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Law students hoping to score coveted summer associate roles have to start applying earlier and earlier — leading to a situation where students may be applying for both 1L and 2L summer positions during their first year of law school, in some cases before meaningful grades are posted.
Law360 Pulse's 2026 Summer Associates Survey digs into this stress-inducing trend and all other aspects of the application process.
We asked students about their dream firms, and while some firms retained their spots at the top of wish lists, a few law firms leapfrogged in the rankings.
Prospective summer associates prioritized office locations and available practice areas when deciding where to apply. The survey also looked at how the application process differed for those at top tier law schools.
Law360 Pulse will continue to follow the summer associates of 2026 in the second installment of the survey, which is set to go out in late summer and will explore students' social and work experiences at firms.
What Students Want In A Summer Associate Job
Office locations and available practice areas were the top considerations for prospective summer associates, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP retaining its position as the most coveted destination, according to Law360 Pulse's 2026 Summer Associates Survey.When Firms Hire Before Grades, What Drives Decisions?
For some law students, the race for summer associate jobs is ending before their grades are even posted. As firms continue to move hiring earlier, recruiters say decisions are increasingly being made with limited academic information, shifting the focus toward experience, connections and perceived fit.How To Ace Your Summer Associate Gig
More than 500 law students recently shared their concerns with Law360 about succeeding as summer associates. Here, legal experts offer suggestions on how students can ace their programs this summer.Expert Analysis
7 AI Training Tips For Law Firm Summer Associate Programs
Law firms trying to weave artificial intelligence into summer associate programs should build a program that isn't really about AI but teaches students how to think about using AI, with the goal of building judgment, understanding implications and leveling up in a way that's repeatable, says Zeynep Ersin at Seyfarth.For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
