This year marked the 14th annual ADL Mountain States Region’s Summer Associate Research Program. Forty summer associates from nine prominent law firms participated in this year’s program, the largest cohort to date. Under the direction of a supervising attorney, each summer associate researched an assigned topic and provided a legal memorandum to ADL. Participants in the program provide ADL’s regional and national staff with legal research on cutting-edge civil rights issues and are exposed to ADL’s mission and the importance of pro bono work. Topics studied this summer include hate speech, vaccine requirements, extremism in law enforcement, and more. The memos will all be entered into a competition, with winners honored at ADL’s 2022 Civil Rights Awards Reception next winter.

At an online reception last month, participants had the honor of hearing from keynote speaker Judge Christine Arguello, United States District Judge of the US District Court for the District of Colorado. Judge Arguello shared her life story and how her consuelos, or words of wisdom, have guided her through life.  Judge Arguello advised her audience to not be afraid of change and counseled that once they found success, they have an “obligation to reach back and to do what we can to help others climb that mountain by mentoring them, opening doors for them, helping to train them, networking with them.”

ADL thanks the following law firms whose summer associates participated in this year’s program:

• Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber & Schreck LLP
• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
• Hogan Lovells
• Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
• Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti PC
• Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe PC
• Ballard Spahr LLP