Recently, an AmLaw 100 firm approached us with a challenge. Every year, they welcomed a class of promising summer associates, but when it came time to make hiring decisions, their evaluation process was beginning to feel more like guesswork than science. Firm decision-makers relied too heavily on various law school rankings, GPA, and varying subjective feedback from supervising attorneys. These traditional methods weren’t cutting it. The firm reported that, usually within a year or two after the hiring decision was made, they’d realized that some associates with top academic credentials struggled with practical skills, while others who lacked the most prestigious resumes excelled when given the opportunity.
Without a data-driven, competency-based evaluation process, hiring decisions were sometimes based on gut feelings rather than tangible, job-relevant skills. And, with the cost of bringing on and developing a new associate estimated at $400,000 over four years, it's essential for firms to maximize their summer associate programs to ensure long-term retention and ROI.
"The AltaClaro tool was instrumental by providing our firm valuable data that facilitated borderline hiring decisions.” – Hiring Partner, Am Law 100 Firm
Traditional hiring methods, while well-established, often fail to assess real-world capabilities lawyers need to thrive. Academic performance and law school prestige will provide a limited view of an associate’s ability to synthesize information, apply legal concepts, and regard practical challenges when encountered in practice. Additionally, reliance on subjective feedback from supervising attorneys introduces variability in evaluations, with unconscious bias and inconsistencies creeping into the decision-making process.
This firm, like many others, realized they needed a better method of assessing new talent—one that measured real-world legal and critical thinking skills, a learner mind-set, reduced unconscious and/or coded bias, and provided actionable insights for both hiring and associate development. The firm was seeking a tool that would provide objective, data-driven insights into each associate’s capabilities while ensuring fairness and consistency across the board.
Recognizing the need for a more objective, data-driven approach to its summer program, this AmLaw 100 firm partnered with AltaClaro to design an efficient program intended to transform its evaluation and training process.
Enter: AltaClaro’s Summer Associate Training & Assessment Tool (SAAT), designed to disrupt the way law firms evaluate and develop their summer talent. By combining artificial and human intelligence in a seamless, data-driven approach using real-world simulated assignments and standardized assessments, the SAAT allows firms to gain valuable insights that lead to stronger hiring decisions and better-prepared associates.
The firm implemented SAAT to create a more structured, competency-based hiring process. The tool provided a three-pronged approach to evaluating summer associates:
"The surprising thing is that there was absolutely no correlation [between AltaClaro results and traditional data points], which I think is why this tool is going to be so useful.” – Director of Recruiting, Am Law 100 Firm
The SAAT Tool employs a structured process to provide in-depth insights into each associate's skills and potential. Summer associates begin by participating in one or more of AltaClaro's experiential legal training courses, each of which includes one hour of bite-sized instructional videos and interactive self-assessments, two hours of self-paced simulated assignment that mirrors real-world legal tasks, and a one-hour live review session with a highly vetted practitioner instructor. After the review session, each associate receives an individual feedback report for their submitted assignment.
The individual report process includes a rigorous, two-step review of each submitted assignment:
Each associate receives a detailed individual feedback report for their submitted assignment. This report provides in-depth, issue-by-issue comment and analysis, highlighting areas of strength and areas for improvement. It also includes anonymized peer comparison data. For each component of the assignment, the report evaluates critical factors to ensure associates demonstrate both practical skills and strong analytical thinking. Specifically, it assesses the associate's ability to:
The individual report aims to help associates recognize their strengths and areas for improvement. It serves as a tool for targeted mentoring in challenging areas. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for associates to practice on a simulated assignment and receive immediate, constructive feedback early in the summer program. This feedback primes them on the type of insights that will help them deliver excellent work product, effectively alleviating the pressure of turning in their first assignment directly to partners or senior lawyers at the firm. This experience significantly boosts their confidence before handling real-world tasks.
“Going into the summer program, I was honestly a bit nervous about how I'd stack up. The AltaClaro assignment was challenging, but it was exactly the kind of real-world task I hoped to get. The analysis was insightful, and the personalized feedback from the instructor in the report was what really made a difference. It wasn't just 'good job' or 'needs improvement,' it was specific, actionable advice that helped me understand why something worked or didn't. Plus, getting that feedback before presenting to partners? Huge confidence booster. It felt like I was getting a head start, knowing what to focus on to deliver excellent work.” – 2L Summer Associate at Am Law 100 Firm
Following the assessment, the firms receive a detailed report on the summer associates' performance and feedback from the SAAT. This report allows the firm's talent development team to identify associates who need extra support and the specific areas they need to improve. The data is invaluable for tailoring internal mentoring and training initiatives, and making informed work allocation decisions during the summer program and beyond. The report serves as a crucial tool to proactively identify and address areas where additional support is needed, and to recognize associates who demonstrate a strong learner mindset and are fully engaged with the training.
"The person who performed the best of the best on the AltaClaro assignment was not somebody we considered the best of the best in our class. And it flipped the mindset and the perspective of a couple people and how they looked at that student's potential because of it.” – Hiring Partner, Am Law 100 Firm
The firm quickly saw measurable improvements in its hiring process. SAAT provided structured feedback that helped hiring managers make informed decisions with greater confidence. Unlike traditional hiring metrics, such as law school rankings or GPA, SAAT scoring metrics revealed top performers who might have been overlooked using conventional criteria.
Some of the highest-scoring associates were not necessarily at the top of their law school classes, demonstrating the tool’s ability to uncover hidden talent. This allowed the firm to recognize and retain associates who excelled in practical, real-world scenarios.
What started as a hiring tool quickly became a critical part of the firm’s professional development strategy. By integrating personalized feedback and competency assessments into early-career training programs, the firm could identify skill gaps early and provide targeted development opportunities.
The firm also identified key areas for refining its data reporting. With SAAT’s structured framework, they were able to:
By continuing to refine its use of SAAT, the firm was able to make its hiring and training processes even more efficient.
Following the successful pilot, the firm chose to fully integrate SAAT into future summer programs, expanding its use to include legal writing assessments and other key evaluation areas. AltaClaro collaborated closely with the firm’s in-house training teams to refine the tool’s reporting features, ensuring alignment with the firm’s specific hiring objectives and providing actionable data to support informed decision-making.
As more law firms recognize the advantages of data-driven evaluation, combined with expert human review, SAAT is positioned to become a standard in modernizing legal hiring and associate development. This AmLaw 100 firm’s experience with SAAT demonstrates that leveraging objective, competency-based insights can lead to more effective hiring decisions and better-prepared associates, ultimately enhancing long-term success.
Curious about how our Summer Associate Training & Assessment Tool (SAAT) can optimize your recruitment and training practices? See the results for yourself—book a demo today.