Breaking: Orrick Overhauls On-Campus Recruiting
OCI pushed to late fall / early spring; current summers deferred to 2012.
How are firms that have deferred incoming associates going to deal with different classes of associates all showing up to the firm at the same time?
Most firms have been burying their heads in the sand, hoping that the green shoots will blossom into mature plantings of economic growth, obviating this problem. Things will go back to the way they were in 2006, and there will be more than enough work for everyone. NY to 190!!!
But that’s not very realistic, is it?
Orrick — which isn’t afraid to innovate, as reflected in their recent revamp of associate compensation and promotion — has come up with an answer to this conundrum. You might like their approach or you might not, but at least give them credit for having the courage to confront the issue.
Check out the memo, and opine in the comments, after the jump.
Update (11:25 AM): Please note that the original post did not contain a complete version of the memo. We now have the full memo, which we’ve posted after the jump.
UPDATED AT 11:25 AM
ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE — MEMORANDUM — ON-CAMPUS RECRUITING
To: Law School Deans and Assistant Deans
From: Stephen Venuto, On-Campus Hiring Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Date: July 8, 2009
Re: Orrick On-Campus Recruiting
___________________________________________________________________________
Orrick has made two decisions regarding its on-campus recruiting efforts:
* First, Orrick will be making its current class of summer associates eligible only for offers to join Orrick in January 2012— i.e., a one-year deferral accompanied by a fellowship program.
* Second, Orrick will be shifting its fall on-campus recruiting efforts from the normal late summer and early fall time-frame to November 15th, 2009 through March, 2010.
Forecasting the need for new attorneys years in advance of their arrival is, even in the best of times, a challenging task. In recent months it has become extraordinarily difficult. In response to difficult global economic conditions, Orrick, like many firms, deferred its incoming Fall 2009 class to January and March of 2010, and offered fellowships to those who chose to defer their start dates further to January 2011. Our entire January 2010 group is planning on joining us as scheduled. Virtually all of the associates slated to start in March 2010 have pursued and become engaged in the fellowship program, and, as a result, will be arriving at Orrick in January 2011. The fellowship program has been a terrific success. We are gratified that so many of our past summer associates have taken advantage of the fellowship program, and we look forward to their arrival at Orrick in January 2011.
In the absence of an adjustment, however, our current 2009 summer associate class would be scheduled to join Orrick at virtually the same time as the prior summer associate Orrick fellows. This timing has created an unfortunate bottleneck of talented law students hoping to join Orrick at the same time. With the fall on-campus recruiting season about to begin, and with many law students needing to make plans and commitments for their future, we knew we had to deal with the issue promptly. Therefore, we decided it was in the best interests of our existing summer associates and fellows, our upcoming new associate classes as well as those students we plan to recruit in the future to make and announce both of these decisions now.
We have committed significant energy and resources to building relationships with the nation’s top law schools. We expect Orrick to continue to grow through the addition of talented law students, and for that reason we expect to continue to build our relationships with law schools in the coming months and years. We believe that communicating our plans candidly with you at the earliest possible opportunity is part and parcel of that relationship. This memo outlines in more detail our approach to recruiting the law school classes of 2010 and 2011. We would be more than happy to discuss all of this with you should you have further questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me, any members of our management team or any of our local office hiring partners.
Orrick’s Current Summer Associate Class - The Class of 2010
We are extremely pleased with how our current summer associates are performing. They are a terrific group.
Due to the 2009 fellowship program, we expect that the offers we make to the summer associates of 2009 will be deferred by one year. We expect that 2009 summer associates who receive offers of employment can join Orrick in January 2012 after completion of an Orrick-coordinated fellowship program.
As we are only a few weeks into the summer program, we do not yet know which or how many of our 2009 summer associates will receive offers. We do know that we want to create as many full-time associate employment opportunities as possible for our 2009 summer associates. We also hope that each and every summer associate who receives an offer from Orrick decides to accept it and join us in January 2012 at the end of the fellowship program. We will work closely with the 2009 (law school class of 2010) summer associates to encourage, reassure and assist with their decisions.
Future Orrick Summer Associates - Class of 2011
We believe the law school class of 2011 is an excellent and highly motivated group. Inquiries and sign-ups for Orrick interviews and events have been overwhelmingly high, and we thank those students for their interest in Orrick.
We remain committed, however, to keeping open our one-year deferred offers to our current, 2009 summer associate class (the class of 2010) until the NALP deadline of November 15, 2009. This means that we will not know how many spots will be available in our summer of 2010 class until at least that date in November.
Therefore, we believe it would be irresponsible to recruit a class for the summer of 2010 - a class that would normally join us in late 2011 or early 2012, the same time our current class of summer associates would be joining us after the one year deferral - until we know how many of our 2009 summer associates accept their one-year deferred offers. We need to prioritize the interests of our current Orrick summer associates over the law students whom we have not yet met and who would otherwise be competing for the same positions.
For these reasons we have decided to shift our on-campus recruiting efforts from the normal time-frame to November 15, 2009 through March of 2010. After the November 15th NALP deadline, we will know how many of our current summer associates accept their deferred offers, and we will be able to better assess our needs for recruiting 2L associates for a 2010 summer program. We expect to reach out to 2L and possibly 1L students during this shifted time frame to meet our summer 2010 recruiting needs.
Although we are shifting our interviewing efforts to later in the cycle, we do intend to participate in the recruiting process during the Fall in a number of ways. We expect to continue to recruit actively, and for that reason it is critical for us to maintain a relationship with the law schools and law students. We will conduct an active outreach program during the on-campus interview season, including open mock interviews, group coaching sessions, resume review and critiques, office open houses and other events. We will also actively seek out ways to contribute our previously scheduled hotel space and interview time slots to governmental or charitable organizations wherever possible.
