Summer Associate Program
The summer associate program is one of the most important elements of Steptoe’s recruitment activities. If you receive an offer to join us as a summer associate, we have made an initial judgment that you can make a valuable contribution to the firm's practice. A significant portion of our associate hiring each year comes from the summer associate group of previous years, and a very high percentage of our former summer associates who enter private practice return to the firm.
Work Assignments
We make every effort to give our summer associates a rounded view of a Washington, DC law practice. Summer associate assignments are designed to provide a variety of substantive work and the broadest possible exposure to our lawyers. In order to help ensure that these assignments match the work preferences of our summer associates, they select their projects from an online database that contains a variety of assignments from all areas of the practice.
Professional Development
Professional training is a year-round process at Steptoe. Summer associates are invited to all professional training programs offered during the summer, but some programs, such as practical tips from associates, are planned exclusively for the benefit of summer associates.
We provide opportunities to attend trials, arguments, depositions, negotiations, and other client activities in which the firm is involved, and we encourage summer associates to attend as many of these practical experiences as possible. We host weekly seminars that cover the firm's organization, its practice, and other matters of topical interest, with presentations by speakers from both inside and outside of the firm. We also try to give our summer associates direct exposure to those institutions that make Washington unique: the Supreme Court of the United States, Congress, and the executive agencies.
It is our intention that each summer associate will be prepared to be a better lawyer after spending a summer with Steptoe. To this end, we pay careful attention to the evaluation process. The summer associate's mentor provides a comprehensive review of their first project before the work product is submitted. The first and all subsequent assignments will be discussed with the summer associate by at least one of the lawyers who supervised the project. In addition to this ongoing feedback, the chair of the Summer Program Committee conducts a mid-term and end of program review with each summer associate.
Social Events
It is important to us that we get to know our summer associates not just within the office environment, but also in more informal settings. We sponsor a varied program of events, ranging from sailing to theater outings, at which summer associates have the chance to get better acquainted with Steptoe's lawyers as well as with one another. Our most popular events include a day of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, shows at the Kennedy Center, tours of Washington, a cooking class, and a night of baseball to see a Nationals game.
Split Summer Policy
We extend offers for the full 10 weeks of our summer program and strongly discourage split summers. We do not permit split summers for first-year summer associates and requests by second-year summer associates to split the summer are reviewed by the chair of the Hiring Committee on a case-by-case basis. Summer associates have the opportunity to spend a week or two at another Steptoe office; these requests are also reviewed by the chair of the Hiring Committee on a case-by-case basis.
If you have any questions, please contact Sara Tye, Senior Manager, Legal Recruiting
We strongly encourage all qualified individuals to apply, including women, minorities, Veterans, individuals with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and all political and religious views.