How Summer Associate Evaluations Work

You know you're being evaluated during your summer. But how? By whom? And based on what? Here's how it typically works behind the scenes.

The Formal Evaluation Process

Most firms do a mid-summer review and a final review. The mid-summer review is your chance to course-correct. The final review determines your offer.

For each, the firm collects feedback from every attorney who gave you an assignment. These attorneys fill out a form, usually rating you on research quality, writing, responsiveness, professionalism, and enthusiasm. Many also write narrative comments.

Who Evaluates You

Everyone you work with. This includes partners, senior associates, mid-levels, and sometimes even junior associates. At many firms, staff feedback is also considered, how you treat the assistants, IT, and office services says a lot about you.

The hiring committee or summer program committee aggregates this feedback and makes a recommendation.

What They're Measuring

The core criteria at most firms:

• Legal analysis, Can you spot the issues and reason through them?
• Writing quality, Is your work clear, organized, and free of errors?
• Reliability, Do you meet deadlines? Do you follow instructions?
• Professionalism, Are you appropriate in your interactions?
• Engagement, Do you show genuine interest in the firm and its work?

No single factor is dispositive. A weaker memo won't sink you if everything else is strong. A pattern of missed deadlines might.

The Mid-Summer Review

This is your safety net. If there's a problem, you'll hear about it at mid-summer. Take the feedback seriously, it's the firm telling you exactly what to fix. Most people who get constructive criticism at mid-summer and adjust end up with offers.

If your mid-summer review is glowing, don't relax too much. Consistency matters. The second half of summer counts just as much.

How Offer Decisions Are Made

After the summer ends, the hiring committee meets to discuss each summer. They review all the feedback, discuss any concerns, and vote. At most firms, the presumption is in favor of an offer, the committee is looking for reasons to say yes.

The offer rate is high for a reason: firms already screened you through OCI and callbacks. They expect their summers to succeed.

What You Can Do

• Turn in clean work on time.
• Be gracious about feedback.
• Show genuine interest in the firm's practice areas, research them on the firm directory so your conversations go beyond surface level.
• Don't give anyone a reason to write a negative evaluation.

The evaluation process is less scary once you understand it. Do solid work, be a good colleague, and the rest takes care of itself.