We've come a long way since William Sutherland and Elbert Tuttle started our firm in 1924. Today, we're more than 500 lawyers large and have offices in six cities: Atlanta, Washington, Austin, Houston, New York and Tallahassee. Our practice areas include corporate and securities, energy, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, tax, and many specialities within these groups. Our clients come to us from all sorts of industries, and range from startups to big names like Home Depot, Ford, Coca-Cola, Altria and Procter & Gamble. It's a good time to be at Sutherland.
We recruit law students on campuses nationwide. In selecting candidates for summer positions, we are interested in academic achievement and diverse extracurricular accomplishments and interests. We look for students who have demonstrated a willingness to assume responsibility, who express themselves well both orally and in writing, and who are eager to accept professional challenges.
Our summer associate program provides our summer associates with a realistic view of our sophisticated legal practice and unique firm culture. By design, the program encourages the summer associates to meet as many of our lawyers as possible and participate in the practice areas of their choice. In addition to the daily contact provided through working on specific client matters, we strive to provide exposure to activities occurring in the surrounding community.
To assist in the transition from law school to private practice, each summer associate is assigned an associate advisor and a partner advisor. They assist in introducing the summer associate to our firm and the practice of law.
The Lawyer Recruiting Office plans numerous social outings throughout the summer to help students become acquainted with life in our cities. Summer programs in our cities offer a varied social schedule including professional sporting events, performing arts, beach trips and dinners at local restaurants and the homes of firm partners and associates. These social events are not "command performances," but they do provide the opportunity to socialize with the firm's attorneys.