Shaping Future Leaders: The Summer Associate Experience
2024 Summer Associate Program
At Holland & Knight, we believe in empowering the next generation of legal talent. Our 2024 Summer Associate class highlights the program's exceptional mentorship, diverse and inclusive environment and opportunities for cross-office collaboration. Summer associates engage in meaningful work, from courtroom observations to client presentations, bridging the gap between law school and real-world practice. They also enjoy a balanced experience, participating in social events that foster lasting relationships with colleagues. Our supportive culture encourages exploration across practice areas, often leading to unexpected and insightful discoveries.
As Houston Summer Associate Gabriella Leccese said, "Holland & Knight has done everything they can to support me and ensure that I'm becoming the best attorney I possibly can be."
Watch the full video to uncover more about the summer associate experience at Holland & Knight.
Katie Pine: I think the most noteworthy aspect of my summer associate experience at Holland & Knight so far has been the mentorship. Everyone is really eager to mentor you, whether it's by giving you challenging assignments and then helping you along the way by letting you, you know, ask questions, and they'll sit down and answer them and go through things with you.
Diego Troncoso Breton: I'm a first-generation law student, so for me, I think walking in, I didn't know what to expect, right. All I wanted to do was find people who were as passionate about what we do as I was becoming. And people were also willing to teach. And I think that's something that I definitely found.
Jack Wagner: So I'm the only summer associate in Orlando. That was originally a very daunting thought, but very quickly, the firm has made it clear that not only is it OK to reach out and talk with attorneys in other offices, but it is a regular part of the practice.
Bishop Walton: Coming back here for a second summer, I was able to hit the ground running and be able to do more real and practical work. One of the things that I like about Holland & Knight is the friendly aspect in the culture of the firm. Additionally, I really like the aspect of being able to connect with other summer associates and other folks in the firm.
Joy Patterson: The most noteworthy aspect of my HK summer associate experience this summer has been on a social level, attending Farm Day with the Nashville office where all the summers get to go to two partners at the farm that they own, and we just get to socialize with the different attorneys and also experience nature. So I like that aspect.
Patrick LaBella: I definitely feel integrated as a member of the litigation team, both socially and with the substantive work that I'm doing. Socially, the attorneys, associates, partners come by my office, asked me to go for coffee. They invite me to lunches. I join the softball team here, so I feel, like, integrated as a member of the team in that way.
Jack Wagner: I have not come across a single attorney who exhibits the horror stories that you hear of Big Law. I have only experienced the best, and the small firm culture working on the Big Law projects has completely thrown out my preconceived notions of what Big Law is in the best possible way.
Melissa Pregasen: I'd suggest current students and future summer associates try assignments in a variety of fields. Some of the most insightful experiences can be ones you did not expect.
Geoffrey Okolo: Make the most out of your time here by relying on the attorneys. They are a resource, and they are open to seeing you develop and grow as a young attorney.
Ryan Kainz: Be proactive. You'll be aligned with a mentor group and kind of your practice area there, but you're interested in something else, absolutely go seek that out, venture out and knock on someone's door. And they're always super receptive and happy to, to give you work and teach you about their practice area as well. And you may find that that's something you like to do as well.
Diego Troncoso Breton: It takes a village to do what we do sometimes. And you go back to law school, and you have to go back to reading the things and doing all the work. But it's nice to know that I have a good place to come back to. And people who, again, care about me and are invested in seeing me win.
Allie Kellett: My expectation coming into the summer was that, you know, I would get the opportunity to work with really talented attorneys and get to see different areas of the law. And overall, this program has exceeded all of my expectations.
Gabriella Leccese: I found that Holland & Knight has done everything they can to support me and to ensure that I'm becoming the best attorney that I possibly can be.
Yarenis Cruz: As a 1L, getting to do this before even going to make taking my legal, transactional classes, I think it's going to give me a really great perspective, and I'll be able to connect a lot of the dots.
Elizabeth Brownstein: The best advice I have for law students is to really take ownership over your own journey. I think what I've learned is that no two students' or attorneys' experiences look the exact same, and so you really just have to focus on working hard, taking ownership of what's in front of you, and trying to create a path that is rewarding and interesting for you.
Elizabeth Cassillo: I would highly, highly recommend Holland & Knight to anyone who wants to get involved in a firm where they feel like they're friends with the people they are working with, where they want to learn a lot, and when they want to have a great jumpstart to their legal career.