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Exploring Career Options

9/2/2009 12:00:48 PM EST

Summer 2010: Will Prospects for Associates Improve?

Prepare Now to Widen Your Interview Scope

Posted by BBLP

We saw it this past summer, and now 2Ls and 3Ls concern continues about the stalled economy’s impact on hiring in 2010. The summer of 2009 showed us that law firms are being very conservative about summer and associate hiring. Some scaled back or even eliminated summer associate programs. With many firms cutting back, students received fewer offers, so accepting a higher proportion and driving up the law firms’ yield (so instead of accepting, say, 1 in 4 offers, students were accepting 1 in 3). As we look ahead to next summer, the question becomes, will we have a repeat of the situation Law Students faced in 2009? If you are a lucky 2L who will get to choose among offers, you might want to ask your law firm about the capacity of their summer associate program. If it’s at capacity, you might not have a permanent offer waiting at the end of the summer. Until the economy resurges, it could be a smaller 3L market again next year, so prepare now for a wider search.

On the other hand, besides a slightly lower chance of a post-grad offer, the summer program experience should be mainly the same. Firms are not likely to try to save money on compensation. But if you were worried about the “summer associate 15,” things are likely to be easier on your physique. With law firms laying off mid-level employees, the same level of wining and dining might seem inappropriate. Don’t be surprised if firms spend less money on meals and entertainment for their summer recruits.

Heading to a big New York firm (or hoping to do so next year)? The longer-term situation there is a little hazier. New York firms have a lot of work right now cleaning up the financial fiasco. There could be problems 2-3 years down the line, however. Financial institutions are big clients at these firms, and the fact that many of these clients have basically ceased to exist could make for rocky business.

For those not yet savoring offers or 1Ls thinking about their prospects next year, what is the right approach in this economic environment? The answer is not re-assuring. Basically, law firms are looking for the same criteria; they can just afford to be more demanding. Grades and work experience remain top qualifications, and firms will be looking for higher (grades) and more (experience). If you happen to have a background in hard science, you are also in particularly high demand as patent prosecution and IP litigation are flourishing. Unless you can persuade the interviewer of your qualifications in these fields, emphasizing other practice areas won’t be particularly helpful, so just go with what you most want to do instead of avowing your passion for bankruptcy law. Although there are no tricky ways to get an edge in the bad economy, the good news is that along with grades and experience, firms are looking for diversity. Firms’ attempt to improve their dismal diversity numbers is too important to sacrifice in an economic downturn. (We just have to make sure to keep demanding it!)

It’s unclear how bleak the situation will be in the coming months and years. In past recessions, law firms have cut back on their entering classes just to find themselves with too few mid-level associates a few years down the line. Thus, firms are very cautious about retracting too much this time around. Firms have to balance the current depressed business with building up a robust force for a more prosperous economy five years down the line. So the cut backs might not be too bad after all.

By Marsha Hansford

Updated 9/2/2009