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SKILL SHARPENER
Split-Summer Program Lets Law Students Have the Best of Both Worlds [by Erica Winter] For a law student’s second summer, working for a law firm or working for a public interest organization may not necessarily be mutually exclusive. A few firms around the country are carrying their pro bono commitments through to their summer associates, carving out time and money for law students to serve the community while also working for the firm.
One such split-summer program is being
Whitney chose to work in the firm’s litiga-
Morgan Lewis’s Philadelphia office, started
run at the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
tion practice area and felt it “was a fantastic
working with the Women’s Law Project as a
Through its Public Interest and Community
place to be,” he says. His experience with the
summer associate in the first year of the PICS
Service (PICS) program, the firm allows any
Support Center was “an eye opener,” Whitney
program. “It was a no-brainer” to do the PICS
of its summer associates to work up to four
says.
program, she says. “I was really excited.”
weeks for a public service or arts organization, in addition to dedicating at least six
The Support Center provides pro bono legal
After graduating from Penn Law, Joshi
weeks of the summer to the firm. For those
services to children and also legal informa-
was awarded the Philadelphia Bar Founda-
who take this option, there is no cut in pay;
tion for their advocates. It is “the gold stan-
tion Fellowship, allowing her to work at the
all summer associates are paid for the full
dard of child representation here in Philadel-
Women’s Law Project for the first year of her
ten weeks.
phia,” Whitney says. While he was with the
Morgan Lewis employment.
group, he sat in on cases and hearings, going “There is plenty of time to do what you need
to family court. Mainly, he saw child-depen-
The fellowship allows a first-year associate
to do,” says Andrew Whitney, who completed
dency hearings on cases which on average
to work full time at a public interest organi-
the PICS program with Morgan Lewis’s Phila-
last four years, dealing with “deep-rooted
zation while receiving her first year’s salary
delphia office last summer. Whitney gradu-
issues that can’t be fixed by waving a wand,”
over the course of two years. Various firms
ated from the University of Pennsylvania Law
says Whitney.
in Philadelphia participate in the fellowship, and Joshi only applied to those that did. Not
School this May and plans to work at Morgan In addition, as a summer associate, Whitney
even knowing she would one day receive the
did research on new laws in Pennsylvania re-
award, firm participation was “indicative to
Last Summer, Whitney did an eight-week/
garding testimony of children, which can now
me that they support public interest work,”
two-week split between the firm and the Sup-
be given via closed-circuit television. He also
Joshi says, which is very important to her.
port Center for Child Advocates, also in Phila-
helped staff attorneys prepare for cases.
Lewis starting in the fall.
The Women’s Law Project is a national
delphia. Taking time away from Morgan Lewis should “absolutely not be a concern” for
Whitney’s public interest stint last summer
organization undertaking impact litigation
summer associates, says Whitney, especially
helped to solidify his goal of identifying two
to affect major issues. Usually, the group
because the firm has a high level of support
nonprofit organizations with which to do pro
focuses on filing amicus briefs and serving as
for its attorneys doing pro bono work as well,
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.
support counsel. The group was litigating a
he notes. Whitney was familiar with the PICS program
case involving women’s access to golf clubs while Joshi was there. Also, the group won a dispute allowing for the
at Morgan Lewis well before his second summer, having seen summer associates come
And he is not alone in carrying his split-sum-
limited opening of family courts in Philadel-
to work at the firm while he was a paralegal
mer public interest work through into his le-
phia to allow observers to assess concerns
there for two years. While at Penn Law, he
gal career. Cary Joshi, another alumna of the
regarding treatment of women involved in
also spent both his summers with Morgan
PICS program, spent her first year working
abuse cases. Joshi served as one of these
Lewis.
for Morgan Lewis, but not at Morgan Lewis.
observers, noting the experiences of women
As a summer associate his second summer,
Joshi, now a third-year associate with
who went through the system. The group was
PAGE 1
able to then advise women on what to expect
continued on back
SKILL SHARPENER
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. 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.”
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