Kick Start Your Legal Career Now!

The Law Institute is a two-week hybrid training program that begins the Fellowship. Throughout the two weeks, Fellows will attend both academic and professional development sessions to prepare for their summer law firm internships and also for their 1L year of law school.

SEO Law partners with professors from top law schools across the country for academic programming, composed of three critical components: (1) Legal Writing Seminars, (2) a Criminal Law Lecture and (3) a Torts Lecture.

For professional development sessions, external partners present workshops and panels on a variety of topics including, but not limited to: technical and soft skills, professionalism, roles and structure of a law firm, transactional law, litigation law, partners’ perspective, pro bono work.

While the SEO Law Fellows’ corporate law firm experiences may vary from firm to firm, Fellows can expect to work full-time during the 10-week internship alongside with other 1L and 2L summer associates. Corporate attorneys must demonstrate close attention to detail, display superlative communication skills, and above all, have the analytical ability to understand the application of the law to a client’s business objectives. Our Fellows have a chance to practice these skills throughout the summer.

• Examples of past Fellows’ assignments have included drafting legal briefs, memos, and documents, compiling information for cases using legal research, assisting in the closing of transactional deals, revising contracts and agreements, and/or assisting with pro bono matters.

Lawyers that work in large law firms are all corporate lawyer. This may cause some confusion as there is a transactional practice group that is “general corporate” work. Broadly speaking, most corporate lawyers may be categorized as either transactional attorneys or litigators:

•  Transactional attorneys often advise companies involved in large financial transactions including initial public offerings of stock, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and cross-border financing.

•  Litigators represent plaintiffs and defendants in trials, arbitrations and settlement negotiations and may work in various areas of law, including securities, tax, antitrust, real estate and white-collar crime.

•  Some practice group include both transactional and litigation matters such as Intellectual Property and Bankruptcy/Restructuring.

The economy and other market factors often drive the busiest or most lucrative practices within a law firm, and many junior associates find themselves directed into a practice area or specialty without taking time to properly explore their options. As new lawyers embark on their legal careers, they should consider their skills, interests, and strengths, along with analyzing the needs of different practice areas, to Find the Right Fit.

Learn more about practice areas via Chambers Associate here or Firsthand by Vault Law here.

SEO Law places Fellows at prestigious firms in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte (NC), Chicago, Cleveland (OH), Columbus (OH), Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Menlo Park/Palo Alto, Miami, New York City, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Wilmington (DE).