Summer Program
The environment at Pryor Cashman is informal, eclectic, and friendly. Office doors are open, partners and associates mingle, and lawyers and staff greet each other by their first name.
Our summer associates become a part of our firm on their first day at our offices. From virtually the moment they walk in the door, they get involved in real cases, real deals, and real lawyering – work that gives a clear demonstration of what it’s like to be a practicing attorney at our firm.
We hire summer associates expecting that they will return to Pryor Cashman as lawyers and typically ask just three to five attorneys to join our summer associate program. With only a handful of slots available each year, we look for likeminded talent from the outset, students with exceptional aptitude whose attitude and approach resonate with our own.
Pryor Cashman regularly receives top rankings in Vault's Best Midsize Law Firms in New York list. Anonymous comments from our associates praise their experience at the firm:
- “Very congenial.”
- “Great work-life balance.”
- “...I'd like to remain here and can see my future here.”
Hear From Our Former Summer Associates
We take great pride in the fact that over the past nine consecutive years, we have made offers to 100% of our summer associates for full-time employment, all of which have been accepted.
“'What do you think?' is not normally a question a Summer Associate expects to hear.…
Itai RazCounsel
Assignments
In Pryor Cashman's summer program, there is no formal rotation system. Instead, to experience the diversity of our clientele and practice areas, summer associates receive work assignments in many different practice groups. Additionally, we make every effort to tailor assignments to each associate's specific interests.
While working closely with seasoned lawyers, summer associates are given substantive, practical legal training and "real world" experience in as many practice groups as they want to explore.
Training + Evaluation
We train and mentor our summer associates as intensively and enthusiastically as we do our full-time attorneys. Hands-on training is the norm, and we take every opportunity to include summer associates in meetings, negotiations, closings, depositions, and court appearances. We prefer to assign discrete but fairly complex questions that call upon them to demonstrate creative thinking, research, and analysis, while still working closely with our partners and more senior associates.
Because of the small size of our summer class, and the firm's lean approach to staffing, our summer associates, genuinely learn by doing. Working side-by-side with partners and senior associates, they receive one-on-one training to help refine their work product and develop their legal skills -- rare in most summer programs. The close contact enables them to form real relationships with our lawyers and receive valuable feedback and guidance on their work.
At the end of the program, we meet with each summer associate individually to review their overall performance. Our decision concerning full-time employment is generally shared at the time our summer associates complete their season with us.
Summer Program Contact
Our 2026 1L and 2027 2L application processes are now closed.
