Throughout the course of the 12-13 week program, SKO’s summer associates work with attorneys from all areas of our diverse legal practice. Work assignments are distributed directly from the attorneys, and each assignment is evaluated upon completion. While we strive to give our summer associates broad exposure to a wide range of practice areas, we also work to provide as much access as possible to those areas of the law that are of most interest to each summer associate.

In addition to providing work assignments that will assist in improving research and writing skills, SKO strives to supplement the education of its summer associates by inviting them to attorney training opportunities that may be held during the summer, and by including them in client conferences and at closings, depositions, hearings, mediations and trials whenever possible.

Mentoring

At SKO, the firm strongly believes in continuing a legacy of providing trusted legal services and commitment to civic responsibility. To continue the SKO legacy, each summer associate is paired with an attorney mentor who provides guidance throughout the summer. Through regular contact, our mentors serve as a source of information for questions ranging from basic inquiries on firm procedures to substantive legal questions, and monitor the summer associates’ progress, ensuring that the workload and exposure to a broad range of experiences is appropriate. In addition, each mentor discusses work evaluations with his or her assigned summer associate, providing regular feedback so that each summer associate has an opportunity to incorporate new skills and suggestions for improvement over the course of the summer.

 
Other Experiences

Our summer associates also meet with firm management early in the summer to gain an understanding of how the firm is organized and managed. They gather with the leaders of our practice groups for regular “breakfast hours.” During those meetings, the member who chairs each practice group provides an overview of what it is like to practice in that group, explaining what the practice entails on a daily basis and discussing the service of existing clients as well as the generation of new business. These meetings are part instruction, part question and answer, and always very informative.

In addition, SKO hosts a variety of social events where the summer associates get the opportunity to know our attorneys and staff on a more personal level. In addition to impromptu lunches and after-work happy hours, recent SKO summer associate events have included: behind-the-scenes tours of Keeneland, a thoroughbred farm and a Kentucky Utilities Company electric power generating station; the High Hope Steeplechase in Lexington; a Waterfront Wednesday concert in Louisville; an outing to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; dinner with members of the Personnel Committee; an associates-only cookout; local bar activities; and celebrating the Fourth of July by watching fireworks from the Lexington office’s outdoor terrace.

 
How to Apply

SKO hires bright and ambitious first- and second-year law students with top-notch qualifications. We interview students on-site at a number of law schools and job fairs. Please note that we also accept resumes from students who attend schools at which we do not interview. In that regard, we accept resumes from second-year students starting August 1 through October 31, and from first-year students starting December 1 through February 28.

If you wish to apply, please send your resume to Denise Wilson for the Lexington and Frankfort offices, or Mary Rivard for the Louisville, Henderson and Morganfield offices.

Additional information about the SKO summer associate program can be obtained from our NALP form.