Biglaw

The Best Biglaw Firms, Ranked By Summer Associates (2019)

What matters most to summer associates? Here are the Top 10 firms.

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The summer of 2019 was pretty exciting for summer associates in that law students who received offers of permanent employment knew that they’d be making bank after graduation. But it’s not just superb salaries that summer associates were satisfied with. According to a new survey from the American Lawyer, they were quite happy with just about everything having to do with their experiences in Biglaw.

So, what matters most to summer associates, and which firms did they like the best?

Before we get to the rankings, let’s discuss the methodology used by American Lawyer. As usual, firms were ranked by their average scores based on nine categories: interesting work, real work, training and guidance, partner-summer associate interaction, associate-summer associate interaction, communication of goals and expectations, accuracy of firm self-portrayal, inclination to accept full-time associateship and overall rating as a place to work. This year, for the first time ever, Am Law included a tenth category, asking summer associates whether they were concerned with their mental health or well-being as an attorney.

Without further ado, here are the Top 10 firms (ranked through No. 9 due to ties):

1. Clifford Chance: Average score 5
1. Duane Morris: Average score 5
1. Kramer Levin: Average score 5
1. Stroock: Average score 5
5. Drinker Biddle: Average score 4.990
6. Goodwin Procter: Average score 4.968
7. Blank Rome: Average score 4.966
8. Paul Hastings: Average score 4.954
9. Bracewell: Average score 4.953
9. Proskauer: Average score 4.953

Click here to see the full rankings. (Here’s a little spoiler alert: Thompson Hine is ranked dead last due to average scores below 4 for training, partner interaction, and communication of goals.)

So what was the most important to millennials, aside from work-life balance? Mental health. Thanks to Am Law’s inclusion of a ranking on that subject, we now know that 42 percent of summer associates are concerned about their mental health, their emotional well-being, and the pervasive substance abuse that seems to be ever present at Biglaw firms. Here’s some additional detail from the American Lawyer:

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“It’s no secret that working in Big Law is often unsustainable for a majority of the population. The hours are long and you face incredible stress,” said a Houston-based summer associate. “It’s undoubtedly something that I’m worried about in the future, especially if I want to have a family.”

Some are worried that Biglaw’s atmosphere will exacerbate existing mental health issues.

“I have clinical depression and anxiety, so it’s always a concern, especially in a high-stress environment,” a Washington, D.C., summer associate said.

“I have a history of mental health issues in my family and want to make sure I’m taking care of myself as I embark on this new career,” said a respondent in San Diego.

Others lamented the high rate of substance abuse in the legal industry, even going as far as to note the amount of drinking they saw at their summer firm.

This year, diversity was a bit of a mix bag when factored in to the rankings. While diversity was one of the most frequently mentioned criticisms when asked what they’d change about their firms, only 11.4 percent of respondents ranked diversity in their top three factors in evaluating an offer. “Hire more female partners,” said a New York summer associate. Another summer associate in Silicon Valley, said, “Focus more on diversity, not only at the summer associate level, but in upper leadership as well.”

And one summer associate in Washington, D.C., took issue with having to pay for tampons out of dispensers in the office bathroom, a sign, she said, that the firm does not take diversity seriously.

“This is the first time I’ve seen that in a workplace, ever. And I’ve had some not-glamorous jobs,” she said. “If I saw that when I was interviewing, it would have sent me a very clear message: women aren’t heard at the decision-making table here. It’s not about the money; it’s the message.”

Things need to change in Biglaw, and if these firms want to keep their scores high on these summer associate surveys, they need to change fast. In the meantime, congratulations to all of the firms that earned the respect and appreciation of their summer associates — you’ll be paying it back to them in big bucks in just a few years.

The 2019 Summer Associates Survey: Wined, Dined and Worried [American Lawyer]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci 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.

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