Summer Clerk Program

Summers at Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P. bring new, young and eager faces to the firm. As part of the firm's summer clerkship program, we employ law students following their first and second years of law school. Coming from a variety of schools, in and outside of the state, law students usually spend six to ten weeks with the firm gaining exposure to our practice areas and personnel.

The firm's summer program offers includes opportunities to research real-world problems and to participate in court-related matters in admiralty, energy, casualty, business and business litigation. Outside the office, summer clerks socialize with the firm's attorneys in a variety of events ranging from informal lunches to meals at New Orlean's finest restaurants, deep sea fishing trips and softball.

The summer program requires a great deal of planning and effort that begins long before law students arrive for the summer. Likewise, the path to a summer clerkship for law students usually begins before law school. Many of the firm's summer law clerks hold professional, non-academic backgrounds that give them instant appeal in the eyes of interviewers. Some law clerks come directly from law school with superior academic and extracurricular backgrounds. Although the firm sometimes hires clerks who contact us directly, Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P. selects most summer clerks after conducting interviews on the campuses of various law schools in the spring for first-year students and in the fall for second-year students. Working closely with each school's career services department, we collect and review resumes of interested students to choose interviewees. During interviews, our attorneys provide information about the firm and discuss how the firm fits in with each applicant's aspirations and interests. Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P. generally offers positions for the first half of the summer although some flexibility exists with the beginning and ending dates. Hence, as the foregoing evidences, the present members of the firm place a lot of importance on selecting the best candidates with diverse backgrounds for the firm's summer program.

Summer clerks normally arrive at the firm in the spring and receive an immediate introduction into firm life and procedures. During the first day, clerks receive an orientation, an introduction to the firm library, training sessions in the use of the firm's computer-aided research resources, a tour of the firm's offices, and a meeting with summer advisors (as well as the first of many lunches). It does not take long to become familiar with the practices and the personalities of the various sections. While some prior clerks expressed concern with the possibility of becoming "lost" in a "big-firm" atmosphere, most students have been pleasantly surprised at the immediate feeling of fitting in and the personal contact with our attorneys. The firm's attorneys encourage law clerks to perform assignments in as many different practice areas as possible, especially in the case of first-year students. We provide guidance through summer advisors assigned to each clerk, as well as attention from our recruitment coordinator. Finally, although each law clerk spends a lot of time performing research, the firm encourages and provides opportunities for law clerks to attend hearings, depositions and other legal proceedings. Therefore, by making summer law clerks feel at home during their first day, the firm strives to integrate each student into the daily workings and life of Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P. as quickly as possible.

Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P.'s summer program provides a great opportunity for law students to gain insight into the day-to-day routine of an attorney, as opposed to the theoretical things learned in law school. In the past, summer program participants have enjoyed the time spent at the firm from both a professional and social standpoint. The firm's attorneys also look forward to each summer program as a means of evaluating clerks and offering positions to those students who will ensure the future of the firm. Thus, while the firm expends a great deal of time and effort on its summer clerk program, the high caliber of the attorneys who ultimately join the firm after participation in this program makes such time and effort worthwhile each and every year.

For more information about Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P.'s summer program, please contact Marshall Hebert, Chief Operation Officer, mhebert@lemle.com or by telephone at (504) 586-1241.