From left: Alexis White, Caleb Hopper, Caleb Stowell, Jake Kelley
Phillips Murrah’s Summer Associates program is designed to give law students meaningful career development opportunities and a genuine glimpse into the Firm’s workplace culture. This year, Alexis White, Caleb Hopper, Caleb Stowell, and Jake Kelley spent six weeks gaining hands-on legal experience alongside our attorneys and staff. As their time with the Firm comes to a close, we are grateful for the dedication and effort each of them brought to the program. We invited them to share their thoughts on the experience, a little about themselves, and what motivates them to pursue a career in law:
Caleb Stowell
Caleb Stowell
Caleb Stowell 2L law student at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. This is Caleb’s second consecutive summer clerking at Phillips Murrah. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Constitutional Studies from Utah Valley University. Following in the footsteps of his family, Caleb was originally a pre-med student. However, he found a passion for the law after some exposure to legal thinking in his pre-law classes.
Caleb said:
This summer has gone by way too fast. Last summer I had a lot of fun, but this summer has been even better. I have a bit more experience under my belt as a rising 3L, and because I worked at Phillips Murrah last summer, those nervous 1L jitters from last year are (mostly) gone. I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone at the firm better this summer and getting to continue to work on fun and interesting projects.
Phillips Murrah really emphasizes the importance of the culture that they have created at their firm, and I really appreciate getting to experience that culture again for another summer. Everyone here is so friendly and is willing to answer any questions I might have. I am again impressed at how much the employees here at PM care about their work, clients, and making sure that they are doing the best job possible.
As I have progressed through my law school journey, it has been really insightful to come work at Phillips Murrah for the summers to see how the actual practice of law functions. Law school can be theoretical at times and so it can be very helpful to see what I learned in the classroom applied in real world scenarios. For example, I took bankruptcy this past semester, and this summer had an opportunity to see what I learned in that class play out in an actual bankruptcy hearing. I am sad that my summer internship is almost over because I have enjoyed working here so much.
Alexis White
Alexis White
Alexis White is a 2L law student at Oklahoma City University School of Law, where she is a Hatton Sumner Scholar, on the OCU Law Review Board of Editors, and a student member of the 10th Circuit Year in Review Fellowship. Alexis is also a member of the American Bar Association Moot Court Team and the OCU Federal Bar Association. This is Alexis’ second consecutive summer clerking at Phillips Murrah. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Oklahoma and is also multilingual, speaking Spanish and Portuguese. Alexis said the two factors that led her to pursuing the legal profession were being fascinated with the Law and Order: SVU courtroom scenes while growing up and later observing attorneys working while working as a Public Information Officer in the District Attorney’s Office prior to attending law school.
Alexis said:
My experience at Phillips Murrah has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone here is incredibly intelligent and kind. I enjoyed learning from the attorneys here knowing that they will answer any questions I have.
This is my second summer here, so it was nice to come back to friendly faces and a familiar environment. Phillips Murrah provides an experience that law school cannot—the ability to work with real clients and on real work. I learned the intricacies of a case in litigation and was able to attend multiple types of hearings. This real-world experience makes this internship invaluable.
Jake Kelley
Jake Kelley
Jake Kelley is a 1L law student at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Jake received his bachelor’s degree in political science from The University Of Oklahoma in 2025. After graduating high school, Jake moved to Chicago to play baseball at the collegiate level. After closing that chapter, he wanted to continue to challenge himself, so he decided to attend law school. As the first person in his family to pursue a career in the legal profession, he came into law school and the legal field with a fair amount of uncertainty.
I never felt that uncertainty at Phillips Murrah. From the beginning, everyone was welcoming, approachable, and eager to help me succeed. They made me feel like a valued member of the team rather than just a summer clerk.
The first thing I noticed about Phillips Murrah was the people and the way they interact with one another. From day one, it was a welcoming environment filled with individuals who genuinely enjoy working together and supporting one another. Before arriving, I imagined that in a larger law firm, everyone would focus primarily on their own work and stay in their respective lanes. Instead, I found a highly collaborative environment where people are willing to work together to accomplish the firm’s goals. That spirit of teamwork is one of the things that has most attracted me to the firm.
Overall, the experience has been both similar to and different from my experience in law school. On one hand, the legal issues can be far more complex than those I encountered during my first year. However, I genuinely enjoy the process of learning unfamiliar areas of law and developing the knowledge necessary to solve challenging problems. One of the things for which I am most grateful is the amount of practical knowledge I have gained this summer, which if not often replicated in a classroom setting. On the other hand, the culture and people I have met remind me a great deal of law school. I have had the opportunity to work alongside like-minded individuals who are passionate about the law, and that has made the experience both enlightening and rewarding.
Caleb Hopper
Caleb Hopper
Caleb Hopper is a 1L law student at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Caleb received his bachelor’s degree in construction management from The University Of Oklahoma Haskell & Irene Lemon Construction Science Division in 2025. He previously interned at W&W|AFCO Steel, Manhattan Construction, and Miller Tippens Construction. He said that he “kind of fell into” his pursuit of a legal career, and once he started down the path, “it clicked.”
Caleb said:
I’m drawn to how much precision and judgment the work requires. As a 1L, a lot of what I’d studied still felt theoretical, and working here gave it context I couldn’t have gotten in a classroom. Law school teaches you to think through problems. This experience at Phillips Murrah taught me what it looks like to solve them.
The culture here genuinely surprised me. Everyone was approachable, the work was substantive, and the mentorship felt real, not performative. I left most days having actually learned something, which I didn’t take for granted. I came in not sure how much I’d be able to contribute as a 1L but ended up feeling like I was actually part of the work, not just observing it. I expected it to feel high-pressure. It wasn’t. The environment was collaborative, and people seemed to actually like working here. That came through pretty quickly.
If you are interested in learning more about a career at Phillips Murrah, please visit our CAREERS page.
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