Plaintiff-Side Summer Associate Experience: Ben Keller

Ben Keller

University of Virginia ’25

Summer Firm: Smolen & Roytman (Tulsa, OK)

I thought my 1L year would provide some direction. Going into law school, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted out of the experience. I also felt pressure to figure out my career path before too long. I was lost while searching for 1L summer jobs. But after reaching out to my employer before law school, Smolen & Roytman (“SR”), I found a breath of fresh air. What’s transpired throughout my time there has been nothing short of life-changing.

Over the past three years, I’ve discovered that Smolen & Roytman, a small firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is in fact one of the best plaintiffs’ firms for federal civil rights cases in the nation. The SR attorneys focusing on these cases — Dan Smolen, Bob Blakemore, Bryon Helm, and Sterling Sims — are utterly brilliant. They all bring a unique skillset to their respective roles in the firm. Witnessing them litigate so fluently has been a keen motivator, and a joy to experience.

And I wasn’t simply witnessing their work, either. Working for SR in my 1L summer, I was afforded ever more latitude to take on greater roles than before. As a summer associate -- and to some extent as pre-law school clerk -- I was tasked with a variety of great responsibilities. For instance, I met with clients, drafted complex briefs and other motions, and I helped the firm prepare for almost a dozen jury trials. Beyond the thrills I felt in these tasks, working in plaintiffs-side law gave me extra inspiration, not least of which because the civil litigation process was often the last chance for many clients to get their story heard. And I also found that many listen once SR brings a case forward.

There’s certainly no one type or concentration of law that is perfect for everyone, but plaintiffs' work has been incredibly rewarding for me, and I encourage others to pursue it. Working at SR and in plaintiffs-side law has been genuinely enriching—even as a law student. It is a newfound calling, and one I profoundly cherish. I’m extremely grateful to now be a part of this work, NPLA, and my law school’s (UVA) plaintiffs’ law organization, PLAVA.