With the economy improving and big-firm summer associate hiring up overall in Texas this year, some large Texas firms that did without summer associates in 2011 are back in the game.
Firm consultant Bill Cobb says he’s not a bit surprised to hear that firms that suspended their summer associate programs in 2011 hired summer associates this year. He says cutting a summer program can harm a firm’s reputation and ability to hire law students. Plus, he notes, many Texas firms simply need to bring on more associates, and they rely on summer programs for the bulk of that hiring.
