Here I sit, in my Washington, DC apartment, 6.5 weeks into my summer job. I've been working as a "law clerk" (a.k.a. "summer associate") at a prestigious international law firm, which is, I've decided, the sweetest job in the world. Firms like mine hire most of their lawyers directly out of law school - laterals (attorneys with previous experience at other firms) are rarely hired, so those law students who want to work at firms hope and pray to get a good summer gig for their second summer of law school. Assuming all goes well, the summer ends with a full-time job offer, and at least those law students who intend to spend their lives in law firms are set.
Although I don't want to spend my life at a firm - I still have some of those pesky human rights interests preventing me from settling down - I would love a few years of experience, and so decided my 2L summer should be spent at a firm, if any would have me. I happened to be hired by the firm dubbed my "long shot" by my (oh so supportive) roommate when the interviewing process started, and I couldn't be happier. The work is mainly interesting, the people are great, and summer associates are treated like absolute royalty. The summer is mainly one big recruiting process, especially at my firm, where selective interviewing means the firm genuinely hopes that all summer associates accept full-time offers. Thus, to ensure we get an idea of what the firm is "really like" - and thus, whether or not we'll fit - socialization with associates is strongly encouraged. To that end, pretty much everything a summer associate does with a full-time associate can be billed to the firm, including decadent lunches every day and drinks out as often as we'd like. Further, the firm plans amazing events for the summers - and interested attorneys - including trips to the theatre, tours of the city on Segway scooters, and even a day spent learning to sail. In fact, just today, the firm rented out an entire country club for a "firm outing," to which all attorneys and staff members were invited.
By far the best perk, however, is the opportunity for summer associates to rotate through one of the firm's dozen or so foreign offices. Some are more or less popular than others, or have language requirements, or focus on one or another area of law. The upshot: different summers with different interests request different offices, and at least the DC office generally succeeds in placing all interested summers in a foreign office for a six-week rotation.
Anyone who knows anything about me clearly knows that I fall into the "interested summers" category. Because of my weakness in any relevant foreign language (I'm only even a little proficient in Spanish, but we have no offices in Spain), my options were somewhat restricted, but I got my first choice placement, for which I will be leaving this Saturday morning.
I am going to Hong Kong.
And I couldn't be more excited. My firm has arranged my housing, in a building of funky serviced apartments where I'll have satellite television in my shower and the best nightlife areas a brief walk or cab ride away. Both my apartment and my office are in Central, on Hong Kong Island, and I've even been told we'll probably take a day/weekend trip to nearby Macau. Hong Kong itself is a fascinating mix of commercial activity and traditions, and as far as I can tell, it will be more than sufficient to keep me busy for a month and a half. And, as if things weren't already sweet enough, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the fifth movie) will be released in Hong Kong simultaneous with the US release, so I'm not missing a thing!
Although I'll be significantly busier this summer than last - I now work for an employer that actually values my contribution (or at the very least, my potential future contribution) - I hope to keep this blog updated every few days, or at least with most of my stories. Much love to everyone, and wish me luck on this, my next grand adventure!
