Overview
McCandlish Holton's Summer Associate Program is designed to provide talented law students with a realistic introduction to our firm. The program offers associates the opportunity to experience firsthand the rewards of working in a friendly, progressive downtown Richmond law firm, as well as the challenge of working on a broad spectrum of legal matters for diverse, interesting clients. Substantive and varied projects are balanced with a variety of cultural, recreational, and social activities to expose associates to a workplace that puts great emphasis on both excellent work and quality of life. Generally, McCandlish Holton considers only students in between their second and third years of law school for summer associate positions. Occasionally, we will consider rising second-year students evidencing unique and outstanding qualifications.
Qualifications
As a benchmark, we seek candidates who rank within the top quartile of their law school class; have participated in law-related activities such as moot court or law journals; and have the confidence, drive, and personality to integrate well into our firm. Other characteristics taken into consideration include prior work experience, diversity of academic and personal background, civic involvement, and other unique accomplishments.
Logistics
The Summer Associate Program typically begins in mid to late May and runs through mid-August. We encourage our summer associates to “split” their summers between McCandlish Holton and other firms, as we believe that experiences at two firms allow future lawyers to make more educated decisions about their career paths. We do ask that each student commit to working a minimum of six weeks so that our clerks can be exposed to an array of activities and projects.
Benefits
Summer associates at McCandlish Holton receive a salary commensurate with other law firms in the greater Richmond area. The firm also pays for parking. If a summer associate is ultimately invited to join the firm as a full-time associate, we offer a competitive salary and benefits package, as well as a bonus paid to reimburse the new associate for bar-related expenses and moving costs.
Projects
Instead of formally rotating through the firm's various practice groups, summer associates at McCandlish Holton are afforded the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of practice areas focusing on projects in the practice areas in which the associate has expressed the greatest interest. This fairly informal assignment system is designed to allow associates to explore numerous practice areas, develop skills in the areas they believe will be of interest, and sharpen their research, writing, and analytical skills. Summer associates can expect substantive assignments on par with those given to junior associates and are often asked to join attorneys in attending hearings, depositions, client meetings, and transactional closings, when appropriate. The firm's Summer Associate Program Coordinator actively coordinates and monitors all assignments to ensure that each summer associate has a meaningful experience with a balanced workload of diverse projects.
Mentors
Each summer associate at McCandlish Holton is matched with a mentor. Through the mentoring program, summer associates receive invaluable direction on balancing their workload, setting and achieving professional development goals, and integrating into the Richmond community. Mentors also assist full-time associates with their transition into firm practice and fill the role of liaison by introducing associates to various bar associations and organizations to increase associates' job satisfaction and help ensure their professional success.
Social Events
McCandlish Holton's firm culture sets us apart from other top law firms. While consistently attracting and retaining high-quality legal talent, we have developed a work place that also highly values our employees' quality of life. One way we introduce our summer associates to this benefit is through a variety of planned and impromptu social events. Previous activities have included wine tastings at Charlottesville vineyards, interactive group cooking classes, tubing on the James River , pool parties, baseball games, barbecues, outdoor Shakespearean theatre outings, and informal gatherings at the homes of our attorneys. These events also serve to introduce summer associates to attorneys with whom they have not yet worked and to afford summer associates greater opportunities to evaluate the talent and possibilities available throughout the firm, as well as to familiarize themselves with the Richmond community.
Evaluation
Throughout the summer, work assignments and performance are monitored and adjusted according to the feedback received from summer associates, their mentors, and the project-assigning attorney. Each attorney is encouraged to provide immediate feedback to associates as individual assignments are completed. In addition, at the end of the summer program, all attorneys are asked to complete a final evaluation of each summer associate based on a variety of factors, including initiative, efficiency, growth, and quality of interactions with attorneys and staff. The Summer Associate Program Coordinator then conducts an exit interview/final review session with each summer associate prior to his or her departure.
Offers of Employment
The Summer Associate Program is an integral part of our recruitment efforts. One of the features that sets McCandlish Holton apart from other firms is that we do not hire summer associates unless we anticipate that they will join our firm as associates. Thus, the number of participants per year varies depending on our anticipated future employment needs, as well as the appropriate “fit” of the candidates we interview.
How to Apply
Our firm is always interested in receiving resumes from law students who have a particular interest in our firm and in practicing law in Richmond, Virginia. Therefore, we encourage qualified applicants to forward a resume, transcript, and list of references to the Summer Associate Program Coordinator at the following address:
Patricia Collins McCullagh
McCandlish Holton, PC
1111 E. Main Street, Suite 1500
P.O. Box 796 (23218)
Richmond, VA 23219
You may also fax your materials to (804) 775-3800, Attention: Recruiting Manager, or send an e-mail to recruitingmanager@lawmh.com.
