"If I had to describe Skadden in one word, it would be 'awesome.' During my summer at Skadden, I never felt the intimidation that one would expect from a firm of this stature. From day one, the people at Skadden, especially my officemate, associate liaison and partner liaison, made me feel like I was part of the team. And while the quality of work, training and social events were phenomenal, I feel that ultimately it was the people I met at the firm who truly made my summer extraordinary.

The work I did as a Summer Associate never felt contrived. I immediately felt I was making a real contribution to the attorneys with whom I worked. The most exciting part of my job came at the end of the summer when, on two separate matters, I represented a pro bono client in family court, and I worked alongside Wally Schwartz, the head of the New York office, on a real estate assignment, researching a cutting-edge issue.

While much of my training over the summer came informally during assignments, Skadden's tremendous commitment to formal training bears mentioning. The firm offers extensive training programs in depositions and M&A. I chose to participate in M&A training because it is one of the practice areas in which I am most interested. At the end of the training program, which lasted over a month, I felt like I had gained significant knowledge both about the mechanics as well as the bigger picture of mergers, and I was happy to celebrate over a steak dinner with all of the program's participants.

The completion of M&A training was not the only noteworthy social event of the summer. Skadden also rented out MOMA, Rockefeller Center and a country club for the Summer Associates, and this was the tip of the iceberg. In fact, it felt like Skadden had something for everybody, be it the book club, swing dancing, Broadway shows, baseball games or anything else."