Baker Botts' Rachel Koenig
LAW FIRMS
Summer associates feel the heat
As economy wilts, firms are cutting their summer programs
October 20, 2008
Jerry Kowalski can sum up this year's summer associate hiring season in one word: grim.
Law students have good reason to be particularly anxious about landing a summer associate position, said Kowalski, the head of recruiting at consulting firm Kowalski & Associates.
He estimates that there will be 30% to 35% fewer summer associate positions nationwide in 2009.
That figure is based on Kowalski's conversations with managing partners at a wide range of law firms across the country, as well as talks with law school career services personnel. "It's going to be a tough year for a lot of men and women in law school," Kowalski said.
Not surprisingly, the shrinking pool of summer associate spots is mostly due to the turbulent economy. Law firms are looking for ways to trim budgets, and cutting summer associates is one of the easiest ways to do that, Kowalski said.
A handful of firms have canceled their summer associate programs in 2009, while a larger number of firms have quietly reduced the number of summer associates they plan to bring on.
The Heller effect
Law students are faced with the challenge of landing summer jobs during a season when one venerable law firm — Heller Ehrman — has shut its doors and others, including Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft of New York and Clifford Chance, have laid off attorneys.
Recruiters can tell that all the bad news has made students more nervous than usual during the interview process, said Amy Simmons, head of attorney recruitment and professional development for Epstein Becker & Green.
"I think there's a difference this year. You can sense it," Simmons said. "Students know it's not the same old thing." Epstein Becker & Green plans to hire between six and 10 summer associates, as it did for this past summer.
With fewer summer associate spots available overall, some recruiters have noticed that law students seem to be casting a wider net as they search for positions. Students who in other years may have been firmly committed to securing a spot in a New York office are now willing to look in other cities or at smaller firms.
Houston-based Baker Botts has seen interest in its summer associate class climb this year. "We are definitely seeing higher numbers in our preselection process, so you can assume that students are broadening their search," said Rachel Koenig, the firm's director of recruiting and development.
Baker Botts plans to trim a few positions from the 150 summer associates it had this summer, but that cut is minor compared to some other firms. Baker Botts is cutting down slightly because it wants to ensure that summer associates have quality assignments to keep them busy, Koenig said.
More interest from students means that Baker Botts has been more selective about to whom it offers spots this year. Additionally, the firm is seeing interest from students at law schools that don't typically apply, such as Duke Law School.
"Students realize that they aren't going to be able to be as choosy as they have in the past because there are fewer opportunities," Koenig said.
Kowalski agrees that students are looking at a broader array of firms and locations this year.
Top-ranked students at top-name law schools can still focus on the most prestigious firms, but students in the middle of their classes at good law schools are going have to be more flexible in their plans, he said.
Not all firms are likely to cut their summer associate programs, however.
Kowalski said firms that rely heavily on banking practices have picked up work during the current financial meltdown and may actually increase the number of summer associates they hire for 2009. Regional law firms generally have smaller summer associate classes, and they may well keep the sizes the same as a way to maintain good relationships with their local feeder law schools, he said.
That's the case with Chicago's Hinshaw & Culbertson, which will have between two and five summer associates in 2009, just as it did this past summer.
"We aren't changing anything," said Mary Hess, chairwoman of recruitment. "We've always been very conservative in the number of our summer associates."
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