Applying to Skadden for the 2028 summer associate program? Check your resume against a Skadden-style screen below, then read which offices are open, what to send, how the Suited assessment fits in and when offers come.
Key facts
- When it opens: For summer 2028, the postings went up around Nov 2, 2026. For summer 2027, Skadden began accepting resumes on Nov 3, 2025.5,2,6
- Deadline: The 2027 New York posting closed on Feb 10, 2026 (summer 2027), so for summer 2028 apply well before February 2027.4
- Who it is for: Current 1Ls, for the summer after 2L. Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and Toronto also take 1Ls for summer 2027.1,2
- Documents: Your resume and undergraduate transcript, then your fall 2026 grades as a supplement once they are out.2,1
- Assessment: A brief online assessment by Suited for every US office, on how your goals and values align with the firm's. Instructions come after you submit.2,3
- Offers: Interviews run on a rolling basis, and offer decisions wait until you submit your official fall 2026 transcript.2,3
- Offices: You can apply to more than one Skadden office. Each office has its own hiring committee.1
- Pay: Summer associates are paid $4,326.92 a week, and students who accept a summer offer can get a $50,000 career launch bonus, on terms.3,1
Skadden's pages list Los Angeles in different places: the application information page and the job board put it with the offices taking 1Ls for 2027, while the US page FAQ lists it under 2028 only. Check the Los Angeles posting before you apply.2,5,1
Check your resume before you apply
Check your resume
Read against the Summer Associate role at Skadden, the way the first screen reads it.
- A score and a verdict
- An ATS check
- Your lines rewritten
What the Skadden online application looks like
Apply in your first semester
Skadden opened its 2027 1L and 2028 2L applications in early November 2026, while many 1Ls were still preparing for fall finals, and it offers flexible interview times around exams. The market has moved this way: in the 2025 cycle (summer 2026), 85% of 2L summer offers went out before July.2,5,9,10
Pick your offices
For summer 2028, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. and Wilmington take applications, along with Hong Kong and Tokyo. Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and Toronto take 1Ls for summer 2027 and give combined offers covering 2027 and 2028. You may apply to several offices, and 2Ls can ask to split a summer between two.2,5,1
Send the documents
Submit your resume and undergraduate transcript now, then add your fall 2026 grades as a supplement when they are out. The offer waits for that official transcript, so the application is not complete until it is in. Treat a cover letter as useful but optional, and have a writing sample ready in case an interviewer asks.2,3,11,16
Take the Suited assessment
Every US office asks for a brief online assessment by Suited, which Skadden uses to see how your goals and values align with its own. The instructions arrive after you submit. Law school guidance on these tests puts them at about 20 to 30 minutes, with no right answers to study, and says firms may weigh the results alongside grades and interviews.2,3,13
After you submit
Interviews run on a rolling basis, starting with a virtual screening interview with one or more attorneys. Each office has its own hiring committee, which meets regularly, and offer decisions follow your fall transcript.1,2,8
What the application asks
- Office One or more
- Apply to as many Skadden offices as fit you. Some take 1Ls for 2027 as well as 2028.
- Resume Required
- The document interviewers read first. Keep it to one page, law school first.
- Undergraduate transcript Required
- Upload it with your first application.
- Fall 2026 grades Supplement
- Add your official fall transcript when grades are out. Offers wait for it.
- Suited assessment After you submit
- Required for US offices. Instructions arrive once your application is in.
- Cover letter, writing sample Check the form
- Neither is listed for the application. Have a short cover letter and a 5 to 10 page writing sample ready.
The office, resume, transcript, fall grades and Suited steps come from Skadden's pages and posting. The cover letter and writing sample lines are our reading of law school guidance; check each field when you open the form.1,2,3,11,16
Skadden 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.
- 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 explain and say what you learned from.
- Languages with fluency, and two or three specific interests.
- Your undergraduate transcript ready to upload, and a reminder to add fall grades in January.
What to put on it
Skadden reads your resume and transcripts before it meets you, and its interviewers ask about what is on the page. A law resume keeps to one page with law school first. The examples below are Intervyo rewrites of common 1L resume lines, not questions from the form.2,14,15,17
- 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 describe lawyering skills and what you actually did.
- Legal writing and activities: Your legal writing course, clinics, pro bono and student groups where you did real work.
- 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: "NYU Law, JD 2029.""14,15,2
- 1Law school name and city on the first line.
- 2Write the degree as "J.D. Candidate" with the month and year.
- 3Add a GPA only in the exact form your school allows, to two decimals and never rounded.
- 4Put honors and activities under the school.
Tip: If you apply in November, you have no law grades yet. That is expected: Skadden asks for your fall 2026 grades later as a supplement.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Intervyo example.
New York University School of Law, New York, NY J.D. Candidate, May 2029 Activities: Law Students for Economic Justice; Moot court 1L competition
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX B.B.A. in Finance, with honors, May 2024
Experience bullet"Rewrite this bullet from a job before law school: "Worked on M&A deals.""14,17
- 1Start with a verb for what you did yourself.
- 2Name the deal type and your part of it.
- 3Give scale with a number you can stand behind.
- 4End with what your work fed into.
Tip: Skadden interviewers want to hear what you learned from an experience, and they notice when a strong resume line cannot be explained.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Intervyo example.
Built the due diligence tracker for a $400M acquisition of a software company at a 12-person investment banking team; logged 300 data room documents and flagged 4 change-of-control clauses for deal counsel.
