Law Students

Morris Nichols seeks to hire highly qualified first- and second-year law students from top-tier law schools throughout the United States for its summer class.

RECRUITING PROCESS

We encourage law students to apply to the firm through our direct application in the early spring. We also conduct on-campus interviews during the summer and participate in a number of job fairs.

Students selected to interview with us are invited to visit our office in Wilmington, Delaware. During their visit to Morris Nichols, law students will meet with partners, special counsel, and associates. This provides an opportunity for candidates to learn more about Morris Nichols from a variety of perspectives. Our goal is to not only identify law students who will excel at the firm, but also for applicants to walk away from their visit with a deeper understanding of our firm, areas of specialization, and culture so that they can determine if Morris Nichols is the right place for them to build their legal careers.

If you have any questions about the recruiting process please contact Sarah Oscar, Legal Recruitment and Professional Development Coordinator.

direct application process

1L POSITION FOR OUR 2025 SUMMER PROGRAM

Our direct application for first-year law students who are interested in joining our 2025 Summer Associate program opens on January 6, 2025. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.

 
1L Summer Associate Program Application — Summer 2025                                                   

2L POSITION FOR OUR 2026 SUMMER PROGRAM

During the 2025 recruiting season, we will accept applications for our 2026 Summer Associate Program beginning in mid-May 2025. Students who wish to be considered for our 2026 Summer Associate Program should apply through our application portal. A cover letter, resume, transcript, and writing sample are required. Applications will be accepted through the end of June 2025. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis, with interview decisions communicated by mid-July 2025.                                                            

2L Summer Associate Program Application — Summer 2026

If you would like to receive an email notification when our 1L and 2L applications open, kindly provide your contact information here.

Please contact Sarah Oscar, Legal Recruitment and Professional Development Coordinator with any questions regarding our direct application process.

upcoming law school Events & Visits

Our attorneys and recruiting team look forward to meeting interested candidates. Morris Nichols will visit various law schools and attend several events in fall 2024 and spring 2025 to answer your questions about working in Delaware and starting a career at Morris Nichols. Additional events may be added as more dates become available. Follow us on LinkedIn for more information!

ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWING and job fairs

During the 2025 recruiting season, we plan to participate in the following on-campus and virtual interview programs and job fairs.

We strongly encourage qualified applicants, whom we are unable to participate in the programs below, to apply directly by sending us a cover letter, resume, transcript and writing sample.

• Loyola Patent Fair
• Delaware Diversity Job Fair
• University of Pennsylvania PEP

SUMMER PROGRAm

The Morris Nichols summer associate program is an integral part of our recruiting process and is designed to provide summer associates with meaningful exposure to the firm, its lawyers and professional staff, and its clients. Throughout the summer, associates get a realistic view of work at the firm as well as an introduction to some of what Wilmington and the surrounding areas have to offer young professionals.

The summer associate program is 10 weeks long and usually begins in late-May. Prior to starting, we collect information about your areas of interest and assist with housing for those joining us from out of town. At the beginning of the program, each summer associate is assigned an associate and partner mentor to provide the summer associate with guidance on the firm and its practices.

FLEXIBILITY AND SUBSTANTIVE WORK EXPERIENCE

Because few law students know with certainty the type of law they would like to practice, our program provides an opportunity for summer associates to interact with many lawyers and to work on assignments from all of the firm’s practice groups. Members of Morris Nichols’ Recruiting Committee are specifically designated to coordinate work assignments for all summer associates. Although we encourage summer associates to experience a variety of legal work, if they express an interest in a specific practice, we make every effort to accommodate their request.

Summer associates work on the same sophisticated matters assigned to our junior associates. Summer associates frequently attend client meetings, drafting sessions, closings, negotiations, depositions, hearings, oral arguments and trials. In addition to short-term assignments, summer associates often participate in one or two “long-term” assignments in an area of their preference. These assignments allow the summer associate to experience the development of a matter over a period of time and in a more in-depth manner.

TRAINING AND FEEDBACK

Training for summer associates at Morris Nichols is conducted both formally and informally. This typically includes seminars and workshops in professionalism, legal writing, written discovery, deposition skills, evidence, expert witnesses, and trial advocacy, hosted by partners and professional staff. Training also includes informal lunch meetings with our firm’s practice groups.

Summer associates receive meaningful and timely feedback to help their professional development. The firm actively encourages all lawyers working with summer associates to provide contemporaneous feedback on every project. In addition, members of the firm’s Recruiting Committee also meet with each summer associate formally at least twice during the summer to discuss their work and to provide a final review.

SOCIAL EVENTS

Our summer social events provide opportunities for summer associates and their families to get to know Morris Nichols lawyers and each other, as well as explore Wilmington and the surrounding areas. In recent summers, those events have included a Philadelphia professional sports game, a canoe and dine event, concerts, 5k runs, a crab feast, a golf outing, and small group dinner parties at the homes of some of our partners. There are also many more informal social opportunities available to our summer associates, including lunches, dinners, softball games and outings to local Wilmington events.

PRO BONO AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Summer associates often work on pro bono assignments. The summer class also participates in local service projects. These projects have included preparing meals at the Ronald McDonald House for families residing there, serving lunch at the Emmanuel Dining Room, and assembling care packages for deployed military through Operation Gratitude.

DIVERSITY

Recognizing that talented diverse candidates may be unaware of the opportunities at Morris Nichols, we have made a concerted effort to raise the visibility of our firm among law schools and law students.

A few of our diversity-focused recruiting initiatives include:

• Delaware Diversity Job Fair — Morris Nichols participates in the Delaware Diversity Job Fair (DDJF), which is sponsored each year by the Delaware State Bar Association and a group of legal employers interested in increasing diversity in the Delaware legal and business communities. The DDJF is a unique opportunity for law students to interview with Delaware employers, and to learn about the practice of law in Delaware from leaders of the legal community. Morris Nichols has been responsible for organizing the Job Fair numerous times, and will host again in 2026.
• 1L Diversity Fellowship — In 2021, Morris Nichols was instrumental in creating the 1L Diversity Fellowship Program. The Fellowship is geared towards increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Delaware legal market.
• Lavender Law Career Fair — Morris Nichols has also participated in the Lavender Law Career Fair, which is designed to achieve a sense of community and inclusion of LGBTQ candidates within the legal profession’s recruiting efforts.

Learn More About Diversity & Inclusion at Morris Nichols.