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 second 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 features Southern University Law Student Joseph Odom.

Learn more about the Taylor Porter summer associate program

Joseph Odom, Southern University Law Center, Class of 2019

Joseph Odom is entering his second year at Southern University Law Center. He has received the CALI Excellence Award for the highest grade in Family Law. Joseph made the Dean’s List for Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 Semesters. He has obtained his LexisNexis Professional Research Certification. Joseph previously clerked for Hammonds, Sills, Adkins & Guice. Joseph graduated from Louisiana Tech University in Applied Biology. He is clerking under the mentorship of Taylor Porter attorneys Blue Loupe and Ryan French.

What practice areas are you in interested in and why?

“At this point, I am most interested in Civil Defense Litigation. This summer, I had the opportunity with work with Tom Easterly and Ryan French on two particular cases that greatly interested me.  I enjoyed researching possible defenses while working with these two cases and I could feel myself being drawn to these newly found areas of interest.” 

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

“My Taylor Porter attorney mentors are Ryan French and Blue Loupe. Ryan has showed me the importance of keeping a sense of humor while still producing great work product. Ryan told me early on to always work hard, but make sure you have fun along the way. Often times, I find myself getting caught up in assignments and forgetting to ‘have fun,’ so I will heed his advice in the future.” 

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

“The Taylor Porter Summer Associate Program has afforded me the opportunity to gain invaluable insight into the every life of working in a law firm. Learning how to manage multiple projects, building relationships inside and outside of the office, and seeing my research skills and work product improve over the summer has been a great experience that will surely benefit me as I begin my legal career.” 

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

“The thing I enjoyed most about the Taylor Porter Summer Associate Program was the overall exposure to different areas of the law. Originally, I was unsure as to what areas of law interested me. At the Taylor Porter Summer Associate Program, I was given the chance to work on several assignments from different areas of the law. This exposure, coupled with great attorneys who regularly took their valuable time to answer my questions regarding certain practice areas, greatly helped to solidify some of my personal areas of interest moving forward.”