How do we choose a summer class?
The standard response to how Debevoise chooses summer associates is that we look for second-year students whose personal qualities, academic records, and other achievements demonstrate exceptional ability, motivation, and potential for growth.
But the real answer is far more complex. We are looking for applicants who we feel will contribute to our enterprise and thrive in our unique environment. That means we look for the kind of energy that suggests a hunger for the challenges that a high-powered legal practice daily delivers. We look for an ability to listen actively, think creatively, interact successfully with other people and effectively convey and advocate a point of view. In addition to high academic standards, we believe that maturity, leadership qualities and experience count for a great deal. Those who succeed as Debevoise lawyers are not just smart, they are at once hard-charging and generous with their knowledge and skills and extend themselves for the good of our clients, our firm and our communities.
Each fall we devote considerable effort to selecting summer program participants who we believe will be strong additions to the firm after graduation. Historically, because of the high quality of our summer associates, a very high percentage of them have received offers for permanent positions. Most return to the firm and build on their experience as summer associates.
The schedule
Most summer associate hiring is done during the fall. Please see our campus schedule. If the schedule doesn’t include an event in your area, please send a cover letter, resume, and transcript to us and we’ll be in touch with you. For those students who are invited to our offices for interviews, the Hiring Committee generally makes decisions within 10 days, based on the interviewers' written evaluations, academic and non-academic records, and the firm's overall needs. In 2008 we hired 73 summer associates. Our compensation is competitive with other top-tier New York firms.
If you are considering an offer from us, we encourage you to schedule additional visits to meet with more lawyers, to arrange telephone conversations with additional people, or to request whatever additional information would be helpful to you in making your decision. We also schedule offeree dinners at many law schools to give students more opportunities to meet Debevoise lawyers.
Summer associates generally spend a full summer with us, up to 14 weeks. We do permit split summers but require summer associates to spend a minimum of six weeks with us. Summer Associates must spend the first half of their summer with us. Summer associates begin arriving in mid-May and many stay on until late August. The summer program is based in our New York and Washington offices. However, 17 summer associates spent several weeks in one of our international offices in the summer of 2008. They were chosen based on their background, experience, language skills and/or long-term interest in working abroad.
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