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This year, SWMW Law launched its Summer Law Intern Program, giving area students the experience, skills, and mentorship they need to flourish in the legal field and beyond.
The eight-week, paid internship included a comprehensive and formalized curriculum within three areas of the firm’s asbestos practice: Litigation Case Development, Discovery & Trial, and Bankruptcy. During each rotation, interns worked closely with senior partners, associates, and paralegals on current cases and participated in court proceedings, depositions, interviews with clients, and much more.
While the firm has regularly welcomed summer interns in the past, the firm’s Human Resources Manager Billie Gray developed and directed a more robust and structured program to benefit students.
“Law students are the future of our field, and as a firm, we are deeply invested in doing our part to ensure the future is bright – not only for our interns, but for the future clients they will represent,” Gray said. “Our program gives them valuable, hands-on experience to help them decide what area of practice they want to specialize in and what they can expect their role to look like post-graduation.”
For Partner Sophie Zavaglia, who helped spearhead the firm’s intern recruitment in prior years along with Office Manager Leslie McCray, the program also gives students a comprehensive look at what it really means to be an attorney and takes their legal education from the textbook to the real world.
“It’s incredibly important for law students to see what they’re learning in class applied in a real-world environment,” she said. “They’re able to see every aspect of a case, how those different pieces fit together, and how our teams collaborate to push a case forward. It’s invaluable experience that they can’t learn in a classroom setting.”
Zavaglia said this year’s program was just as beneficial to the attorneys as it was to the interns.
“The four interns we welcomed this year were incredibly smart and eager to learn – you could tell they were really invested in soaking up as much information as they could during their time here,” she said. “As valuable as our program was for them, I feel like having them here was equally as valuable to us. They didn’t have any asbestos knowledge or experience prior to their internship, so they really offered us new perspectives and a fresh set of eyes to look at things differently. It was really great to have them as part of our team.”
In addition to a comprehensive curriculum, interns were also offered several opportunities to develop camaraderie with firm attorneys. This year’s program kicked off with a firmwide breakfast to welcome the interns, with happy hours, weekly lunches, and even a Cardinals game throughout their internship to ensure they felt part of the team. To Associate Brendan Patterson, time spent together outside of the office is deeply important to the intern experience.
“Camaraderie is important for both interns and attorneys alike,” he said. “For the interns, it allows them to develop a comfortability with us that might be more difficult in a professional, office setting. That comfortability makes us more approachable and allows them to ask important questions they might otherwise be too shy to ask. For the attorneys, it’s refreshing to get away from our desks and connect with the interns in a different, more laidback environment.”
Before joining the firm as an associate attorney, Patterson first completed a summer internship with the firm in 2022. Based on his experience, he was inspired to serve as a mentor to this year’s class.
“Going through the experience myself, it was important for me to help future classes of interns in any way I could,” he said. “I wanted to be a point person that they could come to for questions if senior attorneys weren’t available, as well as provide the support and feedback I knew they would need.”
This year, the firm welcomed students Alison Graham, Brendan Noble, Clara Wilson, and Adler Maher as its inaugural Summer Law Intern Program class. We’re proud to introduce them and share their experience in the program through their own words below.
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Alison Graham
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m 28-years-old and originally from Indianapolis. I just finished my first year at SLU Law School. I originally studied journalism at Indiana University. I worked as a newspaper reporter for almost five years before I decided to apply to law school. Before moving to St. Louis, my fiancé and I fostered kittens – we raised more than 30 of them! I love photography and reading both fiction and non-fiction books. I’ve recently been taking drawing and painting classes in St. Louis. I really love to cook and always buying and being gifted new cooking gadgets to try.
2. What inspired you to become an attorney?
One of my favorite parts about being a journalist was interviewing sources and meeting new people. I always felt like I wanted to help the people I was interviewing, but as journalist, the most I could do was write a story to bring publicity and awareness to whatever issue they were facing. After a while, I wanted to find a new career path where I could be involved with the people I worked with more directly. But I also wanted a job where my journalistic skills—research, writing, and interviewing—would still be useful. Law seemed like the perfect fit not only for using those skills, but also for advocating for individuals in a way I couldn’t do as a journalist.
3. What made you choose SWMW Law for your internship?
SWMW Law was an easy choice for me. I loved the size of the firm and all the attorneys I spoke with before starting the internship. Everyone has been so welcoming, informative, and helpful through the whole process and I’ve been able to learn so much.
4. What has been the best/most valuable part of your internship at SWMW Law?
I am the first in my family to attend law school, so the entire law school and legal internship experience was very new to me. SWMW Law is the first firm I have ever worked for and it was such a great opportunity for me to learn. The best part has been the people I’ve been able to work with—the clients, the attorneys, and the paralegals. Everyone is so knowledgeable, but always willing to listen to each other and keep learning. It’s been an awesome and supportive environment for someone new to the legal world. I was also able to sit in on a few depositions, which I found incredibly educational. You get a much better sense of how a deposition works by being able to watch it live.
One of the attorneys allowed us to sit in on phone calls he made with the clients to ask follow-up questions or provide them with updates on their cases. It was a valuable experience to hear directly from clients, learn what kinds of questions they have, and watch the care that each attorney takes to listen, inform, and help each individual.