Legal writing and activities"Rewrite this 1L line: "Pro bono volunteer.""14,1
- 1Name the clinic or project and the client type.
- 2Say what you drafted or did.
- 3Give hours or numbers.
- 4Keep it to one line.
Tip: Nearly all Skadden summer associates work on pro bono matters, so real pro bono work on your resume gives an interviewer something to ask about.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Intervyo example.
Pro Bono Scholar, Tenant Rights Project: drafted 6 answers to eviction petitions for review by a supervising attorney (30 hours).
Languages and interests"Rewrite this interests line: "Music, sports, food.""14
- 1Be specific enough that someone could ask a real question.
- 2Pick two or three you could talk about for a minute.
- 3Add languages with your level of fluency on their own line.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Intervyo example.
Languages: Mandarin (conversational) Interests: Jazz piano, Houston food trucks, college football statistics
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How long to hear back after the online application
Skadden interviews on a rolling basis and tries to fit interviews around your exams. Offer decisions come after you submit your official fall 2026 transcript, or your first-quarter grades if your school runs quarters.2,3
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%.9
Nov 3, 2025 (summers 2026 and 2027)
Skadden
Skadden began accepting resumes for its 1L summer 2026 and 2L summer 2027 programs on the same day.6
Jan 2026 (summer 2027)
Berkeley Law Preview program
Firms picked students by Jan 17, and virtual interviews ran on Jan 22 and 23, 2026.11
Feb 10, 2026 (summer 2027)
Skadden, New York
The 2027 New York posting closed.4
Nov 2, 2026 (summer 2028)
Skadden, all offices
The 2028 postings and the combined 2027 1L and 2028 2L postings went up.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.12
Each Skadden office has its own hiring committee, which meets regularly, so timing can differ between the offices you apply to.1
Best guessApply in November or December and take the Suited assessment soon after, so your file is complete when fall grades land. Expect screening interviews from December to February and offers from January 2027.
What happens after the online application
Online applicationYou are here
This page. Resume and undergraduate transcript through Skadden's Flo Recruit portal, then your fall 2026 grades.2,3
Suited assessment
A brief online assessment for US offices, on how your goals and values align with the firm's. Instructions arrive after you submit.2,3
Screening, then full-round interviews
A virtual screening interview with one or two attorneys, then full-round interviews with partners and associates from the practices that interest you.1,8
Offer
Decided by each office's hiring committee after your fall transcript is in, with follow-up conversations with more attorneys on request.1,2
2028 2L offices vs combined 1L and 2L offices
Skadden recruits two ways this cycle. Most offices hire 1Ls for the summer after 2L; five also hire 1Ls for this coming summer, with one offer covering both summers.
Offices
The offer
A 2L summer associate place for summer 2028.3
Combined offers for both the 2027 and 2028 summers.2
FAQ
When do Skadden 2028 summer associate applications open?
In early November of the 1L year. Skadden posted its 2028 summer associate programs around Nov 2, 2026, and says current 1Ls are welcome to apply; for summer 2027 it began accepting resumes on Nov 3, 2025. The 2027 New York posting closed on Feb 10, 2026, so apply well before February 2027.5,2,6,4
Can 1Ls work at Skadden in summer 2027?
At five offices: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and Toronto take 1Ls for summer 2027, with combined offers covering both the 2027 and 2028 summers.2,5
Does Skadden have an online test?
Yes. Applicants to US offices take a brief online assessment by Suited, which Skadden uses to see how your goals and values align with its own. It is a required part of the application, and the instructions come after you submit.2,3
What documents does Skadden ask for?
Your resume and undergraduate transcript, then your fall 2026 grades as a supplement once they are out. Have a cover letter and a 5 to 10 page writing sample ready in case the form or an interviewer asks.2,1,11,16
Can you apply to more than one Skadden office?
Yes. You may apply to several offices, each with its own hiring committee, and 2Ls can ask to split a summer between two offices.1
Does Skadden only hire from certain law schools?
No. Skadden welcomes applicants from any law school and recruits actively at more than 40.1,8
Online application at other firms
Sources
Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 4, 2026.
- 1Skadden: United States: Law Students and Graduates
- 2Skadden: Summer Associate Application Information
- 3Skadden (Flo Recruit): 2028 Summer Associate Program - New York
- 4Skadden (Flo Recruit): 2027 Summer Associate Program - New York
- 5Skadden (Flo Recruit): Job Openings at Skadden (Nov 4, 2026)
- 6Flo Recruit: Skadden firm profile (updated Jul 2026)
- 7Vault: Skadden: Summer Law Program · prep site
- 8Chambers Associate: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom firm profile: Get Hired · prep site
- 9NALP: Law Student Recruiting Moves Earlier as Employer-Sponsored Hiring Expands (Jan 2026) · press
- 10LSAC: The History of Big Law Recruitment Timelines (Jun 2026) · press
- 11Berkeley Law Career Development Office: Class of 2028 2L BigLaw Recruiting · prep site
- 12Harvard Law School Office of Career Services: Recruiting Programs for Employers · prep site
- 13Berkeley Law Career Development Office: CDO: EIW Law Firm Assessments (2021) · prep site
- 14Penn Carey Law Career Planning & Professionalism: Do's and Don'ts for 1L Resume Writing · prep site
- 15Boston University School of Law Career Development Office: Resume Handbook · prep site
- 16Yale Law School Career Development Office: Writing Samples, References & Transcripts · prep site
- 17Chambers Associate: OCI advice from the interviewers · prep site
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