Summer Associate Hiring Plummets 44%, Survey Shows
A survey of 114 law firms chronicles the tough job market for summer associates, finding a 44 percent drop in the number hired this year.
The law firms hired an average of 31 summer associates this year, down from 55 last year, the Am Law Daily reports.
In raw numbers, the largest drop came at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which hired 79 summer associates this year, compared to 223 last year, the story says. In percentages, the largest cut was at Ballard Spahr, which eliminated its summer program, followed by Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which cut its program by 81 percent.
Not every law firm is trimming summer associate hires, however. Among those adding or beefing up summer programs were Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge; Hinshaw & Culbertson; Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi; and Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear.
Ropes & Gray’s director of legal recruiting, Helen Long, summed up the competitive environment for law students in an interview with the Am Law Daily. “It used to be if you went to a Top Ten law school and if you were in the top three-fourths of the class, you had it made,” she said. “I’m not sure that that’s the case anymore.”
