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Employment

We always have an interest in finding out about talented people who can contribute to the success of our clients and the firm. Regardless of the particular position, our expectation is that the qualified candidate will share our core values and our attitudes about quality and teamwork.

Non-Attorney Staff

Our staff is a community of professionals. We support, trust, and respect each other, personally and professionally. We have full-time, highly-skilled, energetic, and dedicated paralegals, legal assistants, office services, and administrative personnel who provide outstanding support for our attorneys. Our culture is important to us and we look for people who find the work challenging, fulfilling, and enjoyable. Our staff turnover has historically been low.

We are always interested in learning about talented people whom we can consider for any positions we may be looking to fill. If you believe you are a good fit for our firm and you have strong skills and other qualifications, we encourage you to submit your résumé and any other pertinent information, along with a description of the type of position for which you want to be considered, to the Firm Administrator, Nicole Wilson, by e-mail at nwilson@ssdlaw.com or by regular mail at 1900 Stratacache Tower, 40 N. Main Street, Dayton, Ohio 45423. We will contact you if we believe an interview or other follow-up is appropriate.

Attorneys

Our need for new attorneys at any given time depends on several factors, including growth in one or more of our practice areas. We take pride in the type of firm that we have built over the years and when we need to add members to our team, we try to ensure that the people we invite into the firm will contribute in a positive way to our culture, as well as to our reputation as outstanding attorneys. If we are currently looking for one or more people, you will find a description of the position(s) below. We encourage people who believe that they can contribute to our firm in a meaningful way to submit information that we can review and consider for any open positions in the firm. Please send your resume to Nicole Wilson, by e-mail at nwilson@ssdlaw.com or by regular mail at 1900 Stratacache Tower, 40 N. Main Street, Dayton, Ohio 45423. We will contact you if we want to meet with you to discuss a particular opportunity.

Summer Associates Program

Each year we seek the best and brightest law students to spend the summer with us to gain law firm experience and help us take care of our clients’ needs. Our summer associates have represented many outstanding law schools throughout the country, including Boston University, University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Indiana University, The Ohio State University, the University of Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt University. We usually hire two or three summer associates. Typically, those students have completed their second year of law school. Although we will consider students who have finished their first year, second-year students usually get the nod because of their broader base of law school course work. Please browse the various categories below to learn about what our Summer Associate Program has to offer and what we expect from our Summer Associates.

We welcome interested law school students to apply for our summer associates program. To be considered, please email your resume reflecting class rank and GPA, along with a writing sample, and a cover letter that includes the areas of practice you are most interested in once graduating from law school to our Recruiting Partner, Nick Endsley, by email at nendsley@ssdlaw.com.

Our Objectives

The following are three of the ways that the Summer Associate Program benefits you and our firm.

Experience and Training

Simply put, law school trains you to think and we give you the opportunity to put that lawyerly thinking to a practical use. But we cannot take care of our part of that collaboration until you and your school take care of yours. If you can analyze cases and statutes and “think like a lawyer,” we can take those abilities and teach you how to use them in a way that furthers our clients’ interests. To practice law at the highest level you need to be able to analyze, organize, and express yourself in a thoughtful, coherent, and perhaps persuasive, manner. We will work with you to develop those skills. In addition to researching and writing, to the extent possible, you will have an opportunity to work directly with clients and others involved in the matters on which you are working. Each summer is different and the types of cases and other work being handled from year to year varies. But every year we try to make the clerk’s experience as varied and practical as possible. We want you to end the summer with a much greater appreciation for what lawyers do and how they do it than you may have had at the beginning of the summer.

Contribution

We assume that the work product of each summer associate will be a vital part of the work being performed by the firm for the client. We treat our Summer Associates as “lawyers in training” and we expect that, with guidance and training, they will provide lawyerly work. As an SS+D summer associate, you can take pride in the knowledge that you are playing an important role in fulfilling our commitments to our clients.

Compensation

Of course, as much as we may love our work, we also need to earn a living and put food on the table. See the section below under “Salary” to learn more about the financial rewards of being an SS+D summer associate.

Assignments

We try to ensure that each summer associate gets to experience a sample of work in each practice area of the firm. Our litigators use the Summer Associates extensively because of the good match between the students’ research and writing skills and the work required for litigation cases. If a summer associate has a particular interest in one or more specific practice areas, we make every effort to find appropriate projects for that individual in those areas. In addition to typical work assignments, our Summer Associates are invited, when practical and appropriate, to attend depositions, hearings, closings, conferences, and other proceedings and activities that are integral parts of the practice of law.

Salary

In addition to all of the intangible benefits of working with our firm, we pay a competitive salary to our Summer Associates. In addition, we pay for parking (or for public transportation for those who choose not to drive to the office).

Mentoring

Our commitment to a true open-door policy allows each summer associate to know that people are always ready, willing, and able to assist them with any questions or concerns about assignments or other matters involving the firm or the practice of law. All of our attorneys, from the most senior shareholders to the newest associates, are approachable and helpful. Each of our lawyers is also happy to act as a more formal mentor for one of the Summer Associates. Our objective is to ensure that no one feels lost or overwhelmed.

Social Activities

The firm sponsors several activities during the summer months that the Summer Associates are encouraged to attend. We strive to keep our friendships as strong as our professional relationships and we feel the Summer Associates should be a part of that experience as much as possible.