There has, of late, been a challenging new timeline in terms of 2L summer associate hiring.
Until very recently, the schedule for the on-campus interview process, or OCI, had been bidding in July of students' 1L year, interviews in July and August, and a decision point in August for the following summer.
Now, many elite law schools — and firms! — have moved OCI to May, with a very compressed timeline for law students to decide on which offer to take. And prerecruitment is rampant, meaning firms Kate Reder Sheikh will fill a large portion of their summer classes before OCI is even open, starting as early as March of students' 1L year.
This article discusses the challenges that this sped-up, compressed timeline present for both the applicant and the firm.
The Challenges This Poses for Students and Firms
Why might these trends create issues for students and law firms alike?
First, this truncated timeline means law firms must decide to which students they should extend offers, based on one semester of grades. But there is a learning curve as students figure out how to do well in law school. It is a very different way of thinking for most students compared with what they're used to, perhaps except for those who were explicitly prelaw in undergrad.
Fall 1L grades are often the worst that students have to offer. This can be especially true of first-generation professionals and those who grew up without lawyers in their lives or families. These candidates may be less familiar with the differences between firms and what the day-to-day looks like in any given practice area.
Basing these decisions on one semester of grades is a misstep by firms: They will miss out on future associates who offer a level of grit and determination that those who found first semester easy may not display.
Second, law students have to decide where to interview and which job to take by using what may feel like vibes, and vibes alone. Again, this is especially true of first-generation professionals. Most students aren't fully acquainted with the differences between boutiques, regional and Mid-Law practices, and BigLaw firms.
Third, the stakes are high. If a student chooses poorly — in terms of cultural fit, practice, geography, size of firm, etc. — they will likely still have to go to this firm after graduation, as a student's 2L summer is the primary pipeline into a first job. In essence, they are stuck, and they are asked to decide before they've completed core classes that would be instructive about the kind of practice or firm they might want to join.
Prerecruitment only compounds these issues. It begins in March of students' 1L year, when many firms open their portals for students to preapply for 2L summer roles.
Prerecruitment is not a brand-new concept, but it has grown massively in just the last five years. According to the National Association for Law Placement, 35% of firms were recruiting in advance of on-campus interviews in 2019.[1] By 2024, per the NALP, about 50% of firms were conducting early interview programs, and the "largest firms of more than 1,000 lawyers were most likely to recruit via law school early interview programs (60% of offices)."[2] This shift is occurring in part because law firms want to lock down top talent before those students have a chance to be wooed by other firms.
Prerecruitment occurs as students are overwhelmed with class work in the midst of the second semester of their 1L year. This is also a time when students may have no sense of how their grades might look for that semester and thus which firms are within reach in the long term. They have only done three-quarters of one year of law school, yet they're forced to make two huge decisions — transactional or litigation, and what firm to choose. They simply don't have enough information.
What Current or Future 1Ls Should Do
There are a few steps 1L students can take to tackle these challenges.
Prepare in advance.
Law school learning can be a major adjustment, so start preparing before you even set foot at your new school.
A few books that may be worth a read are "Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About American Law" by Jay Feinman, which offers an accessible introduction to major areas of the law, and "The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law" by Ward Farnsworth, which is more about how to analyze and think about the law.
Once you're at school as a 1L, you simply have to start early.
As awkward as it can feel to go to firm receptions when you barely know what civil procedure is, you must.
Join substantive student groups where you can gain a better understanding of what different practices look like. Make friends with some 2Ls and 3Ls and ask them about the firms they're going to and how they chose them.
Again, this will feel like cold-calling strangers and like an unnatural way to engage with your peers so early in your law school career, but it's the best way to prepare yourself for what's ahead.
Focus on your grades.
Many law students are Type A gunners for whom getting good grades isn't a goal — it's a necessity. With only one semester of grades to show, your fall grades will unfortunately become the major data point a firm has for whether they think you'll succeed or not.
That's why this may not be the semester to get fully socially acclimated, beyond what may feel more like networking with more senior students.
To get the most from your summer program, you have no choice but to buckle down early. I know this sounds lonely and unfair. That's because it is.
Gather your documents and ask for help.
Now, down to brass tacks. Your resume should be close to ready by mid-February of your 1L year. You should have a strong cover letter by then as well, which you will customize so you can submit a bespoke version to every firm.
Get help with these documents, as they may not be intuitive to draft. Think about asking your career services office or a trusted law professor mentor.
Do what you can to find alumni from your college or law school at the firms that interest you, and plead for 15 minutes of their time in order to learn about their firm. In terms of practice areas, do the same thing — even if those alumni in the potentially interesting practice areas aren't at firms you're excited about.
Ask lots of questions.
Figure out what questions you have and then how best to answer them. Some questions worth directly asking a firm are:
- Does your firm offer early specialization or start associates out more generalist?
- What does the mentorship structure look like?
- What does the firm consider its core practice areas?
- How does the firm view return to the office?
- Can you describe a typical first year assignment in this group?
- What made you, a partner, choose this firm over others?
- How does staffing work?
- Is this an open market system?
Some questions are better answered via research, not asked directly of the firm.
The reason? Directly asking a firm such questions might suggest to interviewers that you don't plan to stay at the firm forever. Such questions could also reveal your political beliefs. And asking about billables may give the impression that you're not prepared to work hard.
Questions to answer via research might include:
- What kind of exit opportunities exist? You can find this by looking up former associates of the firm on LinkedIn. Have they made lateral moves to firms that are similar to their original firm? Made in-house moves? This can be very telling.
- Are there affinity groups or mentorship programs for associates in my demographic? Relatedly, has there been an impact on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging programs at the firm under the current presidential administration?
- What is the actual — as opposed to officially stated — billable hour requirement? This is often mentored in Chambers Associate, a guide to the legal profession for law students, but it can also be learned from a current or past associate.
- Has the firm recently done layoffs?
- Is there a realistic pathway to partnership? This is best asked of a current or former associate.
For questions you need to research, you'll want to consult the NALP Directory of Legal Employers, Vault rankings, AmLaw rankings and Chambers Associate.
You will also want to talk to career services staff, outside recruiters, more senior law students and the same alumni mentioned above.
You may also wish to search the firm names on Reddit and Fishbowl, but take what you find with a grain of salt. The caveat here is that anonymity can allow people to be both untruthful and cruel. Because firms are not monoliths — every office and group can vary wildly — don't put too much stock in feedback about a firm that is not specific to the office or group you're looking at.
To assess practice areas, there is simply no substitute for speaking to people doing the work. This is more important than choosing your firm; it is so much easier to switch firms than practice areas.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the current system of prerecruitment and very early OCI doesn't set most 1Ls up for success in choosing the right firm and practice area. All you can do is your best, armed with the advice above. And know that you can always make a lateral move later if the firm is just not a good fit.
My wish for you is that you can rise above these difficult circumstances and find a first law firm role that feels just right for you.
