Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Spring Legal Extern Testimonial
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
So my name is Alissa Kerr, I started at Adam Leitman Bailey as a spring legal extern and now I am a mortgage finance law clerk moving into the summer.
What did you enjoy most about working at Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.?
So externing at Adam Leitman Bailey was a great experience. I had the opportunity to work with several different attorneys, there’s an open door policy and they all encourage you to ask questions. The attorneys really value your opinion and at no point did I ever feel like I was pushed aside because I was an extern, I was treated the same as a partner, as an attorney, or any other member of the firm.
Can you describe the types of assignments and matters you handled day to day?
I spent most of my time in the transactional department. I was preparing UCC financing statements, closing documents, and welcome packages. I also had the opportunity to attend numerous closings several times a week so that was really interesting, and I also had the opportunity to work with the litigation department on a few projects, which consisted of attending depositions, drafting discovery documents, and several research projects.
What is your proudest accomplishment since joining the firm?
My proudest accomplishment was working on an article on the fair housing act with Adam directly. It was a long term project, its still in motion, and we would meet once a week to review research and review writing. He gave a lot of feedback and as a result I feel like my writing and my research has improved. Additionally working with him, he is tough on you, but it’s in the best way because he really brings the best out of you. I would say that was probably my proudest accomplishment so far even though its still in the works.
How does the reality compare to the expectations you had when joining Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.?
So the externship definitey exceeded my expectations. Prior to going through with this externship I had worked as a paralegal for several years at other law firms so I was familiar with legal extenships and legal internships as well as summer associate-ships and a lot of people that I spoke with had been pushing paper or doing filing or just sitting at their desk just to say that they did an externship. Where here the attorneys really care about you, they care about the work you’re doing, you’re doing quality work, your getting real legal expeience, and youre doing it at the same caliber as the attorneys so for me it was beyond my expectations for an externship.
What advice would you give to someone who is joining the firm as an extern?
Advice that I would give someone coming into this externship would be to come in every single day, work as hard as you can, don’t be afraid to ask questions. The attorneys are there for you, they want you to work hard, but they’re also willing to help you so as long as youre putting your best foot forward and giving it your all, they’re there for you at the end of the day and you’ll get the best experience.
Do you have any final thoughts to share?
One thing I learned about working at Adam Leitman Bailey is resilience. Especially with the COVID-19 outbreak, business is back and has discouraged a lot of emloyers and that’s the opositie of what’s happening at this firm. Everyone’s coming together, working hard for their cleints, really pushing the limits and I think it speaks volumes about the firm itself because it’s what you can do when times are tough that really shows your strength.