We actively recruit students from across the country via on-campus interviews, job fairs and write-in applications. You may directly apply to our Summer Associate program starting May 1, 2023.

We are seeking bright, well-rounded individuals with entrepreneurial spirits and strong critical thinking and writing skills. Ultimately, we are seeking talented students who have the potential to develop into exceptional attorneys. Throughout our search we weigh the following factors: exceptional academic achievement, participation in law school activities (law review, moot court), prior work experience, strong interpersonal skills and ties to the area.

We ask that you submit one application to the office location of your first preference. If you are selected to interview and are interested in other office locations, you can discuss this with the local recruiting contact.

Callback interview schedules differ by office. Please contact the local recruiting contact for further details.

Candidates will be notified by phone and/or email as soon as possible following their interview.

Yes. Reasonable travel expenses approved by the local recruiting contact will be reimbursed.

Our summer program runs for 10 weeks.

No.

Splitting between Reed Smith and another firm is not allowed.

No. Summer associates are encouraged to work on assignments from a variety of practice groups. If a summer associate has an area of preference, every effort will be made to provide further exposure to that particular practice area.

Our DEI mission is simple: To deliver opportunity to everyone. We call it “All Rise."

We believe it is our responsibility to lead the way for positive change and to be a standard-bearer for the legal industry – an example for others to follow and a source of pride for all of us. We are delivering on our commitment to generate best practices for DEI in our industry and leave no stone unturned in providing a just, fair and equitable working environment for all. It is not enough for one of us, or some of us, or even most of us to succeed. We will never stop working on this goal until all of us can succeed without exception. We will deliver opportunity to everyone – whomever or wherever they are.

All seen. All heard. All valued. All included. All Rise.

We continuously explore ways to enhance the inclusiveness of our organization and consistently evaluate our own diversity efforts and work-life policies to ensure that they are in keeping with marketplace practices that have proven effective in achieving inclusiveness. We recognize that diversity at all levels of an organization is a true sign of a world-class business, and we have made the recruitment, retention and promotion of women and diverse attorneys a top priority. In response to the events in the United States that have highlighted generations of systemic racial injustice against Black Americans, Reed Smith formed the Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP) Taskforce. This group is tasked with marshaling the firm’s resources to carry out the REAP.

The REAP is centered on three priorities:

• Internal well-being and learning, through which the firm commits to advancing recruitment, retention, and leadership opportunities for Black lawyers and staff.
• Pro bono and community engagement, including work for justice system reform, economic opportunity and defense against discrimination – with local and national organizations
• Client engagement, to invest in attracting and retaining Black lawyer talent, starting from law school recruiting efforts, to secondment engagements, to creating high-level relationship development opportunities.

Yes. Summer associates have the opportunity to do pro bono work in areas of pro bono legal service in which the firm participates.

Our goal is to provide summer associates with real work similar to what they would receive as a first or second year associate through our partnerships with our clients and our attorneys on projects. We also provide the summers a chance to get involved with real-life experiences through board meetings, depositions, arbitrations, client meetings and judicial proceedings.

Summer associates attend classes offered by our Learning & Development team. Some of the programs we offer are: Mergers and Acquisitions Simulation, Mediation Clinic, Legal Research and Writing programs, and Law Firm Economics.

The firm does not provide insurance or other benefits for summer associates or their dependents.

We evaluate all of our summer associates at the conclusion of the program. Associate offers are usually extended in the beginning of August.

It is our goal to make offers to all of our summer associates. Our summer program is not a competition. Summer associates are evaluated according to their own performance based on the standards and criteria set by Reed Smith.