Some law firms aim for best summer associates with early job offers
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Some law firms are extending offers for summer associate jobs before on-campus interviews even begin.
Several prestigious New York law firms were the first to get a jump start on the hiring season, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. They began making the early offers in 2014, and more firms followed suit the next year.
Twenty-six percent of law firms reported making job offers before on-campus interviews, according to the National Association for Law Placement. Students from about 40 different law schools said they received early summer associate offers.
NALP executive director James Leipold told the National Law Journal that the early job offers are a response to “some anxiety about the pipeline” among firms. They are concerned about the smaller number of law grads and lower academic credentials of incoming students, even though those issues don’t usually affect large law firms able to snag the top students.
The change in job-offer timing has created uncertainty for students who are unsure whether to reach out early to law firms or to wait for on-campus interviews, the article says.
