Keker & Van Nest LLP

We believe the best training comes from actual experience, and make every effort to use assignments as a mentoring opportunity for associates. Our firm is not divided into rigid practice areas, and associates work in small teams directly with senior attorneys on a variety of assignments and cases.

We also support more formal training programs and we regularly hold topical sessions presented by partners or outside experts. In addition, we support and pay for attendance at training programs provided by organizations such as NITA, the Practicing Law Institute and Continuing Education of the Bar.

We have also established a fruitful relationship with the San Francisco Public Defender and District Attorney under which Keker & Van Nest associates spend three or four months working in those offices handling misdemeanor trials. Partner Gene Paige, who spent three months as an associate trying nine cases for the DA's office, says of his experience, "There is nothing more valuable to young lawyers than the chance to get on their feet in front of a jury as a first chair at trial. Working in the DA's office helped me develop practical knowledge of how trials actually work and how jurors really think." The firm anticipates having two or three associates participate in this program each year.

Each new associate is assigned both a partner and an associate mentor, who assist with the orientation process and remain a resource as a young attorney develops within the firm. The initial orientation process includes an introduction to the firm's culture, practices and procedures, as well as meetings and training sessions with various administrative staff.

Regular feedback is, of course, a key component of training. We encourage partners to provide associates with timely feedback on legal writing, oral advocacy, and other litigation skills. In addition, the partnership meets twice a year to discuss associate performance and to gather specific information that is conveyed to associates to help them mature as litigators.