The Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black (WRVB) Summer Associate Program gives second-year law students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in different areas of the law while working under the guidance of some of the top attorneys in their fields.

The focus of the program is to provide meaningful work opportunities, out-of-office legal experiences, and opportunities to network and socialize while fostering growth and development. The success of our program is shown by the considerable number of our Summer Associates who return as Associates after graduating from law school.

Legal Training

Summer associates receive training, work allocation, and mentoring from senior attorneys. During a typical summer, our Summer Associates perform assignments in several of the firm’s practice areas and have an opportunity to work with multiple attorneys. In addition to accommodating known areas of interest, our program’s work allocation scheme offers Summer Associates an introduction to new areas of practice they may not have considered exploring.

WRVB’s Summer Associate Program emphasizes the exposure of summer associates to the real-world application of the work they perform in the office. In addition to researching and drafting legal memoranda, helping with deposition preparations, and the myriad other “real work” opportunities available as part of our program, Summer Associates are encouraged to shadow attorneys at client meetings, depositions, and court, so that they can experience, firsthand, the impact of their work product outside our office walls.

Building Relationships

The program includes a range of social activities so that Summer Associates can interact with our attorneys and one another outside the work environment. WRVB hosts Summer Associates in our offices in Roanoke, Norfolk, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg. These communities offer a variety of social opportunities such as festivals, concerts, museums, and outdoor activities such as boating, kayaking, hiking, and rock-climbing.

Ideal Candidates

The firm seeks diverse, energetic, creative candidates with strong academic credentials. Participation in law review, moot court, and trial advocacy teams is beneficial, but not required. Other considerations are a strong employment background, excellent interpersonal skills, leadership potential, student organization, involvement in groups seeking to resolve issues related to diversity and access to justice, and commitment to civic and community involvement.

Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to the attention of the Recruiting Committee at attorneyrecruiting@wrvblaw.com.