Split-Summer Program Lets Law Students Have the Best of Both Worlds

One such split-summer program is being run at the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Through its Public Interest and Community Service (PICS) program, the firm allows any of its summer associates to work up to four weeks for a public service or arts organization, in addition to dedicating at least six weeks of the summer to the firm. For those who take this option, there is no cut in pay; all summer associates are paid for the full ten weeks.

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"There is plenty of time to do what you need to do," says Andrew Whitney, who completed the PICS program with Morgan Lewis's Philadelphia office last summer. Whitney graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School this May and plans to work at Morgan Lewis starting in the fall.

Last Summer, Whitney did an eight-week/two-week split between the firm and the Support Center for Child Advocates, also in Philadelphia. Taking time away from Morgan Lewis should "absolutely not be a concern" for summer associates, says Whitney, especially because the firm has a high level of support for its attorneys doing pro bono work as well, he notes.

Whitney was familiar with the PICS program at Morgan Lewis well before his second summer, having seen summer associates come to work at the firm while he was a paralegal there for two years. While at Penn Law, he also spent both his summers with Morgan Lewis.

As a summer associate his second summer, Whitney chose to work in the firm's litigation practice area and felt it "was a fantastic place to be," he says. His experience with the Support Center was "an eye opener," Whitney says.

The Support Center provides pro bono legal services to children and also legal information for their advocates. It is "the gold standard of child representation here in Philadelphia," Whitney says. While he was with the group, he sat in on cases and hearings, going to family court. Mainly, he saw child-dependency hearings on cases which on average last four years, dealing with "deep-rooted issues that can't be fixed by waving a wand," says Whitney.

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In addition, as a summer associate, Whitney did research on new laws in Pennsylvania regarding testimony of children, which can now be given via closed-circuit television. He also helped staff attorneys prepare for cases.

Whitney's public interest stint last summer helped to solidify his goal of identifying two nonprofit organizations with which to do pro bono work in his law career. He wants to "do quality work and really make a difference," and he hopes to represent kids through the Support Center in his future pro bono work.

And he is not alone in carrying his split-summer public interest work through into his legal career. Cary Joshi, another alumna of the PICS program, spent her first year working for Morgan Lewis, but not at Morgan Lewis.

Joshi, now a third-year associate with Morgan Lewis's Philadelphia office, started working with the Women's Law Project as a summer associate in the first year of the PICS program. "It was a no-brainer" to do the PICS program, she says. "I was really excited."

After graduating from Penn Law, Joshi was awarded the Philadelphia Bar Foundation Fellowship, allowing her to work at the Women's Law Project for the first year of her Morgan Lewis employment.

The fellowship allows a first-year associate to work full time at a public interest organization while receiving her first year's salary over the course of two years. Various firms in Philadelphia participate in the fellowship, and Joshi only applied to those that did. Not even knowing she would one day receive the award, firm participation was "indicative to me that they support public interest work," Joshi says, which is very important to her.

The Women's Law Project is a national organization undertaking impact litigation to affect major issues. Usually, the group focuses on filing amicus briefs and serving as support counsel. The group was litigating a case involving women's access to golf clubs while Joshi was there.

Also, the group won a dispute allowing for the limited opening of family courts in Philadelphia to allow observers to assess concerns regarding treatment of women involved in abuse cases. Joshi served as one of these observers, noting the experiences of women who went through the system. The group was able to then advise women on what to expect in court and give them basic information such as where to go and what to bring.

During her second summer in law school, Joshi worked in the Morgan Lewis office for the first six weeks and at the Women's Law Center for the remaining four weeks. At the firm, she looked into both the litigation and labor law sections.

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Currently, Joshi practices general litigation at Morgan Lewis. She is also continuing her pro bono work with Community Legal Services. Overall, says Joshi, pro bono work at Morgan Lewis has "a real commitment from the firm."

See 38 Tips of Advice for Summer Associates and Summer Law Clerks That No One Ever Gives You: How to Be a Good Summer Associate and Not Get in Trouble for more information.