Biglaw, Rankings, Summer Associates

Summer Associates Were Happy, But Annoyed By 'Rude' Partners, Tech From The Stone Age

There was a major shake-up in the rankings this year, and some firms that were in the top 10 last year sank (some like stones).

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When we’ve covered the American Lawyer’s summer associate satisfaction survey in the past, we’ve had the opportunity to comment on whether associates felt confident that they’d receive offers of full-time employment. Given the fact that almost all Biglaw firms have been handing out offers like candy for the past few years, summer associates’ confidence in receiving one is no longer a point of discussion.

This year, all we know is that summers were happy. Biglaw may still be adjusting to the recession’s aftermath, but it seems like this year’s crop of summer associates had blinders on — this happy-clappy group simply adored their firms and loved working on “real and important” assignments. These were the conclusions drawn from the American Lawyer’s 2015 Summer Associate Survey. Am Law polled 3,603 law students at the nation’s largest firms about their summer experiences and used the results to rank 92 programs.

This summer’s overall rankings were overwhelmingly saccharine. If you’re a law student trying to figure out where to spend your summer, you’re probably asking: which law firms came out with the highest scores?

Here are the top 10 summer programs of 2015, as ranked by American Lawyer:

There was a major shake-up in the rankings this year, and some firms that were in the top 10 last year sank (some like stones). Silly summers, we thought you loved your firms!

Nonetheless, congrats are in order for both Choate Hall & Stewart and Kaye Scholer for receiving perfect scores from their summers. This is Choate’s second year in the summer spotlight, and Kaye Scholer joins the firm there after rising up through the rankings. In fact, all of the firms in the top 10 deserve to be praised for their near-perfect scores, especially the ones that soared in this year’s rankings, like Kilpatrick Townsend, Kirkland, and Milbank. You can see how all 92 summer programs ranked at the American Lawyer.

Aside from positive reports from these all-too-happy campers, there were some summer associates who viewed their jobs through a lens of realism — or perhaps it was Millennial discontent. Here’s more on their gripes about rudeness and dated technology:

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In the few instances where summer associates had anything overtly negative to say about their firms, their written remarks often had to do with high-handed treatment by lawyers or perceived insensitivity. One associate at a New York firm wrote she was most surprised by “the off-color comments. Mad Men is real.” Another associate in Denver wrote, “The internal politics are pervasive. I like the people in general, but some of the partners are aggressive, condescending, and rude people.”

Law firms’ technology irked a couple of associates. One griped that, “their technology is pretty dated. I mean, I’m used to the stuff at Google and similarly techy companies, but I was not expecting to use Windows 2007 again. Getting used to using a BlackBerry has also been a challenge.”

Welcome to the real world of Biglaw. This is just a taste of what you’re going to get as an associate, when your firm isn’t trying its hardest to impress you anymore. It would be outstanding if these things changed, but try your best to muddle through until you’re able to pay off your loans — with a Biglaw job, you’re already way ahead of the competition.

The 2015 Summer Associates Survey [American Lawyer]
Summer Associates Survey: 2015 National Rankings [American Lawyer]
Summer Associates Say Choate Hall, Kaye Scholer Are Tops [Am Law Daily]

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