IRVINE, CA— Berger Kahn will provide a paid summer internship program for a Santa Ana high school student through the Project SELF program. Partner Teresa R. Ponder will serve as a professional mentor to intern Elvis Bolainez, 17, of Century High School, who will begin working at Berger Kahn June 19, 2012.

Bolainez, of Santa Ana, has excelled in his academics, taking AP Spanish, AP English Language, AP Chemistry, Honors Math Analysis and Honors US History, and maintaining honor roll. Through Project SELF, he is looking forward to “learning about the responsibilities in a real work place.”

The mission of Project SELF is to offer low-to-moderate-income high school juniors exposure to the career possibilities of the legal profession through an eight-week paid internship program. Interns learn office skills, participate in a day in court, and have the opportunity to work alongside lawyers.

Says Craig Simon, Managing Principal at Berger Kahn, “Teresa is the perfect partner in our office for this role. I believe that her nurturing and kind spirit will make any intern’s experience at Berger Kahn the absolute very best.”

Says Teresa Ponder, Partner at Berger Kahn, “We’re delighted to have Elvis join the Berger Kahn team, and know that we’ll all learn and grow from this shared experience.”

Project SELF was formed as a collaboration between the Orange County Bar Foundation and the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. Since the program’s inception in 1995, 614 students have participated in the program.

Media inquiries, contact Jess Block, Publicist, 909-706-8525, JBlock@BergerKahn.com 

ABOUT BERGER KAHN: Berger Kahn, A Law Corporation, is a California-based law firm with practice areas such as insurance coverage and litigation, business litigation, labor and employment, serious personal injury and wrongful death, and subrogation. The firm has offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area. www.bergerkahn.com https://www.facebook.com/BergerKahnLaw?sk=info

ABOUT TERESA R. PONDER: Teresa R. Ponder focuses on federal and state court litigation of complex first-party insurance bad faith cases arising under residential and commercial policies. She has particular expertise in actions concerning a carrier’s institutional practices or procedures and disaster operations. She was named to the list of Southern California Super Lawyers, an honor reserved for only 5% of practicing attorneys, in 2012. Teresa Ponder Bio.