Simpson Thacher 2028 summer associate application guide

For
2028 summer associates
Sources
13 cited

Applying to Simpson Thacher for the 2028 summer associate program? Check your resume against a Simpson Thacher-style screen below, then read when applications open, what to send, how the Suited Cognitive Skills Assessment fits in and when offers come.

A law student in a gray sweater working at a laptop on a standing desk by a tall window in a small law school clinic office on a crisp November afternoon, a printed resume and a highlighter beside it.
Every 2028 Simpson Thacher summer associate applicant takes Suited's Cognitive Skills Assessment as part of the application.

Key facts

  • When it opens: For summer 2027, the firm began accepting applications on Nov 1, 2025. For summer 2028, the page still said "this fall" on Oct 26, 2026, and 2L applications opened in late October or early November 2026.2,3,1
  • Interviews: For summer 2028, the firm expects to interview from November through February. For summer 2027, it was November through March.1,2
  • Assessment: Every 2028 applicant must complete Suited's Cognitive Skills Assessment, linked from the firm's How to Apply page.1
  • Documents: Your resume, undergraduate transcript and, once available, your 1L transcript. No cover letter is required.1
  • Optional statement: An optional short statement on anything your application would be incomplete without. It is not a cover letter.1
  • Offers: Offer decisions are made on a rolling basis after the firm has your first-semester law school transcript.1
  • Offices: Bay Area, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Dallas and Houston also take 1Ls for a six-week 2027 summer.1,4
  • Pay: Summer associates are paid at a rate of $225,000 a year, semi-monthly while employed, about $4,326 a week.1,7

Suited's Cognitive Skills Assessment is on the 2028 list of application materials and is required of every applicant, so expect your application to count as complete only once you have taken it.1,10

Check your resume before you apply

Summer Associate at Simpson Thacher

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Read against the Summer Associate role at Simpson Thacher, the way the first screen reads it.

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What the Simpson Thacher online application looks like

  1. Apply directly, as soon as you are ready

    Simpson Thacher asks students to apply directly through its website, and to apply as soon as their applications are ready. It interviews largely from the top 25 law schools but encourages applications from every school, including regional schools near its US offices. Across the market, 93% of offices recruited 2Ls by direct application in the 2025 cycle (summer 2026).1,6,8

  2. Pick your offices

    Each office has its own application link: Bay Area, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Dallas and Houston take 2028 2Ls and 2027 1Ls; the 1L summer is six weeks with a stipend. If you apply to several offices, send your transcript to the one you most want.1,4

  3. Send the documents

    Submit your resume and undergraduate transcript, then email your 1L transcript as soon as it is complete. You can add an optional statement of up to 350 words. It is not a cover letter, and the firm does not require one. Keep a writing sample ready in case an interviewer asks.1,13

  4. Take the Suited assessment

    Every 2028 applicant must complete Suited's Cognitive Skills Assessment, from the link on the How to Apply page. Law school guidance on firm assessments puts them at about 20 to 30 minutes, says firms may weigh results alongside resume, grades and interviewer feedback, and advises setting aside time to focus, so take it in a quiet slot.1,10

  5. After you submit

    Interviews run from November through February. The first interview covers your past work and projects, teamwork and activities; a full round is four attorneys, two partners and two associates, in person or on Flo Recruit. Offers come on a rolling basis once the firm has your first-semester transcript.1,6

What the application asks

Office One or more
A separate link for each of seven US offices. Dallas and Houston also take 2027 1Ls.
Resume Required
The document interviewers read first. One page, law school first.
Undergraduate transcript Required
Upload it with your application.
Suited assessment Required
Suited's Cognitive Skills Assessment, from the link on the How to Apply page.
1L transcript Once available
Email it to AttyRec@stblaw.com, or to your first-choice office, as soon as it is complete.
Optional statement Up to 350 words
Not a cover letter. Only for something your application would be incomplete without.

