Summer Program

Babst Calland fills most of its entry-level associate positions through its summer associate program. Offers for summer employment are made with permanent hiring needs in mind. Typically, Babst Calland looks to fill 2 - 4 summer associate positions, based on the firm's projected needs for full-time employment the following fall. This class size is ideal for allowing summer associates to interact with the largest number of attorneys, and to work on assignments from all or most of the firm's practice groups. 

The summer program is 10-12 weeks long, and is overseen by a summer coordinator, typically a mid-level associate on the recruiting committee, in conjunction with the Chairperson of the recruiting committee. Babst Calland prides its summer program on providing summer associates with a clear depiction of what life at the firm is really like for a junior associate. For the first two weeks, assignments for the summer associates are managed by the summer associate coordinator. After the initial two-week “orientation," summer associates receive assignments directly from assigning attorneys in the normal course of firm business. This process allows summer associates to learn how to set priorities, manage their time, and independently contribute to the firm's energy. Weekly summer associate meetings with the summer associate coordinator ensure that the workload is kept at a manageable level, and that summer associates are not attempting to take on more than they can actually perform.   

The firm also offers a variety of social activities over the course of the summer. These include informal happy hours, Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, a cocktail reception, golf outings, and various other gatherings that allow summer associates to really get to know the Babst Calland team on a personal basis. In addition to work assignments, the summer program also provides summer associates with a substantial opportunity for “real-life" lawyering experiences. For example, summer associates accompany attorneys at client meetings, site visits, depositions, status conferences, negotiating sessions, hearings and trials, as well as other firm business activities. The combination of research, writing and experience provides summer associates with a clear understanding of what it is like to practice at Babst Calland. We believe you will like what you experience here. 

Summer associates are provided with a significant amount of feedback on their performance throughout the course of the summer. Formal reviews are provided twice – ­halfway through the summer and at the end of the summer. Informal feedback is typically provided on each assignment so that the summer associate handling the assignment can better understand the project and identify strengths and weaknesses in their work as the summer progresses. At the end of the summer, each summer associate is polled to ascertain which practice group matches their primary interest. As long as that interest matches the firm's hiring needs, every effort is made to place the summer associate in the chosen practice area following graduation. If a summer associate has not ascertained a primary area of interest, in recent years, the firm has allowed associates to spend their first year as general practitioners, taking assignments from across the firm’s practice areas. 

If you are interested in applying for an attorney position, please send a resume and cover letter to recruiting@babstcalland.com.