Legal career giants Stanford and Yale Law are leading the pack in shifting their summer associate recruitment programs ahead by a month to June. In an industry where every other ace law school records a delay, the firms' commitment to early hiring remains solid.
Major Law Schools Resistant to Change
While Stanford and Yale embrace change, Harvard, Columbia, and New York University, among other top-tier law schools, maintain their late July or early August schedule for their primary interview program. These institutions are vital suppliers of Big Law summer associates, and their reluctance to adopt an earlier timeline contrasts sharply with their competitors' approach.
Recent records show that Yale and Stanford's strategy isn't without precedent. These institutions, sitting comfortably at the top of U.S. News & World Report's law school rankings, form part of an increasing trend where firms seek to secure earlier interview schedules for summer associate positions.
A Race Against the Clock
The rush for hiring has significantly cut down the recruitment process. Law firms now look for the crème de la crème amongst law students, eager to employ them after their second-year summer stint. This level of competition amongst law firms exists regardless of the economy's performance, and the changing dynamics have burdened students.
The hastened recruitment process leaves firms with just a semester of grades on which to assess potential recruits, while students have less than a year of their law school journey to make critical career decisions. It's more than just an academic race; the clock is also ticking for firms eager to snap up top talent before their competitors do.
FOMO in Associate Hiring
Much of the early hiring can be attributed to a fear of missing out (FOMO). Law firms are wary of watching from the sidelines as their rivals scoop up all the high performers, hence their aggressive recruitment approach.
Stanford and Yale confirmed the reshuffle in their recruitment strategy. They are responding to the trend of law firms wanting to hire before schools kickstart their official recruitment programs in late July and early August. A Stanford law spokesperson revealed that some firms felt the heat to step up early recruitment in 2024.
Precedent Setting in the Recruitment Arena
A notable wholesale movement to June interviews across all law schools is not likely. Early recruitment is primarily the domain of top-tier law firms, which hire from a small group of elite schools. However, according to a recent interview, other prestigious institutions may follow suit if Stanford and Yale's strategy yields more recruits through June interviews.
A glance back at history shows that a decade ago, major law firms carried out most of their summer associate recruitment in the fall of their second year. This process, facilitated by law schools and large law firms, was well-coordinated and formal.
A Turn for the Future?
Observing the growing number of summer associates hired before the formal recruitment process, otherwise known as "precruiting," top schools in 2022 devised "preview" programs as a countermove. These brought order to early hiring efforts by allowing students to engage with a limited number of firms before the larger recruitment programs.
Yale, notable for graduating many students into Big Law jobs, didn't have a preview program. Consequently, according to Kelly Voight, assistant dean for career development, the institution moved its recruitment schedule to June, a decision to maximize students' access to opportunities.
The school is considering revising the recruitment schedule if firms pull back on the early recruitment strategy. Whether they will do so remains to be seen, given that law firms extended 3,145 early summer associate offers in 2022, rising from 341 in 2018. Half of all summer associate offers were also dispatched ahead of official interview programs, accelerating the shift to a year-round recruitment cycle akin to other industries. No timeline or set process guides this trend, which now seems to be the industry norm.
