Law Students
Find Unmatched Opportunities
Starting your career at Crowell means unlocking your full potential, with support from colleagues committed to your well-being and success.
Your Career, Your Way
Crowell gives you the freedom to choose what your career will look like, and the resources to make it happen. To help you explore your options, most of our first-year lawyers will initially split their time between two practice areas (you can also apply directly to one if you prefer). Later, you'll select a primary area or, in some cases, opt to keep a dual focus. Beginning when you are a junior associate, you'll find support to develop your brand and your professional development plan, allowing you to lay the foundation for your practice and a strategy for the future.
Your Voice Matters
When you come to Crowell, expect to be part of essential conversations. About legal strategies for clients. About the training and experience you need. About how the firm operates. Associates often remark that, from leadership to the partners, counsel, and senior attorneys with whom they work most closely, there's always a willingness to hear input from others.
It’s always just seemed like a safe environment for people to share their thoughts and strategies. That helps make people feel comfortable and want to be contributors on the team.
— Crinesha Berry, Counsel, Washington, D.C.
Invested in You from the Start
Client Contact
Our lawyers talk about establishing "sticky" client relationships—and you'll be an important part of that effort. As early as your first year, you'll be positioned to start building relationships with counterparts at key clients. We also advance an entrepreneurial model and mindset here. If there's a client or a niche you want to develop, we look for ways to put our network, resources, and proven best practices behind you.
Pioneers in Sponsorship
In addition to mentoring, we work to foster a sponsorship culture. We were the first law firm to establish a formal sponsorship program, which continues today. Sponsorship involves the use of influence, relationship capital and/or position to create opportunities for another, intervening on their behalf, or advocating to enhance their career development and advancement. In addition to our annual Sponsorship Program—which focuses on the inclusivity and promotion of women, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers of color and consists of a variety of workshops, programs, and internal networking opportunities— sponsorship is ingrained in day-to-day and leadership trainings, playing a crucial role in the growth and development of all lawyers.
Mentoring for Growth
Yes, you'll have assigned partner and peer-level mentors to show you the ropes, make connections, and create opportunities, but that's just the start of mentoring at Crowell. Unofficial mentors abound. They may be partners, counsel or even associates just a few steps ahead of you. But what they have in common is a sincere interest in helping you hone your skills and gain visibility internally and with clients. Our lawyers love to teach, so if you're working on deposition prep, they'll walk you through the steps; if you write a memo or contract, expect not just a red-lined revision, but a thoughtful explanation of why the changes are needed. The focus is on providing valuable feedback and helping you gain valuable experience and hone critical skills.
There’s a healthy balance of structured professional development with training and resources, paired with a lot of flexibility and agency to shape your own career path. From day one, you are given a ton of support and encouragement from the firm.
— Allison Skager, Associate, Los Angeles
Come for the Work, Stay for the Culture
While many lawyers choose Crowell for the groundbreaking work and the results we have helped our clients to achieve in complex litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and policy, and corporate and transactional matters, dig deeper and you'll find our culture is the heart of our appeal. Across practices and offices, we prioritize connecting and collaborating with each other. The firm plants the seeds for collaboration right from the summer program and your first days as an associate, through your elevation to more senior roles. According to Chambers, Crowell insiders say, “while the work and opportunities are great, it’s the people who make this firm.”
We're not competing against each other. It's all‑hands‑on‑deck. That's how it should be.
— Justin Kingsolver, Partner, Washington, D.C.
Diversity in Action
Our market-leading, award-winning commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is fundamental to our culture. Our foundational focus on sponsorship, our growing understanding of the importance of allyship, and our talent development approach to advancing our DEI objectives aim to increase opportunities for historically underrepresented lawyers. Our approach is continually evolving, from practice group level development efforts for all associates and counsel from underrepresented groups, to firmwide educational initiatives such as our annual anti-bias trainings and Diversity Speaker Series events. These programs shine important light on the diverse experiences of our firm community and the crucial issues of today that impact our lives at and outside of work.
Meet some diverse Crowell lawyers sharing their own journeys.
One really important aspect of Crowell to me is the dedication and focus on diversity. It's very meaningful, it's been very apparent, and that's certainly a plus.
— Angel Prado, Counsel, Los Angeles
