Woods Oviatt Gilman

Summer Associates

The Summer Associates Program provides the opportunity for you to gain experience and for us to get to know your unique skillset and personality. As a young attorney, your whole career is in front of you and you want to build that career at a firm that offers opportunity, growth, and fulfillment. Joining Woods Oviatt Gilman as a Summer Associate gives you the opportunity to learn why so many attorneys who started in the same capacity have chosen to make our firm their permanent home.

Summer Associate Application

Hands-on experience, hats off for performance

Our Summer Associates Program immerses a select group of future/prospective attorneys in the firm’s diverse practice areas through hands-on work experience with our attorneys, plus a variety of fun, social activities. The Summer Associates Program runs for 10 weeks, starting in early June and concluding in early August. By the end of the program, Summer Associates have gained full and realistic exposure to the range and quality of our firm’s work, structure, and office culture.

Work assignments and feedback

A significant part of the Summer Associates experience at Woods Oviatt Gilman is the ability to work on substantive work for real clients. As a Summer Associate, you’ll conduct research, write memos, draft wills and contracts, and attend client meetings and closings. Your work product from each assignment will be evaluated by the supervising attorney, who will provide ongoing constructive feedback. At the end of the program, Summer Associates meet with the Recruiting Committee to provide feedback on their experiences to help the firm continue to improve the program for future candidates.

Mentoring

We’re big believers in the role mentors play in the professional growth of our attorneys. Our lawyers take on these roles willingly to begin integrating Summer Associates into the firm’s culture as early as possible. Each of our Summer Associates is paired with an associate mentor who helps acquaint the Associate with the firm’s attorneys and provides valuable advice when work challenges and questions arise.

Social activities

Meeting and getting to know our attorneys is one of the most important components of your summer experience. We strive to integrate Summer Associates into all facets of firm life and encourage you to meet and spend time with as many of your future colleagues as possible, both inside and outside the office. Past summer social events have included wine tours, scavenger hunts, and dinner parties with the partners. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even have some ideas of your own to share.

“The Summer Associate Program at Woods Oviatt Gilman is a phenomenal, immersive experience into the practice of Law and life here at Woods. The program is structured around department rotations, allowing you the rare opportunity to expose yourself to multiple areas of the law. Not only will you find your passion, but you will also gain expert mentorship in a variety of fields. This exposure is crucial to becoming a well-rounded attorney and navigating interdepartmental relationships at a larger firm. Everyone at Woods is dedicated to the summer program and teaching you the knowledge and skills necessary to flourish in your career. Now that I have returned to Woods, it is apparent that this supportive culture extends well past the summer program and will continue throughout your career here. This experience is truly invaluable and allowed me to hit the ground running as a new attorney.”

- Hannah R. Mills, Esq., Associate

“The Summer Associate program at Woods Oviatt provided an excellent, hands-on glimpse into the day-to-day operations of the firm. I was able to see the type of work that each department does and received helpful mentorship and guidance from partners with decades of experience in their fields. Everybody was extremely patient and willing to teach, and the assignments were the same as those I received as a first-year attorney. The genuinely positive culture at Woods also stood out to me, as there were dozens of summer lunches and dinners, picnics, pedal tours, and other social outings that were well-attended by people all across the firm. I’m extremely grateful for the professional development and mentorship opportunities that the Summer Associate program provided me, which have helped me tremendously at the start of my career.”

- Johnathan M. Nucci, Esq., Associate

Apply

Rising second year law students should submit a cover letter, resume, transcripts, and writing sample through their program’s OCI online platform or to Nicholas Pasquarella, Legal Recruiter, at Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, 1900 Bausch & Lomb Place, Rochester, NY 14604: npasquarella@woodsoviatt.com.

Sum­mer Associates

Hands-on expe­ri­ence, hats off for performance

Work assign­ments and feedback