JD Journal » summer associates

How to succeed in on-campus interviews

EmploymentCrossing — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:01:22 +0000

With summer almost over, law firms will be descending on law schools across the country to interview students for the next year’s summer internships and clerkship offers. But just having good grades is not enough. Frank Kimball, of Lateral Link has tips on what you can do to increase your chances of getting selected.

Read the original article here:
Career Center: Preparing for On-Campus Interviews — Know Your Strengths & Limitations

NALP Reports Better Employment Outlook for Recent Law Graduates

aostler — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:09:42 +0000

There is good news for recent law graduates. According to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), the rate of summer associates that received offers increased to 87% in 2010, from a historic low of 69% in 2009. The increase of 18% is much closer to what the offer rates were in 2008, which was 90%.

Having more job offers available has made law graduates a little bit pickier. For permanent job offers, acceptance rates dropped a little bit, going down to 82% in 2010 from 85% in 2009. Also, the median number of summer offers for 2Ls that firms put out went up a little bit, from seven to nine. Despite all of this, the summer programs overall size dropped a little bit more, with a median class size of four, instead of about six, which it had stayed close to for almost 10 years. 3Ls were also still not in high demand by law offices, as only 15% of them said that they interviewed them, and of those only 40% were given job offers.

There is no need to worry about these smaller class sizes and low demand for 3Ls, as there is more good news. According to the survey taken by NALP, in 2011, most law firm officers that didn’t have a summer program in 2010 are planning on adding one this year, which is good news for both law students and recent graduates.

Job Market for New Grads Edges up

joshua — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:38:42 +0000

According to NALP, the job market for new grads is edging back upwards after two years of falling indicators, but has not yet returned to pre-recession numbers. In a press release issued today, NALP said the new numbers reflected a “…soft bounce in the market.”

The biggest gainer was the job offer rates for summer interns, which shot up 18% to 87.4%. A large improvement to be sure, but still below 2008′s 89.9%. And even though the percent of summer interns being offered a job is increasing, the overall number of interns is still down, with a national average of 9 interns compared to the highwater mark of 15 set in 2007. The good news is that this is still an improvement over the 7 interns per firm in 2009.

The Innocence Project and Winston & Strawn LLP Launch InnocenceRecord.org

joshua — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:07:36 +0000

Today, the Innocence Project and Winston & Strawn LLP launched InnocenceRecord.org. It is the first on-line, searchable database of the court records and other data of the cases of those who have been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated through DNA evidence.

Innocence Project board member and author of An Innocent Man John Grisham described the Innocence Record as “a much-needed analytical tool in the effort to advance innocence reform across the country.”

Over the years the Innocence Project amassed a large collection of records from the cases of those exonerated through DNA evidence. Building on that unique repository, for the last six years, attorneys, summer associates, paralegals, researchers and staff at Winston & Strawn and the Innocence Project have devoted thousands of hours scouring the country for every available court record relating to cases where wrongfully convicted defendants were later exonerated through the use of DNA evidence. Winston & Strawn then carefully summarized and abstracted these files, while the records themselves were archived and digitized.

For the first time, these case abstracts and records can now be accessed and searched by users in a variety of ways, including by name, date, jurisdiction, or even by individual words within the records themselves.

In today’s press release at PR Newswire, Winston & Strawn partner David Koropp, who has overseen the development of this project since its inception was quoted as saying: ”The ultimate objective of the Innocence Record is to preserve these critically important documents and create a means for making them accessible to those academics, legislators, law enforcement agencies, and members of the general public interested in understanding why wrongful convictions take place and in discovering ways to prevent them from occurring in the future.”

The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. To date, 254 people nationwide have been exonerated through DNA testing and dozens of states have implemented critical reforms to prevent wrongful convictions. Additional information is available at www.innocenceproject.org.

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm with more than 900 attorneys among 14 offices in Beijing, Charlotte, Chicago, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Newark, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.

Firms Looking to Increase Summer Hires

joshua — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:08:16 +0000

AM Law Daily provided some encouraging news Friday in a preview of the upcoming summer hiring season. According to its reporting, summer associate class-size is expected to show significant increases in some cases among the more prestigious firms.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which has a summer class size of 23 now, is expected to increase its hiring to around 75 for next summer. The story notes how Cravath “shocked the market” when it slashed its summer class size from 123 in 2009 to this year’s low number.

The number of summer associates at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom fell from 225 in 2009 to 79 this year, but that number could jump back to over 100.

