The Summer Associate Program is 10-12 weeks in length and is designed to provide an encompassing look at what it means to be an attorney at Blethen Berens.
During the program, summer associates are given meaningful research and writing assignments, affording them the opportunity to work with many different lawyers in as many practice areas as possible. The program also incorporates many opportunities for summer associates to observe and participate in events such as trials, depositions, hearings, negotiations and closings. The firm also provides Summer Associates with a housing stipend.
While the summer associates gain a working knowledge of our law firm, our clients and our expectations for new attorneys, we get to know the summer associates, taking the opportunity to consider each for a position with our firm after they finish law school.
Our goal through this program is to find those individuals who have the potential for outstanding legal careers and that can deliver meaningful contributions to the firm, our clients and the community.
Challenging Work
Summer associates receive a variety of challenging assignments, ranging from client meetings and courtroom exposure, to revising agreements and composing memos. Each experience is designed to enhance reasoning, research, oral presentation and writing skills. Our experience is that varying the assignments enables both the summer associate and us to get a more complete picture upon which to comfortably base an employment decision.
The format for our program exposes our summer associates to a wide range of activities, including:
- Contact with firm clients and occasional visits to client facilities;
- Exposure to the court system;
- Observation of closings, depositions, trials, arbitrations, mediations or oral arguments;
- Opportunities to produce various legal documents that are reviewed and actually used for the benefit of clients;
- Participation in a wide variety of research projects; and
- Exposure to many of the practice areas within the firm.
Training & Mentoring
An integral part of our summer associate program is the support our participants receive from their Blethen Berens mentors.
Each associate is assigned two mentors – a partner from our litigation department and a partner from our transactional department – whose role it is to help guide the associate through the summer experience.
Each mentor takes a genuine interest in ensuring a well-rounded summer associate experience and helps ensure that our summer associates receive diverse, interesting and challenging assignments while at the firm.
Evaluations & Feedback
We believe that receiving feedback is an integral component of the growth process. Summer associates receive both informal and formal feedback from the attorneys in our office.
Informal feedback is delivered through direct, ongoing feedback to the summer associates as they work on current assignments.
When an assignment is completed, the assigning attorney submits a formal evaluation form. These are reviewed with the associate during formal monthly reviews with their mentors. Not only does this review process allow for a greater understanding of the expectations we have for our Blethen Berens associates but allows them the opportunity to get to know our attorneys better and experience each practice’s culture and day-to-day atmosphere.
Compensation & Housing
Beyond obtaining legal experience, training, mentoring, and building relationships with staff and the community, Blethen Berens Summer Associates earn a weekly salary that is competitive in the marketplace.
We also act as a resource assisting Summer Associates with securing housing in our community by utilizing our deep rooted connections and relationships we’ve built within the community.
Getting to Know Us
Our summer associate program includes many opportunities to meet and get to know our attorneys and staff in both professional and social settings. Networking opportunities are plentiful and include accompanying Blethen Berens attorneys to community group functions and meetings and attending Chamber functions and other professional networking events.
While we expect the summer associates to work hard and demonstrate their abilities, there is also a social component to the program that provides further opportunities to interact with our attorneys and staff and to see and experience what the Mankato community has to offer.
Examples of social activities include:
ball games, dinner and cocktail parties, community festivals and events, and after-work “happy hours”.
On-Campus Interviews
Blethen Berens routinely participates in the on-campus interview process at several law schools in Minnesota and the upper Midwest region.
Please see your Career Services Department for further information.
