Wright Summer Program. During past summers, our summer associates have:
- Cheered on the Detroit Tigers from a private deck at Comerica Park
- Attended concerts given by top-flight musicians at a variety of local venues
- Enjoyed a full day of golf at one of Metro Detroit's most prestigious golf clubs
- Luxuriated in a day of beauty at a premier spa
- Attended a motion call and had lunch with a Chief Judge who is also is a former Dickinson Wright member
- Dined in a casual, conversational setting with former Detroit Mayor, current Dickinson Wright Chairman, and Past-President of the American Bar Association, Dennis W. Archer
- Enjoyed the friendly competition of summer associate/associate versus member basketball and softball games
- Enjoyed a number of meals and private cocktail parties at top-flight restaurants, both classic and new, in the Detroit Metropolitan area
- Attended an introductory cocktail party and dinner for the incoming summer associate class, providing the perfect opportunity for summer associates to get to know one another before the first few days of the summer program
Dickinson Wright invests a tremendous amount of planning, resources, effort and energy to provide a Summer Program that is successful both for the law firm and for the outstanding law students who have chosen to pursue their careers at Dickinson Wright.
I’m In; What’s Next?
Check with your placement office to see whether and when we are interviewing on-campus at your law school and sign up for an interview.
If we are not interviewing at your law school, submit a cover letter, detailed resume, law school transcript and at least two writing samples (via e-mail or U.S. mail) to:
Christine A. Scurto
Recruitment Coordinator
Dickinson Wright PLLC
500 Woodward Ave., Suite 4000
Detroit, Michigan 48226
cscurto@dickinsonwright.com