While still not at the levels from before the cuts, the AM Law Daily notes that the increases are “a modest jump, but modest jumps are what pass for good news these days.”

Ropes & Gray could go over 100 summer associates after having 82 this year. Jones Day expects to increase its summer class from the 124 of this year and Proskauer Rose will hold steady.

None of this is official, however, as much of the information for the story is based largely on anonymous sources.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:56:16 +0000

Good morning! Today is Thursday, July 22, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s news…

Lindsay Lohan lost another lawyer on her way to jail…

A UC Berkley report finds that law professors lean to the left…

Merger talksbetween Townsend & Townsend and Kilpatric Stockton have broken down…

Ulmer & Berne add three lawyers in Ohio…

and summer hiring among top law first is down significantly this year…

Survey Confirms Summer Hiring Cool If Not Frozen

eric — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:26:58 +0000

AmLaw Daily reported today that firms have cooled their 2010 summer associate hiring down by an average of 44 percent. That equates to roughly an average of 31 fewer summer associates per firm for each of the 114 firms that took the publication’s survey.

Am Law is also reporting that some of the biggest dips in hiring came from those firms found on its “A” List. This includes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which went from 223 summer associates last year to a meager 79 this year, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which saw an 81 percent cut in summer jobs. Ballard Spahr eliminated its summer camp entirely.

Finally, both Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Latham & Watkins had the largest summer school classes, although both saw a shrinking, about 40 associates less, of those classes.

Clients Could Refuse To Pay For Summer Associate Hours

eric — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:11:58 +0000

The New York Law Journal: A major bank has announced it will not pay for summer associate time. Is this an omen of things to come and the end of a law firm institution? Will unbarred pre-graduates across the country find themselves cocktail, tee time and ridiculously, unimportant-assignment free this summer?

The malaised economy has pierced, once again, the veil that has been cast on the attorney-client fee structure in the last several decades and the results are guaranteed to not be pretty for potential law school students looking for that cushy summer job. In fact, according to the piece, summer associates should expect an increase in more substantive, time consuming assignments. Better for your golf handicap? Nah. But it will sure get you prepared for the real world of big firms in the 21st century.

Morris Manning & Martin Announces Summer Associate Program

eric — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:36:30 +0000

Morris Manning & Martin announced today that it is reinstating it summer associate program. The firm will be hosting nine associates during the summer months.

According to the firm’s human resource partner, Vanessa Goggans, the firm opted out of the ten week program in 2009 due to economic reasons, a trend among many law firms. However, this year the firm has seen significant economic growth, Goggan reports and the firm is excited to reinstate the program.

Morris, Manning & Martin is a full-service commercial law firm representing domestic and international clients throughout the United States. MMM’s goal is to deliver industry-focused, diverse legal solutions by, involved lawyers who are dedicated to clients’ success, whether in a transaction, in court or in the everyday course of business. MMM specializes in green industry, healthcare, intellectual property, capital markets, environmental, insurance, mergers & acquisitions, technology, timberland and forest products, real estate, and litigation practices. MMM has offices in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah, Taipei, Beijing and Washington, D.C. and now an alliance with FGCN in São Paulo, Brazil.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:45:20 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, March 26, and before we head into the weekend let’s take a look back at yesterday’s headlines…

All 60 members of UCI’s inaugural class have landed summer jobs…

Morris Manning & Martin has established a foothold in South America by forging an alliance with a Brazilian firm…

A federal judge has rejected a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit brought by workers involved in the cleanup from 9/11…

Lady Gaga is facing a lawsuit brought by a former boyfriend and business associate…

Duane Morris is the latest firm to report good numbers for 2009…

California voters will get the chance to vote on an initiative legalizing marijuana…

A group of workers in Louisiana has won a large class action lawsuit for occupational hearing loss…

and Ropes & Gray has been hit with a plagiarism lawsuit…

McGuireWoods Issues Offers for Summer Class

joshua — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:53:40 +0000

The weather has turned cold, the leaves are falling from the trees in bright shades of orange and red, pumpkins are in season so that must mean it’s time to get around to making offers to your summer class, or at least, some of your offers, right?

Well that’s what McGuireWoodsis doing this week. Long after most firms have broken the bad news for the year, McGuireWoods is making some offers to its summer class. Those that don’t receive offers in this wave, take heart – you’re on a waiting list and could receive offers later. It could be worse, you could be on your second deferral!

