Palo Alto Summer Program

See Yourself at Sidley. Take a Virtual Tour of our Palo Alto office.

Sidley’s Palo Alto office was founded in 2009 by a group of lawyers with decades of experience in Silicon Valley. Our corporate lawyers represent private and public companies, and their financing sources, across a broad array of industries, including technology, life sciences, and alternative energy. We provide seasoned and pragmatic advice to businesses at all stages of the corporate lifecycle, from groundbreaking start-ups to mature multinational Fortune 500 companies.

Our intellectual property lawyers’ trace their roots back to the earliest days of Silicon Valley and have litigated some of the most historic IP cases in Silicon Valley and the International Trade Commission. We represent both emerging technology and Fortune 500 companies in IP matters, both locally and throughout the world, with special focus and experience in Asia Pacific.

Work Assignments

Palo Alto summer associates perform work that otherwise would be handled by associates and have the flexibility to sample projects from a variety of practice areas. As a summer associate, you will be able to gain hands-on experience and demonstrate your skills on legal projects for Sidley clients. You may also have the chance to observe or participate in client conferences, negotiations, witness interviews, depositions, and court hearings.

Summer associates interested in transactional practice groups will be introduced to a variety of work including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, emerging companies and venture capital, technology IP transactions, global financings, preparing for closings, assisting deal teams with securitizations, and other transactions. You will get a firsthand look at how a deal team works and how our lawyers devise creative and practical solutions to issues and problems that arise in today’s complex financing and business environment.

Summer associates interested in litigation practice groups will have the opportunity to work on substantive assignments that range from research, deposition outlines, and witness prep and drafting motions and briefs. You may also get to see our lawyers in action by observing court hearings and depositions.

Professional Development

We provide summer associates numerous opportunities to learn and develop their professional skills. Each summer associate will be paired with a partner and counsel or associate mentor, and will receive a mid-summer review and formal review at the end of the summer program. Formal training programs may include a writing workshop, drafting workshop, mock negotiation exercise, networking tips program, and practice area discussions.

Summer Life

An important part of your summer experience is building relationships with members of the firm. Throughout the summer, you will be invited to a mix of social and networking events, and to participate in office-wide programming. Our summer associates will also be able to attend practice-specific presentations and other educational workshops. We give you a chance to get to know our lawyers and your fellow summer associates both professionally and personally.

As a summer associate in Palo Alto, your calendar might include activities like:

• Experience culinary excellence at the top brunch in Half Moon Bay followed by an afternoon at the beach
• Taking in the natural beauty of the Bay Area while kayaking and/or hiking
• Cheering on the home team with friends at the San Francisco Giants stadium
• Enjoying a night at the theater with Broadway’s finest
• Sampling the great local food scene at happy hours and dinners with associates and partners
• Participating in team-building activities such as a Trivia Night and an Escape Room
• Sweating it out with virtual group fitness classes including Barry’s Bootcamp