Announcing Vault Law’s New Summer Resource Center was originally published on Vault.
Navigating the law firm recruiting process can be daunting—from the expanding window during which interviews are possible, to the mix of virtual and in-person meetings, to distinguishing one firm from another. If you strike the right balance of interested and interesting, you can land yourself multiple callback interviews, and possibly more than one offer to decide between. Or maybe you want to narrow the pool down early on and limit your interviews to those programs that “fit” your interests.
In either scenario, you need information, and the Vault Law team has created a unique new resource to support you, from interview prep through success as a summer associate. The Vault Law Resource Center: Summer Associate Interviewing and Top-Ranked Programs (“Summer Resource Center”) provides easy access to the Vault Law Summer Program Rankings, law firms’ summer program data and quotes from associates about their experiences summering at their firms, an opportunity to hear from the firm itself about its summer program or other firm highlights, and expert advice from the Vault Law team on topics including interview tips, key considerations when choosing a firm, and a link to our most recent 1L Diversity Summit.
The Rankings
As part of our Annual Associate Survey, we ask first- through third-year associates who summered at their current firm to reflect back on and rate their summer program experiences. We use those ratings to rank the best summer associate programs in four categories:
- Overall Best Summer Associate Programs
- Best Summer Programs for Attorney Interactions
- Best Summer Programs for Career Development
- Best Summer Programs for Social Experiences
Check out the Vault Law 2023 Summer Program Rankings to see which firms’ summer programs top the ranks in the categories that matter to you!
Firm Tiles
Our law firm tiles on the Summer Resource Center make it easy to find key information to help with your recruiting research. Firm logos link to the firm websites for a quick connection.
The “Summer Program” link takes you to the firm’s Vault Summer Program page, where you can find data points—like the number of offers extended to summers and whether a firm allows summers to split with another firm or another office—as well as the insider information Vault is known for—the associate quotes. Vault’s associate quotes come from the same survey that generates our rankings, and provide insight into what it’s really like to work—or in this case, summer—at a firm. The Summer Program pages include quotes on training and assignments, social experiences, and how the associate experience compares to expectations formed during the summer experience. You can also jump to the firm’s full profile for more data and quotes on a broad range of topics relating to the associate experience, allowing you to get a full picture of life at the firm in just a few clicks!
Each tile also includes a “See What the Firm Says” button, where firms can share more details on their summer program, including more associate quotes, videos about their summer experience, articles highlighting unique summer training opportunities, and more.
Advice from Vault Law
As the title suggests, this section is where you can find helpful tips from the Vault Law team on interview prep, considerations in choosing a firm, resume advice, and a link to our most recent 1L Diversity Summit where we talked with lawyers and law firm recruitment professionals in depth about mentorship, navigating microaggressions, and maintaining individuality.
Best of luck with finding the firm that is the best fit for you! If you have questions about the Summer Resource Center, recruitment, or anything else, reach out to the Vault Law team or our Senior Law Editor, Carter Isham at cisham@vault.com.
