The Credit Suisse General Counsel Division offers a paid 10 week Summer Associate program geared toward law students who have completed their first year of law school and are interested in gaining “in-house” exposure within the Financial Services Industry.
This program is being offered through the Credit Suisse General Counsel Americas Diversity Committee, which seeks to promote diversity among legal and compliance professionals. Credit Suisse seeks to hire applicants with a diverse range of geographic, socio-economic, experience backgrounds, and is interested in recruiting students from the PALS community.
Overview of the Summer Program:
Summer associates are placed in one or two practice areas in order to receive full exposure to the Legal and/or Compliance issues that practice area manages. The Credit Suisse General Counsel Division provides a number of legal and compliance functions including capital markets and disclosure advice, litigation, asset management and private banking advice, employment law, executive compensation and bank regulatory, derivative, futures and other trading documentation, anti-money laundering, and Dodd-Frank compliance. A summer associate’s practice group will be determined on a date closer to the start of the summer program based on the department’s need and the summer associate’s interest. Typical assignments range from research and writing, negotiations, and drafting legal documents related to the relevant practice area. The summer associate will also shadow their manager in the manager’s day-to-day tasks as they advise their internal clients.
In addition, various learning and networking opportunities are offered to support the development of each Summer Associate, including lectures from department professionals, cocktail receptions, breakfast with senior managers in the department, and training sessions with our partner law firms, which give 1L summer associates an opportunity to meet and interact with 2L summer associates from a variety of top tier law firms. While full-time offers are not generally extended after the 10 weeks program is complete, Credit Suisse sees this as the beginning of a relationship with up and coming legal talent, and as an opportunity for the summer associate to develop legal skills that are easily transferable to a law firm, government or other setting.
The program typically starts the first week of June and runs through the second week of August. While the summer associate program is paid, Credit Suisse will not reimburse summer associates for relocation costs or otherwise provide housing support.
Who should apply?
Only full-time first year law students of color that are considering career paths in financial services industry are encouraged to apply. Additionally, only law students attending one of the thirteen New York City metropolitan area schools PALS serves are able to apply. These schools are Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Columbia University School of Law, CUNY School of Law, Fordham University School of Law, Hofstra University School of Law, New York Law School, New York University School of Law, Pace University School of Law, Rutgers University School of Law (Newark), Seton Hall University School of Law, St. John’s University School of Law and Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.
PALS commitment to your success:
The Credit Suisse 2015 PALS Summer Associate will also have a designated PALS Summer Mentor in addition to their general PALS Mentor. Furthermore, the Credit Suisse 2015 PALS Summer Associate’s training and professional development will also be supplemented by PALS legal writing skills workshops and other professional development training, career panels and networking receptions. At the conclusion of the program, the Credit Suisse 2015 PALS Summer Associate will be asked to provide insights and a brief presentation on their experience to the larger PALS community. The summer associate position is not expected to lead to an offer for full time employment.
Eligibility and qualifications:
- To apply you must be a law student of color;
- A first year law student matriculating at any of the thirteen law schools PALS serves (listed above);
- Have a strong commitment to excellence, personal and professional growth;
- Possess outstanding academic performance, preferably ranked in the top quartile of the class (we understand that first semester grades may still be coming in during the recruitment process);
- Possess leadership capabilities in extracurricular activities;
- Exhibit superior legal analysis, research and communication skills;
- Be a team player and individual contributor;
- Have a demonstrated interest in a career path in the financial services industry; and
- The applicant must be able to commit to a full-time position during the term of the program.
How do I apply?
To apply please fill out the application and provide the additional requested supporting documents. All applications must be sent to Priya Velji at [email protected] by January 9, 2015. Applications submitted after this date, or formatted incorrectly, will not be considered.
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Please visit the PALS website for information on this opportunity and many more: http://palsprogram.org/by-audience/law-students/credit-suisse-internship.html