Law Student Recruiting
Summer Associate Program Dinsmore & Shohl’s summer program gives qualified law students an opportunity to gain practical legal experience and to become acquainted with the firm and our practice. We view the summer program as an important aspect of our efforts to hire the highest quality law school graduates as associates.
The firm's Recruiting Committee is responsible for the summer associate program. The program is generally self-directed; projects are collected from lawyers throughout the firm and summer associates may select those in which they are most interested. This process may vary slightly from office to office and is sometimes influenced by the immediate needs of clients. We believe it is important to have our summer associates do meaningful client work.
In addition to research and writing, the summer associate program consists of observing and assisting attorneys at work, training and educational programs, mentoring, learning firm culture and receiving constructive feedback.
We strive to show our summer associates what it is like to be a Dinsmore & Shohl attorney. This strategy leads to team building in a supportive atmosphere. We are proud of our high acceptance rate, knowing our summer associates had a meaningful, educational and enjoyable summer.
Summer Associate Life
Participation in the summer associate program at Dinsmore & Shohl is a rewarding and invaluable experience. As a summer associate, not only was I engaged in complex legal assignments, but I was also encouraged to attend depositions, client meetings, case management conferences, hearings and trials. It was truly a hands-on learning experience. The Dinsmore & Shohl summer associate program provided me an opportunity to seek out work in those areas of law in which I was most interested and did not limit my work assignments to one particular area of law. In addition, the summer associate program provided me an opportunity to gain beneficial experience while working with some of the best and most well-respected lawyers in the community. Most importantly, my work experience as a summer associate paralleled the experiences of newer associates in the firm. The responsibilities and level of support and encouragement received during the summer program were tremendous preparations for the start of a successful legal career.
Carrie Fischesser
Associate, Labor and Employment Department
During my two summers at Dinsmore & Shohl, I learned what it means to be an attorney. The associates and partners did not treat me as if I was a law student, they treated me as a professional. This allowed me to give meaningful input and my perspective on several matters. My time at Dinsmore & Shohl cultivated an awareness of what it is to work in the legal field. Unlike many of my classmates, I have a real understanding of the expectations placed upon an attorney pursuing excellence in the legal field.
Ebony L. Glenn
Georgetown University Law Center
Associate, Louisville Office
The Dinsmore & Shohl summer associate program has greatly assisted the development of my career as a young attorney.
I found that the project selection system allowed me to sample many different areas of the law to determine what type of law I wanted to practice upon graduation. The program allowed me to manage my own workload and encouraged me to take the initiative and seek out projects in my specific areas of interest. By giving me assignments in such a broad range of practice areas with such a large number of the firm's attorneys, and providing the great social events where I was able to have conversations with nearly every attorney in the firm, the summer program allowed me to develop a great network of relationships with staff and attorneys in every practice group (and every office) in the firm that I rely on every day.
The summer program offered a great window into the life of an associate at Dinsmore & Shohl; it was truly an invaluable experience.
Brian Judkins
Associate, Corporate Department
Dinsmore & Shohl's summer associate program offers an ideal mix of opportunities to perform interesting and challenging legal work, obtain practical experience, and establish lasting relationships with attorneys of the firm, as well as fellow summer associates. Most exciting is the freedom the program provides to the summer associates to choose their own assignments in any of the firm's extensive practice areas. This was an invaluable opportunity, which allowed me to determine the practice area best suited to my interests. Dinsmore & Shohl's program also offers a candid review process that provides summer associates substantial feedback on the quality of their work.
Nick Kemphaus
Associate, Litigation Department
For me, the collegial atmosphere combined with an array of diverse projects was a perfect fit. The assignments were as challenging as they were fun, and I had the opportunity to experience everything from criminal defense to insurance liability. I was constantly surrounded by supportive staff, and no attorney was ever too busy to lend a helping hand. Dinsmore & Shohl does an amazing job in encouraging and supporting all its summer associates, so we never really looked to each other as competition. Instead, we grew together as a class, and looked to each other as peers.
Anitra Walden-Jacobs
University of Cincinnati
Associate, Cincinnati Office