What do summer associates need to know to succeed? Getting advice from someone who’s been there—recently—can help law students preparing to begin their summer jobs.

Eight of the large Texas firms that participated in Texas Lawyer’s 2014 Summer Associate Hiring Survey hired more Texas summer associates this year than they did in 2013. Research editor Jeanne Graham invited a first-year associate from each of the firms to share their advice, via email, for incoming summer associates. The first-year associates worked as summer associates at their respective firms.