10/09/2009 04:59:14 PM EST
Time to Change Traditional Law Firm Recruiting Practices
After the recent cancellations of some top firms’ associate programs and deferrals of associates’ offers, many big firms are rethinking their recruitment processes from the ground up. Some are slashing first year salaries and others are reconsidering the viability of summer programs. The bottom line is that law students will feel the pain.
The
Boston Business Journal reports that many large Boston firms are looking at alternatives. The current system of
recruiting summer associate classes for the following year in the fall, then retaining more than 90 percent as first-year associates for the next fall was referred to as antiquated. Hiring partner John V. Snellings of Nixon Peabody LLP claimed the system no longer makes good economic sense. He added in the Journal report that his firm is looking at alternatives including an apprenticeship in order to provide new lawyers with better hands-on training. The economic downturn means the amount of work for new associates has plummeted. Partner Brion Bickerton of Legal staffing firm Major, Lindsey & Africa told the Journal that it makes good business sense for firms to delay hiring until they have more predictable work levels.
Law schools are preparing for the changing environment as well.
The ABA Journal reports that Randi Friedman, assistant dean at Northeastern University Law School suggests bigger changes are coming. “It’s going to be the beginning of a new era. I already have seen a change in the law students. They see the world can change in an instant.”
Posted by Lori Webster Sieron, Lexis Hub Staff