kirkland ellis logo
Kirkland & Ellis logo

Summer Program at Kirkland & Ellis

333 West Wolf Point Plaza
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 862-2000

Summer Program Overview


At Kirkland the work is interesting, cutting-edge, and involves clients from businesses in all industries and sectors. When joining Kirkland, summer associates quickly become part of the team. Providing solutions to high-profile clients, they are involved in real deals and cases — not just listening and learning — but relied upon to make valuable contributions. Summer associates experience substantive, hands-on work, accelerating their early career development by working directly with partners.

Like our attorneys, summer associates experience our distinctive open ass...

No. of Summer Associates (2025)

781 total (457 2Ls; 324 1Ls)

No. of 2L Offers (2023)

342 out of 343

Summer Program Length

10 weeks

No. of Summer Associates (2025)

781 total (457 2Ls; 324 1Ls)

No. of 2L Offers (2023)

342 out of 343

Summer Program Length

10 weeks


1L Summers

Yes


Assigned to Specific Practice Area

Yes


Split Summer with Another Firm

No


Split Summer with Another Office

No


When Does Firm Begin Accepting Resumes for Summer Program

Rolling


Summer Associate Salary

$4326.92 weekly



Summer Program Contact

Please visit www.kirkland.com/careers for office-specific email addresses.


Offices with Program

Austin


Schools Visited for OCI

Berkeley Law

Summer Program Overview


At Kirkland the work is interesting, cutting-edge, and involves clients from businesses in all industries and sectors. When joining Kirkland, summer associates quickly become part of the team. Providing solutions to high-profile clients, they are involved in real deals and cases — not just listening and learning — but relied upon to make valuable contributions. Summer associates experience substantive, hands-on work, accelerating their early career development by working directly with partners.

Like our attorneys, summer associates experience our distinctive open ass...

No. of Summer Associates (2025)

781 total (457 2Ls; 324 1Ls)

No. of 2L Offers (2023)

342 out of 343

Summer Program Length

10 weeks

No. of Summer Associates (2025)

781 total (457 2Ls; 324 1Ls)

No. of 2L Offers (2023)

342 out of 343

Summer Program Length

10 weeks


1L Summers

Yes


Assigned to Specific Practice Area

Yes


Split Summer with Another Firm

No


Split Summer with Another Office

No


When Does Firm Begin Accepting Resumes for Summer Program

Rolling


Summer Associate Salary

$4326.92 weekly



Summer Program Contact

Please visit www.kirkland.com/careers for office-specific email addresses.


Offices with Program

Austin


Schools Visited for OCI

Berkeley Law

Survey Says


  • “I had daily training sessions, both in-person and over Zoom. I was assigned a few initial projects, but after that, it was an open assignment system where you reach out to attorneys for work. This lets you staff up as much or as little as wanted and in whatever areas you want.”
  • “Kirkland & Ellis provides a work database where attorneys can post assignments that are taken by summer associates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Most work is obtained through face-to-face interactions between the summer associates and attorneys.”