“Through SGR’s summer program, I gained meaningful, hands-on experience by working closely with attorneys across the firm’s many practice groups, all of whom were genuinely invested in my development as a young law student and soon-to-be attorney. My experience only confirmed that SGR was the right place to begin my legal career.”
Recruiting Program
For more than 125 years, Smith Gambrell & Russell has earned its reputation as one of the true leaders in the legal community. This reputation for excellence is based directly on the strength of our attorneys and staff.
The wisest investment we make is our commitment of time and effort to recruit and hire talented attorneys. We select attorneys who possess a real desire to contribute to a firm with both a rich history of service and a dynamic vision for the future. Our recruiting program reflects our investment in the future of the Firm.
Because our goal is to allow new attorneys to practice law right from the first day, we seek well-rounded, motivated professionals who are looking for a challenging practice in a firm with both a sense of its history and a vision for its future.
SGR schedules on-campus interviews with a select group of distinguished law schools. Interview times are usually set at 20-minute intervals. Please review the on-campus schedule for your on-campus dates. Please submit your resume through your school’s Career Services Office.
SGR has committed itself to a controlled expansion, one that does not sacrifice quality, atmosphere or order for growth. The demand for our services is increasing, and we expect this growth to continue. We are eager to add new, qualified attorneys to our talented team. Law students and attorneys who are confident in their own abilities, eager to learn and excited by the idea of working closely with clients and being a part of the solution to their business problems will flourish at SGR.
We, therefore, seek candidates who demonstrate academic ability and achievement, strong interpersonal skills, ambition, independence, character and good judgment. Prior work experience, extracurricular activities and a demonstrated ability for team work are also valued.
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Summer Program
SGR’s Summer Program is designed to serve multiple objectives. First, we want our summer associates to experience as much as possible about what life is like for a young attorney practicing at SGR — affording you an opportunity through hands-on involvement to get to know the Firm, its people and our legal practice.
Equally important, we strive to provide a serious introduction to the practice of law, begin developing superior work habits and to view first hand the challenges and opportunities of working directly with clients.
Finally, we seek to provide each participant an opportunity to get to know the communities where we work and the quality of life we enjoy by practicing our chosen profession at SGR.
We recognize that your participation in the Summer Program may likely be your first exposure to the practice of law in a law firm setting. To help bridge that gap from student to practitioner, each participant in the program is paired with a mentor. In addition to being a familiar face to turn to, mentors are a great resource offering counsel, support and information concerning questions you may have during the program. This ability to learn from the experiences of a seasoned practitioner — someone who has already been through that transition — provides additional assistance for you to begin to develop the professional skills necessary to succeed in your chosen profession.
During the summer, you will be provided with real projects from supervising attorneys. Two partners will read all of your work and provide formal mid-summer and end-of-program evaluations. These evaluations will enhance your writing style, hone your legal analysis and begin to prepare you for real practice and law firm life after graduation. In addition, summer associates receive less formal evaluations of their work on an ongoing basis by supervising attorneys, who are encouraged to provide timely critical input and support throughout the Summer Program. This two-tier evaluation process is unique to SGR, and has resulted in drastic improvements in candidates long before their first day at work as a permanent associate. The time and effort the firm puts into this two-tier process is a reflection of how seriously we take the work aspects of the summer program and how much we are prepared to invest in making summer associates into full-time associates.
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Marshall Long
Ashley Carlisle“My summer at SGR gave me the opportunity to learn from attorneys who were genuinely invested in my growth and development. The confidence and experience I gained, combined with the Firm's collaborative and team-oriented environment, made returning full-time both a natural and exciting next step.”
Amanda Cheek“Summering with the firm gave me hands-on experience with substantive work and valuable mentorship that eased the transition into becoming a full-time associate.”
