Kirkland & Ellis 2028 summer associate application guide

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2028 summer associates
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Applying to Kirkland & Ellis for the 2028 summer associate program? Check your resume against a Kirkland-style screen below, then read when it opens, how to pick an office and practice group, what the 1L summer option means and when offers come.

A law student in a navy quarter-zip sitting in a quiet airport gate area during holiday travel, a laptop on her knees turned away from view and a carry-on bag and a paper cup on the seat beside her, runway light through tall windows.
Kirkland opened its 2028 summer associate application on Nov 1, 2026, in the first semester of law school.

Key facts

  • When it opens: The Summer Associate Program application for the 2028 2L summer opens on Nov 1, 2026. Kirkland encourages 1Ls to apply for 2L positions from November.1,9
  • What you choose: You name a primary office of interest and your preferred practice group or groups when you apply, and discuss them further at interview.1,5
  • Interviews: Interviews are held on a rolling basis, so an early application gets an early look.1
  • Offers: Offers are decided once first-semester grades are released.1
  • Bonus: Students who accept a 2L 2028 summer associate offer receive a $50,000 summer associate bonus.1
  • 1L summer: If you accept, you can join Kirkland's four-week 2027 1L Summer Experience (six weeks in Texas) or spend the 1L summer elsewhere, such as public service or a judicial internship.1
  • Class size: The 2026 summer class was 957: 471 2Ls and 486 1Ls. The 2L program is ten weeks.7,1
  • How selective: For its summer 2026 Miami class, Kirkland hired 11% of those who applied. That is one office's figure, not a firm-wide rate.6

Kirkland offers return places by practice group, and 2L summers join a specific practice area, so the practice group you name when you apply carries more weight than at firms with unassigned summers.5,9

Check your resume before you apply

Summer Associate at Kirkland & Ellis

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Read against the Summer Associate role at Kirkland & Ellis, the way the first screen reads it.

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What the Kirkland & Ellis online application looks like

  1. Apply in your first semester

    Kirkland opened its 2028 application on Nov 1, 2026 and interviews on a rolling basis. It says the recruiting timeline has moved into the first semester of 1L year, and the market agrees: in the 2025 cycle (summer 2026), 85% of 2L summer offers went out before July, most of them on one semester of grades.1,6,10,11

  2. Pick an office

    Kirkland runs US summer programs in Austin, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. New York and Chicago are the largest: in 2025 they had 238 and 160 summers. You name one primary office of interest.7,5,1

  3. Pick your practice groups

    Name your preferred practice group or groups when you apply; you can discuss them further at interview. Offers to return are given by practice group. Inside your group, the open assignment system lets you choose the matters you work on, and incoming corporate associates spend about two years in corporate-general before choosing a specialty.1,5,4

  4. Send your materials

    Kirkland's pages do not list the documents, so expect the usual BigLaw set: a resume and your law school transcript, plus an undergraduate transcript, cover letter or writing sample if the form asks. Add your fall grades as soon as they are released, since offers wait for them.12,1,16

  5. Decide your 1L summer

    Accepting a 2L 2028 offer brings a $50,000 bonus and a choice for summer 2027: Kirkland's four-week 1L Summer Experience (six weeks in Texas), with training, shadowing and networking across the office's groups, or a flexible summer outside the firm in public service, a judicial internship or another role.1,6

What the application asks

Primary office One
Your main office of interest among Kirkland's 13 US summer locations.
Practice groups One or more
Your preferred groups. Return offers are given by practice group.
Resume Expect it
One page, law school first.
Transcripts Expect them
Law school grades as soon as they are out; offers wait for them.
Cover letter, writing sample Check the form
Not listed by Kirkland. Have a short cover letter and a 5 to 10 page writing sample ready.

The office and practice group fields come from Kirkland's own pages. The documents are our reading of law school guidance on BigLaw applications; check each field when you open the form.1,5,12,16

Kirkland resume checklist

  • One page, saved as a PDF, in a 10 to 12 point font.
  • Law school first, written as "J.D. Candidate, May 2029", then your college and degree.
  • A law GPA only in the exact form your school allows, never rounded, once you have one.
  • Experience newest first, each bullet starting with a verb and saying what you did.
  • At least one line that shows you starting or leading something.
  • A primary office and practice group chosen before you open the form.
  • Your transcripts ready to upload, and a reminder to add fall grades the day they are out.
  • Languages with fluency, and two or three specific interests.