Every step comes from Simpson Thacher's How to Apply page. The resume format lines are our reading of law school guidance; check each field when you open the form.1,11,12

Simpson Thacher resume checklist

  • One page, saved as a PDF, in an 11 or 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 up, once you have one.
  • Honors and activities under each school, with leadership roles named.
  • Experience newest first, each bullet starting with a verb and saying what you did.
  • Every line one you can discuss in depth.
  • The Suited Cognitive Skills Assessment done soon after you apply.
  • Your 1L transcript emailed as soon as it is complete, to the office you most want.

What to put on it

Simpson Thacher interviewers ask about every line of your resume, so each entry should be one you can discuss in depth. 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.6,11,12

  • Education: Law school first, then college: J.D. Candidate with the month and year, honors and activities under each school.
  • Experience: Jobs newest first, with action verbs that say what you actually did.
  • Teamwork and activities: Groups, teams and leadership roles where you did real work with others.
  • Optional statement: Up to 350 words, only for something the rest of the application cannot show.

Example questions and how to answer them

Education line"Rewrite this education line: "UT Law, JD 2029.""11,12,1
  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, to the hundredths and never rounded up.
  4. 4Put honors and activities under the school.

Tip: Applying in November means no law grades yet. Simpson Thacher asks you to email your transcript as soon as it is complete, and offers wait for it.

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

Intervyo example.

The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX J.D. Candidate, May 2029 Activities: Texas Law Review (candidate); Energy Law Society; Pro Bono Program

Rice University, Houston, TX B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, May 2024

Experience bullet"Rewrite this bullet from a summer job: "Worked on a team doing research.""6,11
  1. 1Start with a verb for what you did yourself.
  2. 2Name the project and the question it answered.
  3. 3Give scale with a number you can stand behind.
  4. 4End with what your work fed into.

Tip: Simpson Thacher interviewers ask about projects from your previous summer and how you analyzed questions of law, so write bullets you can walk through.

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

Intervyo example.

Researched state renewable energy siting rules across 12 states for a 4-person policy team at a clean energy nonprofit; wrote the 8-page memo the director used to brief two state legislators.

Teamwork and activities"Rewrite this activities line: "Member, soccer club.""6,12
  1. 1Name the role, not just the membership.
  2. 2Say what you ran or changed.
  3. 3Give a number.
  4. 4Keep it to one line.

Tip: Interviewers ask about teamwork and extracurricular activities, so a line with a real role gives them something to ask about.

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

Intervyo example.

Captain, club soccer (2022 to 2024): ran a 30-player roster, scheduled 14 away games a season and raised $6,000 for travel.

Optional statement"Write a short optional statement, or decide to skip it."1
  1. 1Use it only for something your resume and transcripts cannot show.
  2. 2Keep it well under the 350-word limit.
  3. 3Say what happened, what you did and what it shows about how you will work.
  4. 4Skip it if you would only repeat your resume.

Tip: Simpson Thacher says the optional statement is not a cover letter. Do not write "I am applying to Simpson Thacher because..." here.

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

Intervyo example.

In my second year of college I worked 30 hours a week managing my family's restaurant after my father's surgery, which is why my grades dip that spring. I kept the business open for five months, handled payroll for 11 staff and renegotiated our lease. It taught me to keep many things moving at once, which I expect to do as a junior associate.

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How long to hear back after the online application

Simpson Thacher expects to interview from November through February, and makes offer decisions on a rolling basis after it receives first-semester transcripts.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%.8

  2. Nov 1, 2025 (summer 2027)

    Simpson Thacher, all US offices

    Applications opened, with interviews expected from November through March.2

  3. Oct 26, 2026 (summer 2028)

    Simpson Thacher

    The How to Apply page still said 2L applications would open that fall and to check back in October for details.3

  4. 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.9

  5. Jan 22, 2027 (summer 2028)

    Simpson Thacher Leadership Fellowship

    The last day to email a fellowship personal statement, if you did not submit it with your application.5

Send your transcript to the office you are most interested in if you applied to several; each office has its own recruiting email.1

Best guessApply in November, take the Suited assessment the same week and email fall grades the day they post. Expect first interviews from late November and offers from January 2027.

