THE SUMMER ASSOCIATE enjoys an enhanced status at a law firm, falling somewhere below an equity partner but easily miles above that of an ordinary associate and, truth be told, probably ahead of many partners as well. Becoming a summer associate is like getting a Fastpass to the good life, but unlike riding Space Mountain, this ride will last just 10 to 12 weeks. The question is: Will everyone be smart enough to make the most of this opportunity
My introduction to the good life came in 1988, when I summered with a major firm in New York. Having traded in my $5 hourly wage at my father’s furniture store for a weekly salary of $1,400 chump change compared to the $3,000 this year’s summer class will earn, I thought life couldn’t get any better. Lunches, dinners, “dream nights”-we had it all. And, amazingly enough, back in the 1980s expectations for summer associates were even lower than they are today. All we had to do was account for four hours of our day-they didn’t have to be billable, just accounted for.
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