In other McGuireWoods news… Timothy Heaphy, a partner from the Washington DC office, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate last night as the new U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

McGuire Woods is a 900-lawyer firm that has offices in 15 US cities including New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Chicago. It has existing international offices in Brussels and Almaty.

Nixon Peabody Lay Offs – Shhhh

joshua — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:36:45 +0000

In February we told you about staff layoffs at Nixon Peabody, and in April we reported on salary cuts. Those salary cuts were billed as a way to save associate jobs in a struggling economy. Now it appears that those cuts were not enough and that Nixon Peabody has been quietly laying off 2nd and 3rd year associates. The affected attorneys are being let go based on performance, but performance in this case may mean there’s not enough business for you to keep up with your billable hours. Unlike earlier cuts, the firm has remained tight lipped about these layoffs, so exact numbers are hard to come by. If you have more information or want to share your own layoff story anonymously, send us a tip here.

Fenwick & West Make Offers to Less Than Half its Summers

joshua — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:56:36 +0000

Earlier this week we told you that Fenwick & West paid several of its incoming associates to find work elsewhere. Today we have the numbers for this year’s crop of summer associates and like many other firms, the numbers aren’t pretty. The firm made offers to 17 of its 36 summer associates. The remaining 19 received a letter explaining that the rejections were due to tough economic times.

Fenwick & West LLP is a full service law firm focusing on technology and life sciences clients. It employs approximately 300 attorneys in 4 offices.

Bonus Season – DLA Piper Says Yes

joshua — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:57:18 +0000

We don’t know yet how much, but DLA Piper has informed its associates that there will be bonuses this year. The total bonus will be between 5 and 50 thousand, to be determined by DLA Piper in January. This, combined with a healthy 86% offer rate for this years summer associates, indicates some real optimism about the future at DLA Piper. We can only hope that it’s a harbinger of good things to come across the board.

DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world. It is a legal services organization whose members and affiliates are separate and distinct legal entities. The organization boasts more than 3,500 lawyers in 29 countries and 65 offices.

2,000 Jobs Lost in September for the Legal Sector

joshua — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:24:44 +0000

Unless you live in a cave, by now you’ve probably heard that the latest numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that we lost another 263,000 jobs in September, nationwide. 2,000 of those jobs came from the legal sector, when the numbers are seasonally adjusted. Without seasonal adjustments the legal sector lost 13,600 jobs, but that’s most likely caused by large numbers of summer associates returning back to school.

We report here on layoffs from big law firms, and for the past two weeks no big law firms have laid off attorneys although Cooley Godward did let go of some staffat the end of last week. These numbers are a sobering reminder that there are plenty of lawyers and legal staff outside the biglaw world that are struggling as well.

Wildman Harrold Rescinds Offers

joshua — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:28:33 +0000

Wildman rescinded the offers it had made to 10 of its 14 incoming associates yesterday. Unlike other firms that we’ve reported on, Wildman Harrold is not offering a stipend to these suddenly unemployed attorneys. Harrold

Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon was founded in 1967 by Max Wildman, Bernard Harrold, Thomas D. Allen, and Stewart S. Dixon. It employs 200 attorneys at its locations in Chicago, Illinois and Beverly Hills, California.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:06:54 +0000

Good morning one and all. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

Schulte Roth has sent out offers to its summer associates…

McDermott Will & Emery picks up two well known faces…

The American Lawyer put out this years Global 100…

and Carlton Fields picks up four new lawyers…

Schulte Roth Offers for Summer Associates

joshua — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:29:19 +0000

Schulte Roth ran an abbreviated eight week summer program this year, and back at the end of July announced they were not making any offers yet, but would get around to it eventually. Eventually arrived yesterday. Early reports indicate that approximately two-thirds of this years group received offers, but the firm has not confirmed that number. The firm has already announced that next year the summer program will be 11 weeks and that they anticipate having enough offers for every summer associate.

Schulte Roth & Zabel is one of the top 100 largest law firms by revenue. The firm was founded in New York City in 1969 and launched in London in 2002. The firm also has an office in Washington, DC. Schulte employs nearly 450 attorneys in its three offices.

FTC Closes its Doors to New Applicants

joshua — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:35:36 +0000

Deferrals, layoffs, low offer rates for summer associates… what’s next? Apparently things have gotten so bad that even the federal government doesn’t want any more lawyers. The FTC announced today that it was closing its application process for current positions early – they already have more applicants than they can handle.

