LexisNexis Insights Paper – “Greater emphasis is being placed on practical skills in legal education as schools acknowledge that it is crucial for law students to develop strong research and writing skills to succeed in practice. this need becomes quickly apparent once a student lands that first summer associate position. in a recent survey of summer associates, close to half reported spending between 50% and 100% of their time conducting legal research. When working on client matters, research often entails accessing a broader range of content than associates used in law school. writing and drafting skills are extremely important as well, since summer associates are often expected to draft memos, motions, briefs and contracts. Are law students prepared for the work required in their summer associate positions? What types of content do they need to complete assignments? in what areas would they benefit from additional instruction? these questions are addressed in this report summarizing the results of a survey that was conducted in July 2016 by LexisNexis® among 330 summer associates working in large U.S. law firms (50+ attorneys)…”