National Jurist - March 2009 - (Page 4) THEFIRMREPORT Entry-level recruiting slows with economy After four years of a very strong legal recruiting market, the fall of 2008 marked what is likely to be the beginning of a weaker legal employment market that may last for a number of years, according to the National Association for Law Placement. Information provided by NALP members about fall 2008 recruiting confirms that the market for entry-level legal employment constricted measurably, especially for second year students. Though the median and average summer class size remained unchanged from last year for rising third year students, the offer rate for entry-level associate positions fell by nearly three full percentage points to 89.9 percent. While still a very healthy offer rate, it is the lowest offer rate recorded since 2003. The acceptance rate for these summer offers also jumped by nearly three full percentage points to 79.7 percent, and marks the highest offer acceptance rate recorded since NALP began compiling these figures in 1993. This lower offer rate and higher acceptance rate for this class reflect an economy that was slowing dramatically in August and September. The most dramatic impact of the current economic situation on legal employment opportunities can be seen in the numbers that describe the fall recruiting of second year students. Across employers of all sizes, the median number of offers extended dropped dramatically from 15 to 10. At the largest firms, (firms with more than 700 lawyers firm-wide) the median number of offers dropped from 30 to 18.5. Similarly, the percent of callback interviews resulting in offers for summer spots fell precipitously to 46.6 percent from a figure that had hovered at or above 60 percent for three years. Not surprisingly, the offer acceptance rate also jumped. At 32.5 percent, it is the highest rate recorded since 2002. There remains, of course, tremendous variation in legal hiring, both by region and by individual employer, though these benchmark numbers continue to be a good gauge of the health of the entrylevel employment market generally. All indications are that law firms are hiring cautiously, and are prepared to further constrict the pipeline of new associates should the current economic situation persist or even worsen. A Retrospective on Recruiting Summer Programs Median size Average size % receiving offer % accepting offer Fall Recruiting of 2Ls Median # of offers Average # of offers % of interviews resulting in offer 55.7% 47.7 52.3 42.4 63.8 62.6 51.4 49.8 52.9 56.8 59.6 62.7 60 46.6 % of offers accepted 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 8% 6 8 9 8 8.5 6 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 11% 10 12 13 13 14 12 11 10 11 12 11 13 13 84.3% 87.3 88.2 89 88.9 89.7 84.2 80.9 87 91 90.6 90.8 92.8 89.9 64.6% 63.5 60.1 68.4 65.2 65.8 72.8 74 77 72.4 73 73.4 76.8 79.7 14% 18 24 26 21 22 11 11 11 13 16 15 15 10 30% 31 40 49 41 44 26 23 29 34 37 37 39 30 32.3% 32.6 30 28.6 29 31 34.9 35.1 31.4 31.2 30.3 28.8 29.1 32.5 Source: Perspectives on Fall 2008 Law Student Recruiting by the National Association of Law Placement 4 THE NATIONAL JURIST March 2009
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