Nationwide No Offer Watch: Edwards Angell Doesn't Hide the Ball

We received a lot of reports about Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge in Boston. Most of them contained a surprising tidbit:

We were all told that we did really well and that “but for the economy,” we all would have received offers. When the no-offer phone calls came, we were told we had great reviews but that EAPD just couldn’t take us all on.

That sounds suspiciously honest. Everybody did fine and we’d like to hire all of you, but “hey kid, in case you haven’t noticed, the economy reeks like an upside-down port-o-potty — so what can we do?”
The “it’s not you, it’s me” line doesn’t even work in the movies, but in this case it seems strangely appropriate.
The EAPD no offer numbers, plus the firm’s official statement, after the jump.


When we contacted the firm, we got a load of the same … candor:

EAPD did make offers to 12 of 18 Summer Associates in Boston. We were upfront with our summer class in early July to let them know that not all Summer Associates would receive offers as a result of the uncertain economy. We felt it was important to provide this information early on and be as open as possible.

“Early July.” You would love the firm to be upfront with potential summer associates in early October, but at least EAPD gave summers 6 weeks or so to see the writing on the wall and act accordingly.
Many commenters have suggested that summers who expect to be gifted a job offer have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. That is a bit harsh, given that any intelligent human is going to summer at a place that makes 100% offers, rather than rolling the dice with a 66% offer rate at EAPD – Boston. It’s not entitlement or laziness, it’s basic risk aversion.
However, if you are a summer and find yourself at a place where the firm is telling you midstream that “not everybody is going to make it,” that gives you fair warning. Bust your a$$ or bus home.
According to our tipsters, most EAPD summers got the message, tried hard, and did well. A third of them were unfortunate and now will have to try hard again during 3L recruiting. But in these tough times, all you can ask of an employer is that they are upfront with you about what is expected and required.
It seems that EAPD did that. We hope that becomes a trend.

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