From clerkships to clinical assistantships to working as summer associates at firms, summer legal work helps students gain practical skills and experiences that benefit them during law school and beyond. This is the first profile in a series featuring the summer job experience of UW Law students. Find more profiles in our Summer Job Series.

Lauren Powell '13
Summer Associate, Sidley Austin

Describe your summer work experience.
While at Sidley Austin, I had the opportunity to work in numerous practice areas, including trusts and estates, real estate, bankruptcy, labor and employment, global finance, and corporate law. Sidley Austin’s approach, which allows summer associates to work in several practice areas, was particularly useful because I was able to receive a broad overview to determine which areas interested me and highlighted my strengths.

What has surprised you about the work you are doing?

Although I am at a global law firm that services many sizable corporations, there was a personal aspect to every assignment that I did, which was quite rewarding. I was also surprised to have the chance to participate in client meetings as a summer associate.

How do you think this work experience will shape the rest of your time at UW Law School?

My experience at Sidley Austin will undoubtedly shape the rest of my time at UW Law School, as I learned that I have a strong interest in trusts and estates. Accordingly, I plan to take an estate planning course and also taxation prior to graduation.

What classes have been particularly useful in preparing you for the work you are doing this summer?

Trusts and Estates and Business Organizations have been especially useful in preparing me for my summer associate position at Sidley Austin. There were several instances throughout the summer where I drew upon key concepts from those courses in my projects, so it was very helpful to have a general background on those subjects. Likewise, Property Law was also very helpful because I had the opportunity to draft an easement and also teach an Introduction to Property Law class to undergraduate students who are pursuing law school.

Submitted by Law School News on May 13, 2015

This article appears in the categories: Articles, Summer Job Series