2016 Associate Class Begins Their Winston Journey

Relationships and resilience were key takeaways for members of the firm’s 2016 class during their orientation at “Camp Winston.” Our new troop of associates from law schools and clerkships across the country embarked on a week-long adventure in Chicago filled with training and team-building activities—no tents required.

Winston’s annual firmwide New Associate Orientation kicked off on Monday, September 26 with a warm welcome by Chicago Office Managing Partner Linda Coberly, who encouraged the associates to focus their time during the week on learning and development and stressed the importance of relationship building throughout their careers. “It was great to hear from Linda and start the training off with such an encouraging welcome,” said one of the new associates.

Winston added a number of features this year to help class members get acquainted before their official start date at the firm. Associates used the Guidebook app to share with each other what they were doing in the weeks leading up to orientation and gathered for an informal dinner on Sunday evening before their first day. They continued to learn more about each other and the firm during their first three days of orientation, donning different nametags each day listing their favorite mobile app, the celebrity who would play them in a movie, and the three items they deem essential for survival in the wilderness, and attending sessions on various processes and programs to help them find their way at the firm.

The remaining two days of this year’s orientation provided substantive legal skills training for litigation and transactional associates, including a “Managing Expectations” panel of partners and associates who provided the new litigation associates with tips on how to excel at the firm, and a reprise of last year’s “Basics of the Deal” program presented by Charles Fox that our new transactional associates found “engaging” and “easy to understand.”

Both the litigation and transactional training included “round-robins” where the new associates learned more about practice sub-areas such as Antitrust and M&A from seasoned Winston attorneys. “This was my favorite part of orientation,” noted one of the new associates. “It was great to meet with associates and partners in a small group setting and learn more about what they do in their practice group.”

Throughout the week there were plenty of opportunities for social interaction, including a cocktail reception, make-your-own trail mix bar, and “rock-paper-scissors” tournament, as well as team-building exercises such as the popular “marshmallow challenge” featuring lessons in resiliency as the associates learned methods for adjusting their approach in different situations.

Orientation week concluded with a commitment by the firm to continue supporting our new associates’ professional and personal development as they embark on their legal careers.