Last week, nearly 100 S.J. Quinney College of Law students participated in the Fall Firm Crawl, sponsored by the College’s Young Alumni Association. Through this event, groups of students were assigned to groups in one of three “tracks” and each track visited 4 downtown law firms.
The 12 participating firms have reported generally very good things about the students who went on the Crawl, including that they conducted themselves very professionally. One young alum and shareholder at a large firm noted that he really “enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the students in a non-interview setting.”
The participating firms were:
Ballard Spahr http://www.ballardspahr.com/
Durham Jones & Pinegar http://www.djplaw.com/
Holland & Hart http://hollandhart.com/
Kirton & McConkie http://www.kmclaw.com/
Parr Brown Gee & Loveless www.parrbrown.com
Parsons Behle & Latimer http://www.parsonsbehlelaw.com/
Ray Quinney & Nebeker www.rqn.com
Richards Brandt Miller & Nelson www.rbmn.com
Smith|Hartvigsen http://www.smithhartvigsen.com/
Stoel Rives www.stoel.com
VanCott www.vancott.com
Workman Nydegger www.wnlaw.com
PDO really appreciates and is impressed by your professionalism. Thoughts from PDO:
1. Remember that the Firm Crawl was explicitly not a recruiting event. The participating attorneys were reminded of this fact prior to it.
2. Some of you may have enjoyed hearing the wisdom of the participating attorneys on succeeding in law school, grades, and other topics. Please consider any advice you received in light of advice from others--professors, administrators, teaching assistants and other mentors.
3. Reflect on what you saw and learned from the Crawl. Consider whether it confirmed or changed any preconceptions about working in a larger law firm! Bear in mind that although some of you will go to a large law firm at some point in your long careers, most brand new graduates do not initially work in large law firms. Of those who do work in firms, about half will do so in smaller firms, usually 2-10 attorneys. Others will work for non-large law firm employers, including small firms, government agencies, public interest organizations, or private businesses. So, be sure to take advantage of other upcoming PDO/student organization-sponsored programs which offer views of different practice areas.
4. If you connected with a particular attorney, send the attorney a thank you note or email. You generally can find contact information on a firm website, but if you have trouble, let PDO know.
Here are some (anonymous) comments from your classmates about the Crawl:
–I enjoyed the firm crawl. Since I am from out of town, it was nice to see legal offices here in Utah. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from young associates as well as more senior partners at each of the firms, how they found the firms and how they found their practice areas.
–I thought the crawl was really fun. I have never thought of going into a corporate firm but I thought it was great to met people who actually work in one and see the pros.
–It was a fantastic opportunity for law students to network with attorneys and learn about the law firms in the area. The opportunity was extra special to me because I moved to Utah from another state this past summer and did not know any practicing attorneys in Utah or about any of the law firms in Utah.
–It was awesome…all the attorneys were very forthcoming with advice to “survive” law school. One older attorney reiterated some hope for the future job market as well.
–I didn’t have any opportunity to strongly connect with anyone in such a short time, but still valuable just to see the insides of these places. Where I come from it’s all solo work.
–It actually really got me excited about becoming a lawyer!