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Now Is the Summer of Their Discontent: Bad Times for Summer Associates?

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 3:23 PM - By David Lat

happy summer associates at beach.jpgIt’s hard to feel sorry for summer associates at large law firms. They get paid over $3,000 a week to sample the best restaurants in their respective cities, to watch blockbuster movies before they hit theaters, and to generally just have a good time.

We’ve seen anecdotal evidence that it’s “business as usual” at many top law firms, the economic downturn notwithstanding. For example, last week, while hanging out with some summer associates here in DC, one SA told us that she’s paid for her own lunch just once the entire summer.

Last month, while having dinner at Gramercy Tavern in New York, we bumped into a large summer associate party from our former firm. They seemed to be living it up — and had the wine bottles to prove it.

We received a few responses to yesterday’s request for tips about interesting or unusual summer associate events. Sidley Austin in L.A. is renting out the Staples Center for a Summers v. Associates basketball game. Last month, Bryan Cave took its summers to a different sort of court — the U.S. Supreme Court — where they got to meet with and ask questions of a Supreme Court justice (an annual tradition). This year’s host was Justice Clarence Thomas. If you’re interested, we’ve posted a brief write-up of the visit after the jump.

That’s on the plus side of the ledger. We’ve also encountered anecdotal evidence that things have changed at some summer programs — and not for the better. For example, we’ve heard a rumor that summers in the Chicago office of a major national firm were told, early in the program, that there were only enough offers for two-thirds of them. It seems implausible, and right now it’s unconfirmed; if you can confirm, please email us.

And we heard this, from a tipster who refused to reveal his employer’s name because he’s already fearful about getting no-offered:

While much of your coverage of summer associate programs at Vault firms focuses on the glamor of wining and dining, my experiences and those of my law school classmates at other firms this summer has been one of tightened budgets in a recession. Some examples:

  • most days I’m paying for lunch out of my own pocket and bringing it back to my desk to work on assignments;
  • a general fear among about whether offers will even be available for summers;
  • no schwag to speak of.

    I’m curious if this is par for the course in the current economic climate.

    • Summer associates: What’s the reality of the SA experience for you? Is it as fabulous as you expected, or has it been a bit of a letdown? Are you worried about getting a permanent offer?

    Please share your experience, in this open thread. We encourage you to identify firms by name where possible, so we can follow up if necessary. Thanks.

    A description of the Bryan Cave summer associates’ trip to the Supreme Court:

    [The visit] took place on June 23. The summers toured the Court and his chambers, and then in true Clarence Thomas fashion, he only spoke for ten minutes. However, he allowed almost an hour and a half of questioning. From what I hear, he was very candid when answering questions. He even signed books for all of the attendees.
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