Despite a sagging economy, recent layoff announcements and the discontinuation of a summer associate program by one large Texas firm, 17 of the 25 largest firms in Texas confirm they are continuing with their 2009 summer associate programs.

Summer associates are the primary recruiting pool for the new talent hired by many firms. The students who will be working at firms during the summer of 2009 will become the majority of the firms’ first-year associates in 2010.