Over the summer, I had the pleasure of working as a summer associate for Richards, Layton & Finger (RLF) in Wilmington, Delaware. RLF specializes in corporate law and is the largest law firm in Delaware. The firm’s practice areas include bankruptcy, Delaware Chancery Court corporate litigation, general litigation, corporate advisory services, alternative entities, corporate trusts, and trusts and estates.
RLF is home to some of the most knowledgeable attorneys in Delaware Corporate Law. Many of the RLF attorneys contribute to or write treatises on corporate law, frequently update Delaware corporate law statutes, and publish work in their areas of expertise.
I applied to RLF in the summer of 2023 as a rising 2L through Maryland Carey Law’s Fall OCI program. From the first interview, I knew I wanted to work at RLF. I met many partners and associates, all of whom were extremely friendly, passionate about Delaware corporate law, and excited to share their love for the firm.
Over the course of my ten-week summer program, I was integrated into two practice groups of my choosing. For the first half of the summer, I worked in the bankruptcy department, and for the second half, I worked in the alternative entities practice group. I was assigned a senior associate and partner mentor in each group who assigned me projects.
In the bankruptcy department, I was involved in everything that my assigning senior associate touched, even if I could not directly contribute to the work. I wrote memos and motions, edited schedules, attended bankruptcy trials, read pleadings and briefs, and presented research to the senior associates and partners in the group. I met every single person in the bankruptcy department, every person knew my name, and I felt integrated within the practice group.
In the second half of my summer, I worked in the alternative entities group. This is a transactional practice where the clients are LLCs. Again, I touched everything that my assigning attorney had on her desk. I drafted opinions, edited contracts, and made edits to fund agreements.
One highlight of my summer, and RLF in general was the camaraderie throughout the firm. As part of my summer program, I was assigned a first-year associate mentor and a senior associate mentor in each practice group. My first-year associate mentor is now one of my best friends and my senior associate mentor continues to be a close friend and one whom frequently offered me advice throughout the summer. Walking around the office, everyone’s door was open for a visit, and partners and associates were genuinely excited to have lunch and speak with the summer associates, especially the president of the firm.
RLF was clearly dedicated to the success of its summer associates. I worked with nine other summer associates, all of whom are now close friends. RLF’s summer program incorporated both a transactional and litigation project that the summer associates completed in teams. For the transactional project, the teams were tasked with editing a stock purchase agreement contract to make it more seller friendly. For the litigation project, each team member was tasked with writing a brief on a relevant Delaware corporate law issue and presenting an oral argument in front of the firm’s partners on the issue. These projects exposed the summer associates to the firm’s core work. We were given feedback from the firm’s partners and gained an understanding of areas of law that did not fit within our day-to-day tasks in our assigned departments.
My summer was nothing short of amazing. RLF is a powerhouse in Delaware with some of the brightest minds in corporate law in the country. More than that, RLF is filled with kind, welcoming people who are committed to the success of the younger associates and summers at the firm. I look forward to my return to RLF in 2025 as a fall associate and would advise any law student interested in corporate law to pursue a summer position with the firm.