FAQs

1. What materials should I submit to be considered for a summer associate position?

Heller Ehrman requires that you submit a résumé, transcript and writing sample when applying for a summer associate position. Make sure that the contact information is current, including your phone number and email address.

2. What is a typical callback interview at Heller Ehrman?

Callback interviews take approximately a half-day, giving you an opportunity to meet and speak one on one with six to eight attorneys. Each interview lasts about 30 minutes. Morning callbacks typically begin around 9:30 a.m. and finish with lunch. Afternoon interviews typically begin at 2:00 p.m.and end at approximately 5:00 p.m.

3. How long will it be before I hear from Heller Ehrman?

The hiring committee contacts candidates immediately after meeting. This committee meets every week during fall recruiting, so the waiting time is minimal.

4. How long will I have to respond to my offer?

Heller Ehrman adheres to the NALP guidelines for offers extended to law students for summer and post-graduation positions. Under the rules, we keep our offers for summer associates open until December 1st.

5. What happens if I am also applying for positions with other offices of Heller Ehrman?

Each office conducts its own on-campus interviewing and makes individual decisions concerning callbacks and offers of employment.

Each office has different hiring needs due to the different sizes and practice areas that may be emphasized in that particular office. For this reason, an application to work in one Heller Ehrman office is not an application to work in all.

6. Can 1Ls apply to the summer program?

1Ls can apply to the summer program after December 1st. Since 2L hiring will be complete by then, the Heller Ehrman offices can individually decide whether their summer program can accommodate 1Ls, and how many spots are available.

7. Can I split my summer with another firm?

Splitting summers is allowed in some, but not all of the offices, and is only permitted in cases in which the candidate agrees to visit Heller Ehrman for the first half of the summer. Also, the student must realize that a significant amount of work product is required to make a decision on permanent offers, and splitting a summer reduces the amount of final product produced. Our offices also differ on how many weeks are required per summer. We suggest contacting the Recruitment Manager in the office in which you are interested to discuss the minimum requirements.

8. What types of training programs are available to summer associates?

Heller Ehrman's Summer Training Series, EDGE (Experience, Development, Growth and Education), prepares you with the substantive practical skills you'll need when you begin to practice law.  These sessions, led by shareholders who are recognized experts in their practice areas, will give you the competitive edge in your professional development.

9. Can I work in several different practice areas over the summer?

As a summer associate, we do not expect you to know what area of law you wish to practice, but it is our belief that exposure to many areas will assist you in making that decision. To that end, we provide summer associates with assignments in several different practice areas. However, if there is a specific area of law in which you have interest, the firm will attempt to give you several assignments in that area.

10. How much are summer associates paid?

Our California and East Coast offices set the salary for summer associates in 2005 at $2,400 per week. Our Northwest offices set the salary for summer associates in 2005 at $1800 per week. The salary is subject to change.

11. What does a summer associate need to accomplish in order to receive an offer of employment?

We require summer associates to submit work product that suitably reflects their written, analytical and organizational skills. They receive feedback on their work from attorneys and through a mid-summer review, which ultimately should improve their skills for the second part of the summer. We look for summer associates who demonstrate initiative and interest in our practice and who wish to practice law at Heller Ehrman in the specific office in which they are spending the summer.