Summer Programs: Peoria, IL
Day in the Life of a Summer Associate
By Michael Fricke
Summer Associate:
2006 and 2007
Associate Attorney:
2008-present
As a Summer Associate, many of my days would begin before I even arrived at my office. I would frequently run into one of the Partners on the elevator up from the parking garage, and he or she would always ask how my summer was coming along, and how my wife was doing. One of the good things about the Peoria office is that because of its smaller size, there is a sense of camaraderie that made me feel at home from my first day on the job.
After arriving in my office, I would typically check any new incoming e-mails and voicemail messages received after hours. I would then turn to the projects requiring my attention that day. One thing I was never short on during the summer was enough diverse work to keep me busy.
By way of example, a typical day might include preparing a draft of a real estate contract. I would head down to our library to research Illinois real estate law and then would begin drafting the contract. Periodically, several attorneys would stop by my office to discuss on-going or new projects, including the specifics of the projects, research suggestions, and so forth. After preparing the real estate draft of the contract, I would meet with the assigning attorney to discuss any issues which arose during the assignment. The attorney would review my work and then meet with me to provide feedback on the project.
After submitting the draft contract, I might then shift my attention to a pending medical malpractice issue which I have been asked to research. By the time I finish my research and make notes to myself, I realize it's just about lunch time, so I head to the lobby where I meet up with several of the attorneys, both Partners and Associates, and we head downstairs. Once outside the building we each head to a different street vendor and buy our food and head back to the office. It's somewhat of a daily ritual in the Peoria office for some of the attorneys to gather in one of the conference rooms for lunch, so I join them and we shoot the breeze while we eat.
After lunch I head back to my office where I find on my chair a marked-up copy of a research memo I wrote for a bankruptcy case. Knowing this case has a pending hearing, I open the file on my computer and make the requested changes, then head to the Partner's office to give him the updated document. We chat for a few minutes about the case and make plans for me to attend the hearing with him the following week.
Once I get settled back at my desk, I pull out the research I was working on before lunch and start writing my memo. After an hour or so a secretary stops by my office and tells me one of the Partners needs me to act as a witness to the signing of some estate planning documents. In reality, anyone could have acted as the witness, but the Partner wanted me to experience the process, and he reviewed all of the documents with me after the client conference.
Finally back in my office again, I notice it will soon be time to head home, so I put my nose to the grindstone and finish off the research memo I'm working on. Packing up my things while the memo prints, I drop it off to the Partner who requested it on my way out the door, and head down the elevator, mentally tired, but surprised and satisfied by everything I learned today.