In our annual Summer Work Series, UC Berkeley Law students share reflections about their on-the-job experiences. These first-person accounts describe various career-advancing work and skill building in different areas of law, through opportunities often obtained in partnership with the school’s Career Development Office.
For 8½ years on Capitol Hill, rising 2L Jon Bosworth worked for Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer in various capacities, including legislative director, deputy chief of staff, and chief of staff. He provided strategic advice, supervised more than a dozen staff members, and oversaw a nearly $2 million annual office budget. In his first year at UC Berkeley Law, the aspiring corporate law attorney was named vice president of external affairs at the Startup Law Initiative, associate editor of the Berkeley Business Law Journal, and an editor of The Network.
Below, Bosworth shares details and insights about his law firm work this summer at Freshfields in Silicon Valley.
In many ways, my experience as a summer associate at Freshfields felt very familiar.
I was back working in an office setting, an environment I’m well-acquainted with from my nearly nine-year career between college and law school. Yet in other ways it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I was stretched beyond my comfort zone and challenged with assignments outside of my academic experience. Above all, I built on my first year at UC Berkeley Law and learned what it takes to excel in a global law firm.
Prior to law school I served as chief of staff to a U.S. Congressman in Washington, D.C. — a journey that began with a 2016 cross-country move from Oregon to work in politics and ended in another cross-country move from Washington to Berkeley in 2024 to pursue my legal education.
Between, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to work on economic policy issues and enact legislation that directly impacted people’s lives. I also gained my first exposure to the world of transactional law, which set me on a different, even more fulfilling career path.
On Capitol Hill, I worked directly with transactional attorneys on all aspects of the legislative process and admired how well they integrated their legal training and business acumen for their clients. Over time, I recognized that the practical and collaborative nature of transactional law suited my personality and interests. So, I made the difficult decision to leave my career in Washington and restart as a 1L at UC Berkeley Law.
Halfway through my second semester, I accepted Freshfields’ offer to become a summer associate in its Silicon Valley office. It was important to me that I find as many opportunities as possible to work on transactional matters. But what I found at Freshfields far exceeded my expectations.
Assigned to Freshfields’ Global Transactions practice, I contributed across several different transactional practice groups including Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A).
In Capital Markets, I worked closely with a team of associates and partners to provide ongoing public company representation and corporate governance advice. I reviewed quarterly and annual filings to ensure compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, conducted a comprehensive review of a company’s corporate governance structure, and researched time-sensitive, novel legal questions for company clients.
Throughout the summer, I used the rules and legal doctrine that I learned in my spring Business Associations class at UC Berkeley Law to assist the Capital Markets practice. After that class, I better understood the relationship between boards of directors and management, the SEC, and Delaware law (critical to the corporate landscape), which gave me the confidence that I could provide effective client service at Freshfields.
I also contributed to several M&A deals, helping close one and conducting due diligence on others. Throughout my first year of law school, I heard time and again that due diligence is the hallmark of a junior associate’s M&A practice, but I didn’t know what it entailed when I started the summer. I reviewed dozens of contracts as part of the due diligence process, searching for provisions in the agreements that could impact the deal.
It was fascinating to learn more about different businesses by reviewing their contracts, and I further honed the skills I learned in my doctrinal Contracts class to confidently read and interpret commercial agreements.
What sticks with me most about the summer isn’t the work — it’s the people. Law firms often tout how they run on an apprenticeship model where mentoring is prioritized at every stage of your career. Still, I wasn’t sure how much of this was realistic to expect.
But I was pleasantly surprised at how many attorneys were willing to answer questions, teach me new areas of law, and provide advice. No matter how busy they were, the attorneys made an effort to be available and set me up for success.
Going into my 2L year, I am more excited than ever to continue this new career trajectory, applying what I learned this summer to the classroom, continue learning at UC Berkeley Law, and eventually putting that knowledge to use as a full-time associate.