In a second straight hiring cycle that could conservatively be characterized as unusual, summer associate programs in New Jersey have mostly persevered amid difficulties, logistical and otherwise.

The overall number of hires among 16 bellwether firms is 70 this year, up from 60 last year but still trailing prior years’ totals in the high 70s. (One firm, Genova Burns, has been removed from the chart based on several consecutive years of not reporting any summer associate hires.)