The Vault ranks summer associate programs based on "best preparation for practice."

The Vault.com released today its second annual ranking of overall best summer associate programs including which programs best prepare students for practice. The rankings are based on survey responses from more than 17,000 first through third year associates who were asked about the summer programs they attended while law students.

Here's the top ten best overall summer programs:

1.  Williams & Connolly

2.  Hughes Hubbard & Reed          

3.  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

4.  Venable

5.  Dickstein Shapiro   

6.  Linklaters / Kasowitz (tie)                   

7.  Shook, Hardy & Bacon 

8.  Ropes & Gray      

9.  Baker & Hostetler 

10. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner

And here are the top ten firms survey respondents said best prepared them for practice:

1. Williams & Connolly

2. Venable

3. Cravath, Swaine & Moore

4. Hughes Hubbard & Reed

5. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

6. Baker & Hostetler / Dickstein Shapiro (tie)

7. Carlton Fields

8. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

9. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner

10. Holland & Knight

Click here to read the full press release including associate comments about many of the programs and which ones they ranked as the most "fun."

(jbl).