Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP generally hires three or four first- and second-year law students to spend a summer working at our firm. We typically divide the summer into multiple "rotations," so that each student has an opportunity to work with a number of different lawyers on a variety of projects within our various practice groups. We provide our summer associates with a real life experience in the practice of law. The students receive assignments directly from our attorneys, and they interact frequently with the assigning attorney regarding strategies, timeframes, questions, and the final work product. Summer associates are invited to attend hearings, trials, depositions, closings, and meetings whenever appropriate, whether in connection with an assignment, or simply as a learning experience. Each summer associate is paired with a "mentor" who makes a special effort to monitor the student's summer experience and is available to answer questions and offer assistance. Our hiring criteria for summer associate candidates mirror our standard recruitment philosophy. We seek students who are achieving a high level of success in law school, as evidenced by their grades and class standing, and who have strong undergraduate credentials. In addition to their academic accomplishments, many of our summer associates have had significant work, volunteer or community service experience as well. We select students who demonstrate character and personality traits that are consistent with our core values and the type of working environment that we try to achieve. Since our time with the summer associates is limited and our days are busy, we arrange opportunities to spend time with the summer associates in relaxed settings outside of the office. The summer associates and their families are invited to all of our intramural family softball outings, Orioles games, gatherings at attorneys' homes, local restaurants, museums, and various additional Baltimore attractions. We encourage attorneys and summer associates to take full advantage of their limited time together over the summer to get to know one another, and we hope that summer associates will also get to know our firm and our clients. Many of our attorneys originally came to the firm as summer associates and decided to spend their careers with us. Whether or not a summer associate ultimately comes to work at Gallagher, we believe that our program offers a valuable learning experience, allowing students to take an active role in substantive legal matters and to work closely with legal professionals, support staff, and clients in our firm's unique setting.