At Katten, you will find a culture that is uniquely entrepreneurial and collegial. Our summer program allows law students the opportunity to work side by side with world-class attorneys on challenging, substantive legal matters and gain an inside perspective on our diverse practice areas.
During the summer, you will have the opportunity to work on a variety of assignments and will receive tailored training and mentoring by our attorneys who are committed to your development and success. Throughout the summer, you will form impactful relationships with our attorneys that will help lay the foundation for your career.
Work assignments and feedback
As a summer associate, you will receive varied substantive work assignments. The assignment process provides you with the flexibility to experience different practice areas and work with numerous associates and partners. Summer associates work with a dedicated assignment coordinator throughout the summer to receive assignments based on their expressed interests. We encourage you to explore the many practice areas and exciting opportunities that Katten offers.
Our attorneys are committed to providing summer associates with immediate and meaningful feedback throughout the program. You will receive a written evaluation for every assignment along with formal mid-summer and end-of-summer reviews. Our summer program chairs, mentors and the attorney recruiting team proactively work with you to ensure your success.
Training and development
We believe that training is essential at every stage in an attorney’s career. We offer a training curriculum that includes workshops on writing, negotiations, professional development and practice-specific content. In addition to our training curriculum, our attorneys ensure that summer associates are provided with abundant hands-on learning opportunities through challenging assignments, client interaction and opportunities to participate in deal closings and/or court appearances.
Networking and social events
Our summer social events reflect our firm culture and provide opportunities to develop lasting relationships with our attorneys and your fellow summer associates. The summer social calendar consists of a variety of events, such as concerts, sporting events and partner-hosted dinners, which allows you to network with attorneys and experience their respective cities. We also host a firmwide summer associate retreat in our Chicago office that all of our summer associates attend.
Mentoring
Each summer associate is provided with a mentor. Mentors serve as a valuable resource and provide guidance to our summer associates. In addition, you will work with an assignment coordinator who helps navigate the assignment process and serves as an additional resource and mentor throughout the summer. As a summer associate, you will find that our attorneys have open doors and are eager to provide mentorship.
