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Our Top 20 Most Prestigious Internship Programs for 2021 are:
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Vault averaged the ratings for each employer, then ranked the companies in order, starting with the highest score as No. Interns were presented with a list of top companies and asked to rate each company on how prestigious its internship is on a scale of 1 to 10-with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.
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In addition to asking interns to rate and review their own internship experiences, we asked interns to rate the prestige of other employers to determine which internships are the most desirable. This past summer, Vault surveyed more than 11,000 current and former interns from more than 100 internship programs.
Vault rankings software#
The rankings are compiled based on Vault’s Law Firm Associate Survey in which more than 20,000 associates rated and commented on various work life aspects, including Overall Satisfaction, Firm Culture, Hours and Compensation.This year, our Internship Rankings highlight the top programs in 29 categories, including the Most Prestigious Internships, Best Overall Internships, Best Internships by Industry, Best Internships for Diversity, Best Internships by Employment Factor, and, new this year, Best Internships by Role, including computer science, data analytics, engineering, IT, sales and marketing, software development, and software engineering. Vault Law annually ranks the most prestigious law firms based on the assessments of lawyers at peer firms. McDermott took the prize for the Best Overall Summer Associate Program and also shared the top spot in the Best Summer Associate Programs for Career Development subcategory. One McDermott associate shared, “The firm promotes diversity on all fronts and has regular programming to bring awareness as to how we can increase our efforts in terms of D&I.” Vault produces rankings in four individual diversity categories: Diversity for Individuals with Disabilities, Diversity for LGBTQ+ Individuals, Diversity for Women and Racial & Ethnic Diversity. McDermott ranked No. Continuing its trend at the top, McDermott clinched gold in a whopping 13 of the 16 subcategories: Associate/Partner Relations, Business Outlook, Career Outlook, Compensation, Firm Culture, Formal Training, Hours, Informal Training, Quality of Work, Satisfaction, Technology & Innovation, Transparency and Wellness. 1 firm in every quality of life subcategory. In addition to the Overall Best Law Firm to Work For ranking, Vault’s quality of life rankings include 16 subcategories. Clearly, the firm’s efforts have bolstered associate satisfaction.” They also feel the firm is supportive of associate wellness, offering-among other perks-25 hours of billable credit for mindfulness, and believe the firm is invested in diversity, equity and inclusion. “Associates rave about the firm’s culture and say the firm continued to foster connections virtually throughout the pandemic. “This past year was a difficult one for everyone in the legal industry, but it appears that McDermott responded in all the right ways,” said Mary Kate Sheridan, Vault’s Senior Law Editor. 1 spot in the rankings of the Best Law Firms to Work For, the Best Law Firms for Diversity and the Best Summer Associate Programs. International law firm McDermott Will & Emery earned the highest marks in Vault Law’s 2022 Quality of Life, Diversity, & Summer Associate Program Rankings.
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