TO: Boston College APALSA First-Year Students Interested In Summer Positions
And/Or Scholarship Money
Warner Norcross & Judd offers the rare combination of a sophisticated practice with time outside of the office to enjoy the rest of life. It is a firm that is deeply committed to diversity, and to increasing the number of minorities in the legal profession. Two Boston College minority law students will join Warner Norcross in 2006: Jennie Santos (Class of 2005) and Jennifer Nichols (Class of 2006).
I encourage you to visit the diversity section on our web site at www.wnj.com. I further encourage you to apply for our $5000 minority scholarship that is awarded each year to a minority law student. You need not clerk with our firm to be eligible for the scholarship. Information on the scholarship and an application can be found on our web site, and will be updated at the beginning of the year.
Warner Norcross is one of only two firms in Michigan, and one of only 115 firms in the nation to be named in America’s Greatest Places To Work With A Law Degree. 40% of our attorneys are listed in The Best Lawyers In America, one of the highest percentages of listed attorneys for any firm. Last year the firm was named one of the “101 West Michigan Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” by the Michigan Business & Professional Association. We have been recognized as one of the nation’s most tech savvy law firms according to a survey conducted by BTI Consulting Group.
Warner Norcross & Judd is one of the nation’s largest firms, but we differ from most large law firms in significant ways. We allow both summer associates and associates to choose their own areas of practice, rather than slotting them into groups of the firm’s choosing. Our lockstep compensation system eliminates the divisive internal competition for clients and billable hours that is so common in law firms with bonus incentives. This allows us to deliver excellent and efficient client service without having to compete with colleagues to deliver it, and gives the firm a much more collegial atmosphere than can be found at most large firms. Our billable and non-billable commitment of 2000 hours is reasonable and allows for a life outside of the firm. The cost of housing in Michigan is extremely affordable, and allows our associates to buy houses within a short drive of the office.
As a summer associate at Warner Norcross, you won’t be bored and you won’t be stuck in the library. Our program allows you to explore all areas of our practice and does not limit you to one or two practice groups. Work assignments are channeled through a central system to ensure that you will get work from a variety of practice areas, including the areas in which you have an interest or want to try out for the summer. You will attend training programs that teach you some of the practical skills that you aren’t taught in law school. At the end of the summer, you will have met most of the people in the firm, not just a handful of attorneys in one practice group.
We recruit our summer associates on a nationwide basis from dozens of law schools. Our attorneys possess credentials that rival those of attorneys in leading national law firms. Most had alternative offers to bigger firms in bigger cities, but they came to Warner Norcross for the quality of our practice and client base, for our firm policies that foster collegiality and balance, and for the exceptional quality of life in Michigan. That combination is difficult, if not impossible, to find in a large law firm.
If you would like to apply for a summer clerkship in any of our four offices, please send your cover letter, resume and a copy of your law school transcript to:
Cathleen Meriwether, Director
Lawyer Recruitment and Development
900 Fifth Third Center
111 Lyon Street, N.W.
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503-2487
Email: cmeriwether@wnj.com
Fax: 616-222-2295