Attracting diverse law students for Summer Associate intern opportunities that will lead to future Associate attorney hires following graduation.

Hall & Evans is one of the founding members of the Colorado Pledge to Diversity, a non-profit organization created in 1999 comprised of law firms and other participating constituents in the Colorado Legal Community. Each year our Firm offers one 1L student from either University of Colorado Law School, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law or the University of Wyoming College of Law a paid opportunity to work with our seasoned attorneys to get a variety of legal experiences during their internship. In 2019, Hall & Evans joined forces with ALFA International in sponsoring a 1L student through the Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program (DAPP.) DAPP’s mission is to address the decline of women lawyers of color in larger law firms by securing summer employment opportunities that will increase in their job opportunities following graduation.

There is a dedicated Member to the Pledge program who participates throughout the year in the Pledge activities from initial screening of applicants, to in person interviews and Pledge selection. This Member is involved with the onboarding, initial work assignments and frequent check-in’s during their stay. Summer Associates are introduced to all Members and attorneys throughout the Firm and encouraged to seek out work and experiences in areas they may already have an interest in or new areas of law they want to know more about. Their experiences include working on case files, going to trials, depositions and site inspections, just to name a few. They fully participate in all Firm functions, Attorney meetings and build camaraderie with mentors and team members that will last well beyond their internship.

Our efforts have resulted in hiring our diverse Summer Associates over the last few years. We are pleased that in 2019, we have another Summer Associate joining us as a first-year attorney, we have a 2L returning this year that we anticipate joining the Firm after graduation and our two 1L’s this year. At the close of their internships, we provide feedback to them from the attorneys they worked with and also request their feedback on an exit interview about the experiences they had while at Hall & Evans.

Lance Eberhart