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Law is not just an academic discipline, it is also a profession. Much of new lawyer training comes from law school where you learn to “think” like a lawyer. But an equally crucial component of new lawyer training is on the job. For many law students they are able to gain some of this on-the-job training during the year. But much of that training is completed during the summer in the form of summer associate and summer intern positions. The challenge is learning how to be on the job by being on the job. To be fair, this is a feature not a bug. Some things are best learned by doing. But at the same time there are not that many places that offer actionable advice for succeeding and learning from these experiences. That is why I am starting Standout Summer Associate 2025, a periodic newsletter to help law students and junior lawyers take on these new positions and training opportunities.
If you are receiving this post then you’ve decided to give it a try. Welcome!
I thought I’d answer some likely questions before I start posting more actionable trips soon.
Who am I?
Thanks for asking! My name is Jonah Perlin and I am a Professor at Georgetown Law where I teach legal practice. I joined the faculty 7 years ago after serving as a judicial law clerk (DDC, 2d Circuit) and working as an associate at Williams & Connolly, LLP in Washington, D.C.
I also host a podcast called How I Lawyer where I interview lawyers about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well. To date, I’ve published 145 episodes that have been downloaded more than 300,000 times. I shared my story on Episode 97.
Outside of work, I like spending time with my family (my wife and our two elementary-school aged girls), traveling, cooking, and volunteering at my synagogue.
What is the goal of the newsletter?
The goal of this newsletter is to help share knowledge and experience to folks in their first legal job (or close-to-first legal job). The details beyond that are still totally in formation!
Who is the audience?
The primary audience is summer associates or summer interns in law or law-adjacent settings. That said, I imagine these tips might be useful to people who are more experienced and/or in other practice areas. No harm no foul in subscribing now and unsubscribing if it is not a good fit.
What kinds of topics will you cover?
I have some ideas from my own experience as a professor, senior associate, summer associate, and now podcaster. But I hope you’ll also let me know what you are interested in learning more about. For now, some topics I plan to cover include: getting the most out of your internship, developing from feedback, standing out to your bosses, handling social events, dealing with mistakes, and others.
How often will you post?
I am not really sure. I am going to shoot for once a week but honestly this is an experiment and a chance to share things I want to share with people I hope will benefit from it. I am also hoping others will join me and agree to guest post (if this is you, drop me a reply)!
Will there be an opportunity to ask questions/interact with others?
Yes. I am going to keep the Substack Chat. If you have questions you’d like me to cover send them my way!
Can I support the project?
Yes. I originally thought of this as a paid product. But I decided that especially in today’s economy I’d make this a free community this summer. That said, it will take time and have costs. If you’d like to help or sponsor this project (or even just one issue of the newsletter), drop me a reply. I’d love to discuss it!
The other way to help is simply to share it with someone who could benefit from it!
I’ll keep building out this post as I get more questions. But for now, looking forward to spending a small part of our summer together.
Best,
Jonah