Skadden Arps To Cut Summer Program Invitations In Half

todd — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:17:45 +0000

Prominent New York based firm Skadden Arps sent out offers to potential candidates for their 2010 summer program. The firm, which boasts over 2,000 lawyers, announced in August that there would be massive cuts to their summer hiring. They hired 225 students for this summer’s program and they plan to hire less than half of that for the summer of 2010.

It is up in the air as to how the rates for summer participants will compare to previous years.

Alston Bird Defers its Deferrals, Indefinitely

joshua — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:05:46 +0000

Back in March, we told you that Alston Bird was deferring its incoming class of new associates. With so many firms doing this, it hardly seems like news anymore. Now, however, the same group of new associates have been deferred again, and this time the deferral is indefinite.

This does not bode well for this years group of summer associates who are still waiting for offers.

Alston & Bird LLP is the second largest law firm in Atlanta, Georgia and the 43rd largest in the United States. Founded in 1893, the firm has offices in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; New York City; Washington, DC; Dallas; Los Angeles, the Silicon Valley and Ventura County.

No Offers… Yet… for Alston & Bird Summers

joshua — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:04:55 +0000

The ides of September are nearly upon us, and Alston & Bird still haven’t decided who they want to keep. Not to worry, says the firm, offers are forthcoming, just as soon as they get it all figured out. The firm has decided to coordinate offers as a firm this year, but decision are being made office by office and not every office has finalized its decision. I sure hope someone at Alston & Bird gave the summers an explanation that needs a little less parsing than that…

Alston & Bird is an Atlanta based firm with 900 attorneys in 9 domestic offices.

Tough Times at Squire Sanders

joshua — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:49:48 +0000

It has already been a rough year for Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Back in July we reported that they have cancelled their summer 2010 program, cut salaries by 10% and laid off 30 attorneys. Now we get news that the firm may not make offers to any of their summer associates from this year and that more attorneys were quietly let go in August.

Squire Sanders was founded in 1890 in Cleveland, Ohio, and has 32 offices today in 15 countries.

Two-Thirds of Drinker Biddle Summers Get Offers

joshua — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:26:05 +0000

In a year marked by layoffs, deferred start dates and low offer rates, this almost sounds like good news. Drinker Biddle made offers to 25 out of 37 summer associates, firm wide. While it’s certainly better than we’ve seen from some firms this year, it’s still a step back from last year when Drinker Biddle had a larger summer class and a higher offer rate. The firm is not deferring incoming associates but they are starting them out with a six month training program at a reduced salary.

Drinker Biddle was founded in 1849 in Philadelphia, and has 12 offices nationwide with over 650 attorneys today.

Pepper Hamilton Makes Offers to 50% of Summer Associates

joshua — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:08:58 +0000

Last year, Pepper Hamilton made offers to 79% of its summer associates, firm wide. This year, the firm reports that 7 out of 14 of its summers, all in the Philadelphia office, will receive offers. The firm has stated that the reduction in offers is due to the downturn in the economy. No decision on start dates for the new associates has been made. If they are deferred, you will read about it here.

Pepper Hamilton is a US firm with 11 offices and 500 attorneys. Core areas of practice include product liability defense for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, corporate transactions and commercial litigation.

Kirkland to Layoff More than 20

joshua — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:50:12 +0000

Kirkland & Ellis piled on the bad news today with layoffs in their New York and Washington DC offices. More than 20 were let go in New York, and an unspecified number in DC. First and second year corporate lawyers were hit particularly hard. These layoffs come at the end of the associate review process and at least one person has said that lawyers not on track to become partners or non equity partners were asked to go. Does it strike anyone else as odd that Kirkland is ready to make that kind of decision based on one or two years of associate level work? Certainly no company wants to admit they are struggling but is it a crime in a weak economy to acknowledge that some layoffs are for purely financial reasons? It is worth noting that Kirkland hasn’t laid anyone off since this time last year and that a significant percentage of summer associates were given offers.

Kirkland & Ellis has 9 offices total, with 6 in the United States. They are best known for their litigation, bankruptcy, and intellectual property departments. They have a track record of high revenues and profits, topping $1.3 billion in revenues in 2007.

Morgan Lewis Update

joshua — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:09:22 +0000

Last week we reported that Morgan Lewis was not making any offers to its summer associates in the Washington DC office. i After the firm put out a statement to the contrary, we updated our report. Now Morgan Lewis has released its firm wide numbers, and they aren’t pretty.

