The country's largest law firms are wading deeper into the new associate hiring pool — a welcome development after years of recruiting declines.
Law firms of 500 or more lawyers hired more than 3,600 members of the J.D. class of 2012 — a 27 percent increase compared with the previous class — according to figures released on June 20 by NALP, the National Association for Law Placement. Earlier, The National Law Journal's Go-To Law Schools special report found that among the 50 law schools that send the most alumni into large-firm jobs, 25 percent of 2012 graduates landed such jobs, up from 22 percent the year before.
