At Huddleston Bolen, we know that to maintain our 130 years of unparalleled service to the region we must attract and retain the best legal talent. To this end, we have made the continuing success of our summer associate program one of our highest priorities. We seek to hire our new associates from our program and strongly believe that our program must expose summer associates to a full spectrum of experiences they will encounter in the practice of law. In our program you will have many of the same opportunities as our young lawyers. It is our intention that our summer associates are exposed to the practice of law from the perspective of the practicing attorney.

Our recruiting committee is comprised of lawyers representing a cross section of all the Firm's practice areas. The committee is charged with the mission of determining the Firm's needs and finding the best law students to meet them. Unlike some law firms, we do not bring in a large number of summer associates with the anticipation that they will compete among themselves for a limited number of positions. To the contrary, we attempt to determine our needs in advance with the expectation that we will be able to offer return employment to each summer associate who demonstrated the ability and dedication to perform high quality work and an intent in making a strong commitment to Huddleston Bolen and the communities that we serve.

Typically, our Huntington office selects 3 or 4 first year law students and an equal number of second year students for our program. Our Charleston office has historically employed an average of 3 summer associates per summer.

Occasionally, a summer associate will also be hired for our Ashland, Kentucky office. While our focus caters upon law schools at West Virginia University, Washington and Lee University, University of Kentucky and Ohio State University where we recruit on campus twice a year, we hire from a great number of law schools and are always interested in interviewing exceptional students from accredited law schools nationwide.

We look primarily for achievement-oriented law students who have ties to the region and are interested in living in one of the many communities we serve. The Firm also welcomes lawyers from other areas as well who have made West Virginia and Kentucky their homes. Our summer associate program provides the law student an opportunity to experience both our Firm and our communities.

We recruit second year students each fall and first year clerks each spring. While we conduct on campus interviews at only certain schools, we accept résumés from students of schools we do not regularly visit. On receipt of a résumé and grade transcript the recruiting committee meets and schedules interviews, either on campus or in our offices. Offers are typically made within a week or two of the interview. Currently, all summer associates earn $4,000.00 per month. We endeavor to stay competitive and regularly review and raise these compensation levels as appropriate.

We recognize that many students are unsure of the practice areas that may most interest them. This is frequently the case with first year students who may, of course, have little, if any, real experience with the practice of law. Because we are a full service firm, our summer associate program can be as general or as focused as the student desires. For example, if a student believes she may have an interest in litigation, we are able to provide projects that cover the vast scope of that practice area. Conversely, if a student wants to focus on a more limited practice area, then attempts are made to direct as much work as possible to that specialty.

Each clerk is assigned two mentor attorneys, often from different practice areas in the Firm. The mentors are expected to provide the initial work assignments to the summer associate but do not "own" that person's time. The mentors help the summer associate deal with administrative matters and introduction to the Firm's attorneys, staff and facilities. Our summer associates typically do not work exclusively with the mentors, but work with a variety of lawyers in various practice areas depending on the interest of the individual clerk. We encourage an "open door policy" where the summer associates and lawyers are at ease exchanging thoughts and ideas about projects while they are ongoing.

While research is critically important in the practice of law regardless of specialty, our summer associates do not "live in the library." Although research projects are an integral part of our program we endeavor to show each summer associate the full scope of legal practice. This includes opportunities for summer associates to attend depositions, hearings, closings and trials. We believe this practical, hands-on experience is invaluable to the development of our summer associates and exposure to our practice.

To give our summer associates an opportunity to get to know our attorneys better, we have many social events scheduled throughout the summer. We play softball and golf; have parties and a Firm picnic and conduct other after-hours events. Less formally, many clerks and lawyers enjoy having lunch together and find areas of common interest to pursue. All of our communities have a great variety of recreational, cultural and social activities near at hand and most summer associates find they can do as much, or as little, as they please during their free time.

Huddleston Bolen LLP is an equal opportunity employer.