MTO’s Redesigned Summer Associate Program Featured in Law360 Pulse 

Munger, Tolles & Olson’s redesigned summer associate program was recently highlighted in a Law360 Pulse article titled, “Munger Tolles Gains Traction With Summer Associate Revamp,” underscoring strong early results following the firm’s shift to a split-summer model.  

The program reflects a significant departure from traditional law firm recruiting. Rather than a full 10-week summer program, participants spend four to six weeks with MTO in the second half of the summer, with the flexibility to pursue opportunities with judges, government agencies, public interest organizations or other firms during the first half. The model is designed to prioritize meaningful experience and long-term fit over accelerated offer timelines.

Since announcing the redesign, MTO reported a 36% year-over-year increase in total applications across 1L and 2L candidates, with nearly 1,000 applicants in Los Angeles and San Francisco and 96% of selected candidates accepting their offers.

As Recruiting Committee Co-Chair Bryan Heckenlively and Legal Recruiting Director Kara Sommers explained, the program responds to increasingly accelerated recruiting cycles and growing demand among law students for broader early-career experience. “For us, the takeaway is clear,” they noted. “Even within a compressed recruiting cycle, top candidates are actively seeking out opportunities that give them additional time, flexibility and perspective before making long-term career decisions, and we are confident that our program will continue to attract students who value that approach.”

The redesigned program also introduces a more deliberate hiring pathway, allowing participants to pursue full-time opportunities on a more informed timeline rather than requiring immediate post-summer decisions — an approach that reinforces MTO’s commitment to developing exceptional legal talent.

Read the Law360 Pulse article. Additional media coverage can be found in Law.com, Law360 and Bloomberg Law.