It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard about a seriously scandalous summer associate story. Unfortunately, the recession sucked the soul out of summers and made them fear for their futures; after all, a future without an offer is really no future at all. But are things changing now that we’re so far removed from the unsteady hiring environment that led to rescinded offers and deferred start dates?

Apparently so.

Last year, a summer associate at Skadden Arps “jokingly” slapped an associate in the face in what was a case of mistaken identity. This year, a summer associate at Skadden allegedly made some inadvisable racial remarks to another member of his summer class — and found himself on the receiving end of a pink slip.

Several sources have informed us about the incident, which purportedly occurred sometime last week during a firm outing. We’re told that the summer associate in question made an inappropriate remark to a fellow summer associate of Hispanic origin about their heritage, and things quickly spiraled out of control. Tipsters say the firm quickly disposed of its errant summer associate.

We’ve reached out to Skadden for comment, but have not yet received a response. We will update this post if and when we do hear back from the firm.

In the meantime, our sources have been light on the details of what actually happened here. If you have any additional insights, please contact us via email (subject line: “Skadden Summer Associate”), text (646-820-8477), or tweet (@atlblog). Let this summer associate’s fate serve as a cautionary tale — your words have meaning, and the things you say can get you fired.

Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.