I would say the interview process was pretty chill. They let you interview with both partners and associates from the office. Everyone I had an interview with was very friendly and curious to learn about me.
Very conversational, very easy, multiple people asked about life and school in general terms. Not a challenge at all. Would recommend preparing questions to ask interviewer ahead of time if there is extra time and you need to fill space.
Required to go to the office in person, interviewed with three attorneys back to back (thirty minutes each) and then had coffee with a few attorneys downstairs. Offered to pay for flight and hotel.
I applied online. I interviewed at Kirkland & Ellis (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2026
Interview
The interview process involved two rounds: one screener with one attorney and then a callback with multiple attorneys. The questions asked were quite straightforward and I would recommend keeping questions ready to ask attorneys.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe how you displayed leadership in a time of hardship?
Summer Associate applicants have rated the interview process at Kirkland & Ellis with 2.9 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 71% positive. To compare, the company-average is 67.9% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Summer Associate roles take an average of 12 days to get hired, when considering 50 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Kirkland & Ellis overall takes an average of 28 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Kirkland & Ellis as a Summer Associate according to 50 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 41%
Phone interview: 15%
Group panel interview: 14%
Personality test: 12%
Presentation: 5%
Skills test: 5%
Background check: 3%
Other: 2%
Drug test: 2%
IQ intelligence test: 2%
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