What happens after the online application

  1. Online applicationYou are here

    This page. Resume and undergraduate transcript through each office's link, then your 1L transcript by email.1

  2. Suited Cognitive Skills Assessment

    Required of every 2028 applicant, from the link on the How to Apply page.1

  3. Screening interview, then full round

    A first interview on your past work, teamwork and activities, then a full round with four attorneys, two partners and two associates.6

  4. Offer

    Made on a rolling basis after the firm has your first-semester transcript. Leadership Fellowship applications are reviewed once you have an offer.1,5

2028 2L offices vs offices that also take 2027 1Ls

Simpson Thacher recruits two ways this cycle. Most US offices hire 1Ls for the summer after 2L; Dallas and Houston also hire 1Ls for a six-week summer in 2027.

Offices

2028 2L summer only

Bay Area, Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.1

Also 2027 1L summer

Dallas and Houston.1

The summer

2028 2L summer only

The 2L summer program in 2028.1

Also 2027 1L summer

Also a six-week 2027 1L summer with a stipend.1

Interview window

2028 2L summer only

November through February.1

Also 2027 1L summer

November through February.1

Summer 2026 class

2028 2L summer only

Firm-wide, 264 2L summer associates.7

Also 2027 1L summer

Firm-wide, 32 1L summer associates.7

2028 summer associate status

Simpson Thacher's 2026 summer class was 296 summer associates, 264 of them 2Ls, and all 230 2L summer associates received offers in 2025. The program runs 10 weeks.7

FAQ

When do Simpson Thacher 2028 summer associate applications open?

In the fall of the 1L year. For summer 2027 the firm began accepting applications on Nov 1, 2025. For summer 2028 the page still said "this fall" on Oct 26, 2026, and applications opened in late October or early November 2026. Apply as soon as your application is ready.2,3,1

Does Simpson Thacher have an online test?

Yes. Every 2028 applicant must complete Suited's Cognitive Skills Assessment as part of the application, from the link on the firm's How to Apply page.1

Does Simpson Thacher want a cover letter?

No. The firm says it does not require a cover letter. You may add an optional statement of up to 350 words for anything your application would be incomplete without.1

What documents does Simpson Thacher ask for?

Your resume, your undergraduate transcript, the Suited assessment and your 1L transcript once it is available. Have a writing sample ready in case an interviewer asks.1,13

Can 1Ls work at Simpson Thacher in summer 2027?

In Dallas and Houston, which take applications for the 2027 1L summer program alongside the 2028 2L program. The 1L summer is six weeks and includes a stipend.1

When does Simpson Thacher make offers?

On a rolling basis after it receives your first-semester law school transcript. For summer 2028 it expects to interview from November through February.1

What is the Simpson Thacher Leadership Fellowship?

A $50,000 award for summer associates with a record of leadership or service, paid as $25,000 when you start the 2028 summer and $25,000 when you start as a first-year associate. It needs a personal statement of up to 500 words, by Jan 22, 2027 if not sent with your application.5,1

How much do Simpson Thacher summer associates earn?

At a rate of $225,000 a year, paid semi-monthly while employed, which is about $4,326 a week.1,7

Online application at other firms

Sources

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

  1. 1Simpson Thacher: How to Apply
  2. 2Simpson Thacher: How to Apply (Nov 1, 2025, summer 2027; archived)
  3. 3Simpson Thacher: How to Apply (Oct 26, 2026; archived)
  4. 4Simpson Thacher: Summer Program
  5. 5Simpson Thacher: Simpson Thacher Leadership Fellowship
  6. 6Chambers Associate: Simpson Thacher firm profile: Get Hired · prep site
  7. 7Vault: Simpson Thacher: Summer Law Program · prep site
  8. 8NALP: Law Student Recruiting Moves Earlier as Employer-Sponsored Hiring Expands (Jan 2026) · press
  9. 9Harvard Law School Office of Career Services: Recruiting Programs for Employers · prep site
  10. 10Berkeley Law Career Development Office: CDO: EIW Law Firm Assessments (2021) · prep site
  11. 11Penn Carey Law Career Planning & Professionalism: Do's and Don'ts for 1L Resume Writing · prep site
  12. 12Boston University School of Law Career Development Office: Resume Handbook · prep site
  13. 13Yale Law School Career Development Office: Writing Samples, References & Transcripts · prep site

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