Summer program recruiting starts early, moves faster, stems from employer, new NALP study shows
The work of getting a summer associate job starts earlier, moves faster and is more likely to be conducted by employer-sponsored programs instead of law school-sponsored methods, according to a new study from the National Association for Law Placement.
The NALP’s annual Perspectives on 2025 Law Student Recruiting study, released Monday, shows that 80% of offers for the 2L 2026 summer program resulted from an employer’s recruiting efforts, while just 20% came from traditional law school programs, such as on-campus interviews. Most offers were made before July, and acceptance rates hit 52%, a record high, according to a Jan. 26 press release.
“It should give us pause that in a period already defined by significant institutional change and disruption, one of the forces exerting the most pressure on the structure of the first-year curriculum is not pedagogical reform or accreditation standards but employer recruiting activity,” said Nikia Gray, the NALP’s executive director, in the press release.
These moves are controversial. This month, 18 law student groups asking the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar are protesting the high-speed timelines for employment recruiting at law schools.
“The accelerated timelines have also begun to undermine legal education, student and staff well-being and the recruitment market,” according to the Jan. 1 letter written to Daniel Theis, the council’s chair.
For the second year in a row, direct application was the most frequently cited method by law offices to recruit 2L students, at 93%, according to the NALP study.
Nationally, the average number of 2L summer associates decreased to eight in 2025, down from nine in 2024 and 10 in 2022 and 2023, according to the study. This is the smallest average 2L class size per office since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced law firms to cancel or trim their programs.
In June, the ABA Journal first reported on the fast and furious pace of recruitment that shifted from just before the students’ 2L year to as early as during the 1L years, with some outreach starting just after students receive acceptance into law school.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
