Week 1 was a great intro into what working at Rumberger was like—I got to work on a variety of cases, from topics ranging from insurance defense to medical malpractice. However, during Week 2, I was really able to dive in and get some great experience researching issues for partners and conducting more case evaluations, including performing research on a case about aviation which was extremely interesting! I also got to attend another weekly attorney lunch, where I was able to interact with many partners and associates that I had not been able to previously.

For the majority of Week 2, I was consumed with researching issues in two aviation cases, dealing with passengers getting injured shortly after arriving in foreign cities on international flights. Before I could really dive in on the first project, I initially had to spend a ton of time learning about the Montreal Convention, which governs cases dealing with international flights in which both countries are signatories. After I finally understood the Convention’s terminology and guidelines, I was then able to delve into researching the involved issues, mainly focusing on analyzing whether or not the Convention applied at all. The second aviation project was not nearly as complex, but I found it more difficult to find relevant cases. In the end, I was able to find some state circuit court cases involving the same issue in other industries to compare our situation to, but still was not able to find all that much that was on point. I then wrote up separate, detailed memos synthesizing all of my research and sent them to the associate and partner who assigned it to me.

Additionally, at the end of the week, the other summer associates and I participated in a workshop on motion practice in which I was afforded with the opportunity to argue a motion against another of the summer associates, Jessica. Although during our first attempt, where I represented the Plaintiff and she represented the Defendant, we both read from our notes a little too much, we then switched sides and did a much better job after getting more comfortable. We both received some great feedback about our performances and I cannot wait to participate in the taking depositions workshop next Friday!

Overall, my time at Rumberger so far has absolutely exceeded my expectations, and I know it will only continue to get better with finally getting to attend a few hearings and depositions next week!