Of the 102 eligible summer associates, Morgan Lewis made offers to 28. These offers are to start in 2011, a year later than would normally be expected, due to the deferrals of the 2009 class to 2010. The firm did not release city by city offer rates and still plans to both forgo on campus recruiting this year and to change associate compensation models to a performance based standard with lower base pay.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is a law firm that was founded as Morgan & Lewis in Philadelphia in 1873. It has 1,400 lawyers in 22 offices worldwide.

Friday morning roundup

joshua — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:30:35 +0000

Good morning and TGIF! Here’s a look at yesterday’s news.

The outlook for summer associates at Morgan Lewis is bleak…

Illinois may have to wait a bit longer for video poker…

Baker Botts lays off associates in Houston…

and a nationwide crackdown on DUI’s is showing results…

Summer associates at Morgan Lewis left in the cold

joshua — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:47:52 +0000

♫ Summer dreams, ripped at the seams, but oh oh those summer nights… ♫

As any fan of the musical Grease can tell you, summers are the stuff of dreams. Not so if you’re a Morgan Lewis & Bockius summer associate this year. Tips coming from the Washington DC office originally indicated that the total number of offers being made to summer associates there is zero, but Morgan Lewis has refuted that claim. Can any summer associates from the DC office confirm that offers have been made? Send us a confidential tip! This comes on the heels of the decision to cancel the summer program altogether for 2010.

Morgan Lewis employs more than 1400 lawyers in 22 cities around the world.

Setfarth Shaw Cancels 2010 Summer Program

Erik Even — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:05:53 +0000

Seyfarth Shaw, which laid off 50 people in May, has announced it will not host a Summer associate program in 2010.

The firm stressed that the cancellation is a one-time decision, and is not permanent. It will also continue to hire from law schools.

Last year’s Summers will start in either January or October 2010, and this year’s Summers who get offers will begin in January 2011.

Chicago’s Seyfarth Shaw LLP is a full-service law firm founded in 1945. It has ten offices.

Schulte Roth & Zabel Not Extending Job Offers to Summers

Erik Even — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:36:36 +0000

New York City’s Schulte Roth & Zabel, which in April laid off 20 attorneys and deferred 2009 associates to 2010, has informed its current Summer associates that no job offers will be made at this time.

Usually, the firm extends job offers for the next year to Summer associates at the end of the program, which concludes this week.

The firm says it will make some offers eventually, but no decisions have been made as to how many, or if any start dates will be deferred.

If you have any details about Summer associate hiring at Schulte, please — send us a confidential tip!

Summer 2010 Trifecta: Squire Sanders Cancels Program

Erik Even — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:23:36 +0000

Squire Sanders has decided not to plan a 2010 Summer associate program, although the firm intends to reevaluate its hiring situation in the Spring.

This on the same day that Thompson Hine and Ballard Spahr notified law schools that they have canceled their 2010 Summer associate programs.

The firm is still accepting resumes, which may be evaluated in the Spring.

Squire Sanders cut associate salaries by 10% in May, and laid off 30 attorneys.

Founded in 1890, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP has 32 offices in 15 countries across the globe.

Thompson Hine Also Cancels 2010 Summer Program

Erik Even — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:14:53 +0000

On the same day that Ballard Spahr and Squire Sanders made similar announcements, Thompson Hine has decided to cancel its 2010 Summer Program.

The firm may still recruit for specific practice groups.

In February, the firm imposed an across-the-board $17,500 base salary reduction on associates and other non-partner lawyers.

Founded in 1911, Thompson Hine employs more than 400 lawyers in eight offices in Ohio, Washington DC, New York, and Belgium.

Ballard Spahr Cancels 2010 Summer Program

Erik Even — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:43:58 +0000

Ballard Spahr has followed the example made by Morgan Lewis last week, and canceled its 2010 Summer Program.

The firm made no formal announcement, but notified law schools of the decision.

Thompson Hine and Squire Sanders made similar announcements today.

Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll employs more than 550 lawyers in twelve offices located throughout the mid-Atlantic corridor and the western US.

White & Case Deferring Summer Associates to 2011

Erik Even — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:21:48 +0000

White & Case has announced that Summer 2009 associates who are offered positions with the firm will not start until Fall 2011.

The firm expects to offer jobs to most if not all of the associates.

White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with 38 offices in 25 countries. It was founded in New York in 1901. The American Lawyer ranked the firm sixth by revenue in the US in its annual Am Law 100 financial survey for 2007.