The summer of 2025 was pretty exciting for summer associates — after all, summer programs are now back to the days of yore, sparing no expense to impress would-be associates with fun times and fun work, too. From luxurious boat trips to Beyonce box seats, this year’s summer associate experience did not disappoint. Unlike the days of yore, however, summer associates are now worried about the rise of artificial intelligence and Donald Trump’s affect on the legal profession and the practice of law.
Given that backdrop, what mattered most to summer associates, and which firms did they like best?
With firm reputation at top of mind, this year’s crop of summers had more to think about than extravagant outings, like their firms’ AI adoption and integration (or lack thereof) and how their firms handled (or mishandled) the Trump administration’s assault on Biglaw. Here are some of the details from the American Lawyer:
Firms’ varied progress on adopting and integrating AI into their workflows directly impacted summer associates’ experiences: Some firms encouraged frequent AI use while others appeared to shun it altogether. Summer associates were also split on how they viewed AI, with a majority feeling equal parts hopeful about the technology’s potential to make lawyers more efficient and concerned about it eliminating entry-level roles. …
And in the background, law firms’ handling of scrutiny from the Trump administration earlier this year remains imprinted in the minds of summer associates. Asked to what extent a firm’s response to political and social pressures influenced a summer’s ultimate employment decision, 31% of summers said it would “moderately” impact their decision, 21% said they’d weigh firms’ actions “significantly,” and 13% said it would factor in “extensively.” By comparison, 35% of associates rated firms’ actions as not influential or slightly influential in their employment decision.
Regardless of how they felt about their firms’ actions concerning Trump, the vast majority (92%) had no plans to interview with other firms, and 91% had already received an offer of full-time employment or planned to receive one in the future. With an average weekly pay of $4,350, money sure does talk to summer associates.
That having been said, without further ado, here are the Top 10 firms:
- Choate Hall & Stewart
- Proskauer Rose
- Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
- HSF Kramer
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
- Blank Romse
- Sheppard Mullin
- Fried Frank
- Morgan Lewis
Click here to see the full list.
Congratulations to all of the firms that earned the respect and appreciation of their summer associates.
The Summer Associates Survey: Sentiments Sail Or Sink Based on Approach to 2025’s Biggest Challenges [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of 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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.