Biglaw

Vault Ranks The Best Summer Associate Programs (2022)

Which law firm do summer associates love most?

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Summer associate programs at many firms are wrapping up if they haven’t already come to an end, and early recruitment interviews begin in less than a week 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 and 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 — and of course there was, since this was the first summer after the majority of associateships went remote due to the pandemic. 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 2022:

  1. McDermott Will & Emery
  2. O’Melveny & Myers
  3. Clifford Chance US
  4. Eversheds Sutherland US
  5. Williams & Connolly
  6. Orrick
  7. Proskauer Rose
  8. BakerHostetler
  9. Munger Tolles & Olson
  10. Morgan Lewis & Bockius

McDermott, O’Melveny, Clifford Chance, Orrick, Proskauer, BakerHostetler, and Morgan Lewis 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 special bonuses didn’t hurt, either.)

Here are the Top 3 Best Summer Programs for Attorney Interactions:

  1. O’Melveny & Myers
  2. Clifford Chance US
  3. McDermott Will & Emery

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Here are the Top 3 Best Summer Programs for Career Development:

  1. McDermott Will & Emery
  2. O’Melveny & Myers
  3. Clifford Chance US

Here are the Top 3 Best Summer Programs for Social Experiences:

  1. Munger Tolles & Olson
  2. McDermott Will & Emery
  3. Clifford Chance US

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.

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Best Summer Associate Programs (2022) [Vault]

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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