Big Law Firms’ Predicament: Committed to Hire More Lawyers than Needed
Because big law firms make associate hiring commitments two years in advance, they are finding themselves in a bind.
As the economic downturn has cut into legal work, the firms are pledged to hire more lawyers than they need. Some firms are hiring several new associates even though they recently laid off other lawyers. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) takes a look at the reason for the unusual situation: summer associate programs.
Large law firms hire summer associates in well-paid internship programs between their first and second years of law school. At the end of the summer, most of these students are hired to begin work after graduation. Law firms don’t want to turn down too many for fear they will be labeled a sweatshop, or troubled, or unfriendly to women.
The newspaper says the “strange and rigid hiring process … has been entrenched for a long time.” A few smaller law firms have ditched their summer associate programs and some larger law firms are questioning whether they are the best way to hire. But widespread change is unlikely.
Some law firm managers say the programs are beneficial because they are a good way to evaluate potential new hires. And being among the first firms to change could prove disastrous. Jay Zimmerman, the chairman of Bingham McCutchen, explained why. “To get the best law students, the best talent, you absolutely have to be in this market,” he told the newspaper.