What to put on it

Kirkland reads your resume against the office and practice group you name, and its interviews look for initiative and the capacity to manage several tasks. A law resume keeps to one page with law school first. The examples below are Intervyo rewrites of common 1L lines, not questions from the form.1,9,14,15

  • Education: Law school first, then college: J.D. Candidate with the month and year, honors and activities under each school.
  • Experience: Jobs newest first, each bullet starting with a verb that says what you did yourself.
  • Initiative: Something you started or took on without being asked, since Kirkland looks for self-starters.
  • Languages and interests: Fluency levels and a few specific interests, so interviewers have something to ask about.

Example questions and how to answer them

Education line"Rewrite this education line: "Northwestern Law, JD 2029.""14,15,1
  1. 1Law school name and city on the first line.
  2. 2Write the degree as "J.D. Candidate" with the month and year.
  3. 3Add a GPA only in the exact form your school allows, never rounded.
  4. 4Put honors and activities under the school.

Tip: In November you have no law grades yet. That is expected: Kirkland decides offers once first-semester grades are out.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Intervyo example.

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, IL J.D. Candidate, May 2029 Activities: Business Law Society; Bluhm Legal Clinic volunteer

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL B.S. in Accountancy, with honors, May 2025

Experience bullet"Rewrite this bullet: "Worked on private equity deals.""5,14
  1. 1Start with a verb for what you did yourself.
  2. 2Name the deal type and your part of it.
  3. 3Give scale with a number you can stand behind.
  4. 4End with what your work fed into.

Tip: Corporate is Kirkland's largest summer practice area by far, so a deal bullet will be read closely. Keep it to what you did and can explain.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Intervyo example.

Built the add-on acquisition screen for a 4-person middle-market private equity team; reviewed 60 targets and wrote the first-round diligence memo on the 3 that went to letters of intent.

Initiative"Rewrite this line: "Member, student organization.""9,14
  1. 1Name the group and what you started or ran.
  2. 2Say what changed because of it.
  3. 3Give one number.
  4. 4Keep it to one line.

Tip: Kirkland's hiring sources say self-starters who show initiative, ambition, passion and enthusiasm often thrive. A line that shows you starting something says that for you.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Intervyo example.

Founder, 1L Restructuring Reading Group: organized 6 sessions with practitioners on recent Chapter 11 cases (25 regular members).

Languages and interests"Rewrite this interests line: "Sports, cooking, music.""14
  1. 1Be specific enough that someone could ask a real question.
  2. 2Pick two or three you could talk about for a minute.
  3. 3Put languages with fluency on their own line.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Intervyo example.

Languages: Korean (fluent) Interests: Marathon running (Chicago 2025), Korean home cooking, minor league baseball

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How long to hear back after the online application

Kirkland interviews on a rolling basis from Nov 1, 2026 and decides offers once first-semester grades are released.1

  1. 2025 (summer 2026)

    All firms, NALP survey

    85% of 2L summer offers went out before July. May 2025 was the busiest month at 36%, then June at 29%.10

  2. Summer 2025

    Kirkland summer class

    782 summer associates: 458 2Ls and 324 1Ls. New York had 238 and Chicago 160.5

  3. May 2026 (summer 2026)

    Kirkland, Miami

    A class of 21, hired from 11% of applicants, with an 85% offer acceptance rate and 34 expected in 2027.6

  4. Nov 1, 2026 (summer 2028)

    Kirkland, all US offices

    The Summer Associate Program application opened.1,5

  5. Jan 8 to 13, 2027 (summer 2028)

    Harvard Early Interview Program

    A virtual program for private sector employers, for the Class of 2029's 2L summer jobs.13

With rolling interviews and offers on first-semester grades, treat November and December 2026 as the window to apply.1

Best guessApply in November so your interviews come before fall grades land. Expect offers from January 2027, as soon as grades are out.