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Brendan Noble
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m 24-years-old and from South County right outside St. Louis. My undergrad was in Business Marketing and I currently attend St. Louis University School of Law. I started slow-pitch softball last fall with my law-school section and have recently started a summer team with a mix of friends from high school, undergrad, and law school. I also enjoy watching and playing hockey, watching movies, and visiting Chicago. My future aspirations include working at a plaintiffs law firm where I can advocate on behalf of people who have been wronged and hurt by products/corporations.
2. What inspired you to go to law school?
Through undergrad, I developed an interest in research and writing during a marketing internship my junior year. I decided on a legal career because it allows me to put those interests to work to help other people.
3. What made you choose SWMW Law for your internship?
I knew right away during the interview process that it would be a good fit. I was initially nervous but became really comfortable after only a few minutes – everyone interviewing me seemed genuinely interested in learning more about me, my experience, and what we were discussing. From there, I knew it was going to be a good fit for my ideals, interests, and personality.
4. What has been the best/most valuable part of your internship at SWMW Law?
The best part of my internship experience was the people in the office. Everyone was very kind, and the attorneys took time out of their day to answer any questions I had or give me help when I needed it. Also, they took time to get to know me and involve me in non-work-related discussions and activities. I feel the most valuable experience from this internship is seeing how attorneys conduct themselves and work in and out of the office.
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Clara Wilson
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m 25-years-old and heading into my third year at St. Louis University School of Law. I’m originally from small-town Kentucky, born into a family of teachers, barbers, and pharmacists. I earned my undergraduate degree in Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Louisville. Outside of school, I enjoy music, eating good food, spending time in nature, and curling up with a good book (or podcast!).
2. What inspired you to go to law school?
I applied to law school with the intention of serving low-income and systematically disadvantaged individuals as a public-interest attorney. At the University of Louisville, I spent a lot of time working for nonprofits and volunteering, but I knew I wanted to find a path that would allow me to gain the skill and position necessary to effectuate change on a broader level. Receiving a legal education motivates me to use this access to knowledge to advocate for those who aren’t afforded the same privilege.
3. What made you choose SWMW Law for your internship?
When I saw the listing for an internship with SWMW Law, I immediately went to their website to read more. “Because People Matter,” the firm’s tagline, jumped out at me in bold lettering on the website’s main page. This tagline drew me in because I wanted to work for a law firm that values the work it does on a deeper level and has a positive office environment, and that’s exactly what I found at SWMW Law. When I interviewed for the internship position, I was treated with respect and kindness from the start. That has stayed true throughout the summer. I feel lucky to have learned in an environment where I am valued as part of a team and where the work we do makes a positive impact on clients and their families.
4. What has been the best/most valuable part of your internship at SWMW Law?
Building relationships with the attorneys and staff has definitely been a great part of this internship. The attorneys and staff at SWMW Law are always willing to take time out of their schedule to answer our questions, provide feedback, or just chat! Some days, I learn the most when I’m sitting across the table from an attorney telling a story about a recent client interaction or a tricky hearing she has coming up, sharing a hot plate of deep-fried raviolis.
In the Bankruptcy rotation, we drafted affidavits, called clients, and learned about trusts and the role they play in asbestos-related injuries. In the Discovery & Trial rotation, we conducted legal research, compiled information for potential litigation, and attended hearings alongside SWMW attorneys. At court, we always had the chance to meet judges and other attending attorneys. In the Litigation Case Development rotation, we learned the importance of detail-oriented, thorough work on the front-end of asbestos litigation. We summarized long and complex depositions, picking out products and narrowing down who is responsible for the life-changing injuries suffered by SWMW clients and their families. Together, it really gave me a well-rounded understanding of asbestos-related litigation.
Hearing and seeing clients being deposed during depositions in real time really added a lot of meaning to the work we were doing.
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Adler Maher
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m 22-years-old and grew up in O’Fallon, IL. I now live in St. Louis but will be moving to Washington D.C. soon! I just graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in International Economics. My hobbies include reading, running, and listening to country music. I also love to travel with my friends and family whenever possible! I have two siblings, including a twin sister who just graduated from Mizzou and a brother who is going to be a senior in high school.
2. What issues regarding the practice of law interest you the most?
From this internship, I see the importance of being on the side of helping people! I enjoyed working in asbestos litigation, and I am also interested in areas of law that intersect with my Economics degree.
3. What made you choose SWMW Law for your internship?
I was excited to join SWMW Law for the summer because I had such a great interview experience with Matt (Morris), Mike (Brockland), and Sophie. From this conversation, I knew that this would be a great place to learn and gain professional/law experience. I also knew that the team would include great people who would be a pleasure to work with and get to know! I appreciate the team for giving me this great opportunity.
4. What has been the best/most valuable part of your internship at SWMW Law?
The best part of my experience this summer has been the opportunity to learn from the other interns, paralegals, and attorneys. Clara and I did our rotations together, and she was an incredible resource for me to learn from and work with. Everyone at SWMW Law was so willing to offer advice, instruction, and opportunities!
We were able to work on different projects in each rotation, which exposed us to all of the moving parts at the firm. I appreciate how all of the different rotations informed each other and helped us to see the big picture of the work that the firm does! I was also great to be able to work with so many different people throughout the summer. I specifically enjoyed the opportunities to draft legal documents (such as affidavits) and go to court with the attorneys.