Chadbourne Resumes Recruiting After Rescinding Job Offers
Some would-be associates at Chadbourne & Parke whose start dates were deferred and then their job offers rescinded aren’t happy about the firm’s plans to participate in campus recruiting beginning this August.
The New York Law Journal talked to four of the 11 associates who no longer have jobs waiting for them at the law firm. One said there were no hard feelings and understood it was a business decision. Another was more critical.
“I realize law is a business, but you hope there’s more of a professional aspect to it,” the lawyer told the publication. “It’s kind of frustrating.”
Three of the four lawyers told the New York Law Journal that they turned down other law firm offers to take jobs with Chadbourne and now find themselves left out of the large law firm hiring cycle. Two said they have applied for more than 100 jobs since being deferred.
Chadbourne partner and recruiting head Scott Berson defended the firm’s decision. This year, 15 summer associates will be working at Chadbourne.
“We thought not having a summer program or drastically reducing a summer program would send the wrong message, because we’re very optimistic about our future,” Berson told the New York Law Journal. “We don’t want to cut ties with other law schools or at least leave the impression with law schools we’re drastically changing our policies about recruiting.”
The story identifies two other law firms that have rescinded summer associate offers: Arent Fox based in Washington, D.C., and Winstead in Dallas.
