Dayton Docket
Making the Most of Your Law School Summers
By Sophia Spooner
Zion Savory had just gotten the call.
He was only a few weeks into his internship and now he was being asked to meet with the Chief Legal Officer [CLO] of the firm.
He walked out of the meeting having been told that he and another intern had two weeks to draft a class action motion.
“It was like a test,” says Savory. “I took it seriously and acted as if I was an attorney, not just an intern, which is what they wanted.”
Savory had just finished his first year at the University of Dayton School of Law. He was interning at MSP Recovery Law Firm in Miami, Florida, which specializes in Medicare claim subrogation, class actions and mass torts.
Savory began his role at the firm shadowing an attorney who leads the writing department. A few weeks in, he met the CLO and head of the litigation department, and discussed with them how he intends to go into litigation himself.
“I want to be able to showcase my skills and talents in the court room,” Savory says about his future plans.
Soon enough, Savory was working under both the writing and litigation departments, doing the kind of work he wants to do after law school.
And as far as that draft, Savory ended up passing the test. The CLO was pleased with Savory’s contributions in the class action motion task, and his performance in the law firm’s annual Intern Mock Trial Competition. Stemming from his work, Savory was offered a full-time associate position upon his completion of law school.
In the meantime, Savory accepted a part-time legal intern role working remotely for MSP Recovery Law Firm while in school, and retains the opportunity to return again next summer.
Savory’s experience has provided him with a perspective on how students should approach their internships or externships.
“Work as if you are an attorney, not an intern,” Savory says. “They want to know if you have what it takes. Work hard like your life depends on it and most importantly, be yourself. It’s easy to please others when you’re hiding behind a mask, it’s much more meaningful when you do it while owning who you are.”