Taylor Porter is proud of its annual summer associate program, which hires highly motivated, well-rounded law students to participate in two, six-week sessions. Under the guidance of practicing attorneys, our summer associates gain hands-on experience and interaction that reflect real life as a lawyer. During the first summer session of 2017, Taylor Porter has eight summer associates, and our law firm is proud to profile these students and gain their insight from the Taylor Porter summer associate program. In this article, Taylor Porter is proud to profile Southern University Law Center student Jourdan Williams.

Learn more about the Taylor Porter summer associate program

Jourdan Williams, Southern University Law Center, Class of 2018

Jourdan Williams will enter her third year at Southern University Law Center, where she will serve as the 2017-2018 editor-in-chief for the Journal of Race, Gender and Poverty. In 2016, Jourdan’s article, “Separate but Unequal: The Resegregation of Louisiana Public Schools through the School-to-Prison Pipeline,” was selected for publication in the Journal. Additionally, Jourdan is a student ambassador, co-chair of the Student Bar Association’s Diversity Committee, and a teaching assistant for family law and civil law property. In Spring 2017, Jourdan participated in the American Bar Association’s Judicial Clerkship Program. Jourdan graduated from LSU with a bachelor of arts in mass communication and public relations. Jourdan is clerking under the mentorship of Taylor Porter attorneys Amy Lambert and Lauren Rivera.

What practice area(s) are you most interested in and why?

I am most interested in commercial litigation because I have an interest in the legal aspect of business relations. I also really enjoy doing litigation work. This practice area is a great merge of business and law.

Who are your Taylor Porter attorney mentors, and what have you learned from them about the legal field that will stick with you?

My mentors are Amy Lambert and Lauren Rivera. I have learned a lot from Lauren about transitioning from a law student to an associate. She has given me a lot of valuable advice on managing my workload and researching complex issues. I can also depend on her to give me honest feedback, which has helped me grow over the last four weeks! Also, I enjoyed being able to shadow Amy in the courtroom and listen to her explain litigation strategies. She has a brilliant mind, and has a ton of helpful “teachable moments”. I have the best pair of mentors!

How has the Taylor Porter summer law clerk program helped prepare you for becoming a lawyer? 

This program has helped me become a lawyer by providing me with a variety of opportunities to assist with real cases! I have learned to adjust to whatever legal issue I am researching, because every project I have had has been different from the last. This has helped my research skills improve greatly.

What do you like best about the TP Summer Associate Program?

​My favorite thing about this program is that there is an open door policy with the associates and partners. Everyone here has been in our shoes before as law students, so they are willing to show us the ropes and teach us things about being a lawyer that we would never learn in a classroom. My second favorite thing is that there are not strict practice areas within the program, which allows you to be flexible in the cases you handle.