What happens after the online application

  1. Online applicationYou are here

    This page. Your primary office and practice groups, from Nov 1, 2026.1

  2. Screening, then callback interviews

    Rolling interviews, then a second-stage interview where you discuss your office and practice choices.1,9,5

  3. Offer

    Decided once first-semester grades are out, with a $50,000 bonus on accepting a 2L 2028 offer.1

The 1L Summer Experience vs a flexible 1L summer

Once you accept a 2L 2028 offer, Kirkland lets you choose how to spend summer 2027. Both lead to the same 2L summer.

Where

1L Summer Experience

At Kirkland, in your office.1,3

Flexible 1L summer

Outside the firm: public service, a judicial internship or another opportunity.1

Length

1L Summer Experience

Four weeks, or six in the Texas offices.1

Flexible 1L summer

Set by the employer you choose.1

What you do

1L Summer Experience

Training across the office's groups, shadowing attorneys, networking events and meals.6

Flexible 1L summer

Experience that supports your own goals.1

The point

1L Summer Experience

To make a more informed choice of practice area for your 2L summer.6

Flexible 1L summer

To build experience before your 2L summer at Kirkland.1

2028 summer associate status

The 2L summer is ten weeks, with the open assignment system, trial advocacy and corporate training, and summers at trials, hearings, depositions, closings and client calls.1,2

FAQ

When do Kirkland 2028 summer associate applications open?

On Nov 1, 2026. Interviews run on a rolling basis from then, and offers are decided once first-semester grades are released.1

Does Kirkland hire 1Ls for summer 2027?

Students who accept a 2L 2028 offer can join Kirkland's four-week 1L Summer Experience in 2027, six weeks in Texas, or spend the summer elsewhere. The 2026 class had 486 1Ls.1,7

What do I choose when I apply to Kirkland?

A primary office of interest and one or more preferred practice groups. You can discuss both further at interview.1,5

What documents should I have ready for Kirkland?

Kirkland's pages name only the office and practice group choices. Have a one-page resume and your transcripts ready, with a cover letter and a 5 to 10 page writing sample in case the form asks.1,12,16

What is the Kirkland summer associate bonus?

$50,000, for students who accept a 2L 2028 summer associate offer.1

Does Kirkland only hire from top schools?

Kirkland hires team players and hard workers from T14 schools and promising candidates from other schools. Its Miami class came from 13 law schools.8,6

How much do Kirkland summer associates earn?

$4,327 a week, over a ten-week 2L program.5,1

Online application at other firms

Sources

Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 4, 2026.

  1. 1Kirkland & Ellis: Your Kirkland Experience
  2. 2Kirkland & Ellis: Summer Associate Program
  3. 3Kirkland & Ellis: New York Summer Associate Program
  4. 4Kirkland & Ellis: Open Assignment System
  5. 5Flo Recruit: Kirkland & Ellis firm profile (updated Oct 2026)
  6. 6Kirkland & Ellis: Kirkland Brings in its Largest Miami Summer Class Yet, and Expects Even More in 2027 (May 2026)
  7. 7Vault: Kirkland & Ellis: Summer Law Program · prep site
  8. 8Vault: Kirkland & Ellis: Company Reviews · prep site
  9. 9Chambers Associate: Kirkland & Ellis firm profile: Get Hired · prep site
  10. 10NALP: Law Student Recruiting Moves Earlier as Employer-Sponsored Hiring Expands (Jan 2026) · press
  11. 11LSAC: The History of Big Law Recruitment Timelines (Jun 2026) · press
  12. 12Berkeley Law Career Development Office: Class of 2028 2L BigLaw Recruiting · prep site
  13. 13Harvard Law School Office of Career Services: Recruiting Programs for Employers · prep site
  14. 14Penn Carey Law Career Planning & Professionalism: Do's and Don'ts for 1L Resume Writing · prep site
  15. 15Boston University School of Law Career Development Office: Resume Handbook · prep site
  16. 16Yale Law School Career Development Office: Writing Samples, References & Transcripts · prep site

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