Cadwalader Shrinks Summer Associate Program
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is hiring only 58 summer associates this year, down from 101 law students who participated in the program last year.
With fewer summer associates, the firm can assign more “real work” and cultivate a better experience, says hiring committee chair Paul Mourning.
Cadwalader recently laid off 35 associates, but the firm says the economic downturn that prompted the cuts is not the reason for its smaller summer program, the AmLaw Daily reports. Instead, Cadwalader hopes to improve retention by keeping the number of hires low.
“We made a decision in spring 2007 that we would consciously shrink the summer program so we could improve the experience of summer associates,” Mourning told the AmLaw Daily. A smaller program will allow associates to concentrate on substantive work related to client service, marketing and pro bono, the so-called real work, he said. “Our experience is that actually makes them happiest.”
