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 2016, Taylor Porter has six 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 LSU Law students John Nickel and Aislyn Taylor.

Learn more about the Taylor Porter Summer Associate Program

John Nickel, Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, Class of 2017

John Nickel will enter his third year at Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, where he is a Senior Associate on the Journal of Energy Law and Resources. John is a member of the LSU Law Moot Court Board and competes on LSU's Admiralty Law Moot Court Team. Last winter, in San Francisco, John's team was awarded a quarterfinalist award at the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition. For the first half of this summer, John was a judicial extern for Judge Jay Zainey in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He has received the CALI Excellence Award for his work in Legal Research and Writing. John previously served as an Office Assistant at Taylor Porter. John is clerking under the mentorship of Taylor Porter attorneys John Parker and Ne'Shira Millender.

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

I really enjoy being in the courtroom, so to focus on litigation would be my ultimate goal. Clerking at Taylor Porter has given me the opportunity to gain the full litigation experience by allowing me to attend depositions, motion hearings, status conferences, and trials. Besides litigation, my experience at Taylor Porter has exposed me to topics such as bankruptcy and sports law that have sparked interests I never knew I had.

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

At Taylor Porter, I’m finally able to put the tools I’ve gained in law school to work in the real world. That work is being used to help real clients in real world situations. Taylor Porter has showed me how being a lawyer can expose you to a network of interesting, intelligent people outside of the law school classroom. 

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 John Parker Jr. and Ne’Shira Millender. They have been instrumental in making my clerk experience incredible from the very first day. Both John Parker and Ne’Shira have treated me as a professional and as a friend. They have taught me that in the legal field being a good person is just as valuable as the legal work you provide.

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

What I enjoyed most about my summer experience at Taylor Porter are the people. From my fellow law clerks to the associates to the administrative staff, Taylor Porter has created a family atmosphere that makes the work experience comfortable and enjoyable. Everyone is treated with respect, and no one feels left out.  

Aislyn Taylor, Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, Class of 2017

Aislyn Taylor will enter her third year at Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, where she is a Chancellor Scholar, a member of LSU Law Moot Court team for the Gibbons National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition, and is currently serving as the Black Law Students Association Director of Programming for her second consecutive year. She was a participant in the Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition, where she was among the top oralists. Aislyn has received the CALI Excellence Awards for highest grade in Legal Traditions and Systems. Aislyn received her B.A. from Dillard University, where she graduated summa cum laude and majored in Political Science, with a Minor in Criminal Justice. Aislyn helped initiate a pre-law program at Dillard. She has obtained her LexisNexis Professional Research Certification. In her spare time, Aislyn plays softball for a competitive traveling team. Aislyn has previously clerked for Liskow & Lewis, Kean Miller, and Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson. Aislyn is clerking under the mentorship of Taylor Porter attorneys Amy Lambert and John Milazzo.

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

I don’t think I’ve narrowed down a particular practice area just yet, but from Labor and Employment to Commercial Litigation, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every project I’ve had the opportunity to work on. However, I’m sure I want to litigate. I have enjoyed my opportunities to get out of the office to attend hearings and depositions with various attorneys. I enjoy oral advocacy and the experience of standing before a judge. The clerkship program here at Taylor Porter allows its participants to explore their interests and see first-hand what it is like to be a litigator.

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

Law school is great, but nothing can prepare you for the practice of law better than hands-on, real world experience, and that is what the Taylor Porter summer law clerk program provides. Law clerks do real work for real clients. Finding an answer to a problem is rewarding, but law clerks also learn that not every problem has an answer which then allows for us to use critical and creative thinking skills to come to the best solution for the client. The program allows law clerks to take the foundations learned in law school and apply them the way a lawyer would. I’ve seen my legal writing skills improve which is a great personal takeaway.

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 John Milazzo. Amy and John are both terrific mentors. Their doors were always open to me, and even when out of the office, they were never more than an e-mail away. Both were always ready and willing to allow me to bounce ideas off their heads and were able to steer me in the right direction or make suggestions when I came to either of them with a problem. They both taught me the collegial nature of the legal profession and how sometimes your best resource is the attorney in the office next to you. That is something that will stick with me.

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

There’s not enough I can say about how great the TP Summer Associate Program truly is. Some of the things I like best are the projects - the opportunity to work on real world issues for real clients. There is a certain sense of accomplishment to know that something you worked hard on is actually going to use and is of value. I also liked the opportunities we had to interact with the attorneys outside of the office. There is so much you can learn about a person when you’re able to just sit down and talk with them for a while.