We’re nearly midway through summer associate season, and on-campus interviews begin in about a month at law schools across the country for next year’s crop of summer associates. What better time to release Vault’s closely watched rankings for the best summer associate programs?
Hot on the heels of Vault’s rankings of the most prestigious law firms and the law firms with the best quality of life comes the career website’s ranking of the best summer associate programs in Biglaw. Junior associates (first- through third-year attorneys) who summered at their current firms were asked to rank their experiences on how much fun the program was and how well it prepared them for life at the firm through six different categories (attorney interactions, substantive assignments, training & mentoring, preparation for associate life, quality of events, and satisfaction with firm-sponsored social opportunities and social interactions). From those ratings, Vault the best summer associate programs in three categories: Attorney Interactions, Career Development, and Social Experiences. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of the firms that made the Top 10 list for having the best quality of life made the Top 10 for having the best summer associate program.
There was a huge amount of movement in the Top 10 this year. Which firms made the cut? Without any further ado, here are the Top 10 Firms With the Best Summer Associate Programs based on Vault’s Annual Associate Survey for 2020:
- O’Melveny & Myers (no change)
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (+7)
- Clifford Chance (US) (+5)
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (+11)
- Crowell & Moring (-2)
- Thompson & Knight (not ranked; first time in Top 10)
- Choate Hall & Stewart (+4)
- Eversheds Sutherland (US) (-6)
- White & Case (-3)
- Williams & Connolly (+10)
O’Melveny, Orrick, Clifford Chance, and Choate Hall each made appearances in the Top 10 for firms with the best quality of life. Let’s give these firms a round of applause for keeping their attorneys happy from their days as summers through their days as junior associates. (We’re sure their salary raises didn’t hurt, either.)
Here are the Top 3 Best Summer Programs for Attorney Interactions:
Here are the Top 3 Best Summer Programs for Career Development:
Here are the Top 3 Best Summer Programs for Social Experiences:
Congratulations to all 50 of the Biglaw firms that made the latest edition of the Vault Best Summer Associate Program rankings. How did your firm do? Email us, text us at (646) 820-8477, or tweet us @atlblog to let us know how you feel.
Best Summer Associate Programs (2020) [Vault]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.