The PAJ Diverse Mentoring Initiative (DMI) is a summer associate program that pairs diverse first-year law students with top Plaintiff’s firms in Pennsylvania. The DMI program is intended for law students who meet one or more of the following criteria: those who have faced challenges including, but not limited to, life situations in which their opportunities were diminished significantly by factors beyond their control, such as socio-economic status, discrimination, sparse academic resources or opportunities, and/or other similar adverse circumstances on their path to a legal career.
- DMI Mentees will receive the same salary other first-year summer associates/clerks/interns (if any) are paid by the organization.
- Each participating employer has committed to fully involve DMI Mentees in its summer associate/clerkship/internship program (if any)
- and provide appropriate and continuous feedback and training.
- Each participating employer will provide its Mentee with at least one mentor and possibly more if that is the practice for its summer
- associates/clerks.
- DMI Mentees with have access to programs specially designed to help you become a successful lawyer in any organization including:
- Summer receptions with DMI Mentees, present and former, PAJ, PTLA, NEPA & WPTLA Board representatives, law firm hiring partners,
- managing partners, diversity officers, Philadelphia and affinity bar association leaders, the judiciary and others.
- Seminars to build an understanding of:
- the general expectations of the employers;
- the nature of the work;
- the environment in which it gets done;
- the best ways to manage their work, deal with any issues that arise and make use of feedback;
- the mechanics of successful networking from informative but brief introductions through graceful good-byes, follow-up, and
staying in touch;
—all the underpinnings of a successful summer.