The school has started a summer program called Associate in Training. The six-week program is loosely modeled on law firm summer associateships, and includes attorney shadowing, networking, instruction on the business of law firms and other skills training. It appears to be the first program of its kind, said Tomea Mayer Mersmann, associate dean for strategic initiatives.
“Obviously, we’d rather have our students getting trained at law firms and being paid. Unfortunately, the current employment market has made it much harder to secure a summer associate position,” said Mersmann. She noted that “significantly fewer” Washington University law students nabbed summer positions this year. “For students who weren’t able to go to firms this summer, this program is the best substitution to learn those skills.”