Finally, we intend to work with law schools, other law firms and NALP on a long-term plan to encourage recruiting processes industry wide that maximize the chances of avoiding recruiting situations like the ones all firms have experienced in the last several months. We will remain an active participant and partner of each of the law schools that we have traditionally recruited from, and we look forward to deepening our relationship with them through this process.
Conclusion
We know these times are especially difficult for law students and the career placement offices at law schools. It is a difficult time for the legal industry as a whole. Nevertheless, we look forward to meeting and working with the next generations of lawyers in the coming months and years. We believe that despite all of the uncertainty in the legal profession, exciting change is taking place that will provide everyone who practices law a more rewarding and more fulfilling long-term career.
Again, we would be more than happy to discuss all of this with you should you have further questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me, any members of our management team or any of our local office hiring partners.
- END -
Earlier: Orrick Ends Lockstep
(128) 
Comments
first
First!
first. must suck to be at orrick right now.
"....with many law students needing to make plans and commitments for their future, we knew we had to deal with the issue promptly. "
Kudos!!!! Other firms take note!!! Promptly is the way to do things.
What is a conundum?
Maybe if Orrick summers play their cards right they'll get the chance to work in wild, wonderful, Wheeling, West Virginia!
I am a Seton Hall summer at Orrick. Should I be scared?
thanks for handling this, lat
FUCK YOU ELLIE
5 - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conundrum
LAT is BACK!
fall OCI at Orrick will hire maybe, what, 7 maximum summer associates for summer 2010 to start in Jan 2012?
Why has Elie been writing less? Do I smell a stealth lay off?
summer classes will be much smaller all across NYC, DC and Chicago. If law schools are smart then I would expect smaller law school class sizes the next few years as well.
Orrick in Wheeling to $40K!
All is well! All is well!
2 and 3= EPIC FAIL
4=Current partners cannot keep up with the expected pace of the younger generation.
5=EPIC FAIL A conundum is an obvious misspelling of conondrum. A two year old would realize this. The fact you pointed it out makes you a sick blowtard.
7=You should not be scared, I'm here for you.
8=Epic Fail. It's fuck you Elie, not fuck you Ellie.
12 - From Lat's Facebook:
"David Lat is filling in for Elie on AboveTheLaw.com, for today and tomorrow."
http://www.facebook.com/davidlat
You know what's awesome???
Finding this out the day my bids are due from ATL and not from my inept band of career services people.....
13,
Law $chool$ are fouc$ed on only one thing.
Is Oreck a peer firm?
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Elie is preparing to run for political office. The ship be sinking if he wins.
First!
First!
Why doesn't Orrick just hire a total of five SA's, start them "on time," and then go back to business as usual in 2011? This seems pretty shortsighted, given that they might eventually need a stream of incoming talent if the economy straightens out...
16, I love you, can we get married?
Elie just ate Orick, the whole thing. All of it. Gone. Done. Num num num num num...
I still remember doing a callback with them in fall 07 in SF. I met with the head of litigation and asked point blank if they were worried about their exposure given the securitization-heavy corpfin practice. Got the stock boilerplate "we're heavily diversified blah blah" response. Glad I didn't buy it.
I am a journalist with a semi-major business publication that is working on a piece about how the economic downturn has impacted some of the "extravagances" typically associated with large law firms (expensive summer associate dinners, golf events, dogwalking services, etc.). Would anyone on this board be willing to speak with me off the record about their experiences? Thanks.
Who thinks Orrick will be around in 2012? Not me.
"Orrick will be shifting its fall on-campus recruiting efforts from the normal late summer and early fall time-frame to November 15th, 2009 through March, 2010."
How will that work exactly? Is Orrick just going to end up with the sloppy second of every other top law firm?
Good evening.
I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. That's why I've worked hard to put my campaign promises into law -- and I have to admit, with just mixed success. But after listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with America. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.
The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation.
The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.
The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July. It is the idea which founded our Nation and has guided our development as a people. Confidence in the future has supported everything else -- public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We've always believed in something called progress. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own.
Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past.
In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.
The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next 5 years will be worse than the past 5 years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world.
As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning.
These changes did not happen overnight. They've come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy.
Looking for a way out of this crisis, our people have turned to the Federal Government and found it isolated from the mainstream of our Nation's life. Washington, D.C., has become an island. The gap between our citizens and our Government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual.
What you see too often in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends.
Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. You don't like, and neither do I. What can we do?
First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this Nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans.
We know the strength of America. We are strong. We can regain our unity. We can regain our confidence. We are the heirs of generations who survived threats much more powerful and awesome than those that challenge us now. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Great Depression, who fought world wars, and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world.
We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.
All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our Nation and ourselves.
Little by little we can and we must rebuild our confidence. We can spend until we empty our treasuries, and we may summon all the wonders of science. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources -- America's people, America's values, and America's confidence.
I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people.
In closing, let me say this: I will do my best, but I will not do it alone. Let your voice be heard. Whenever you have a chance, say something good about our country. With God's help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail.
Thank you and good night.
I'm Barack Obama?
28: wow you remember something that happened less than 2 years ago. You are awesome. Mystal can't remember which firm he ate for breakfast.
26,
Please post a picture. Marraige might be a little out of your reach but if you're a hot female I'll certainly bang you a couple of times.
-16.
MAJOR consolidation and firm dissolutions are going to be the topic du jour the next 18 months.
At least Oreck has the vacuum business to rely on.
that's it - it's official: this ship be sunk
16-
Excellent use of equal signs, all caps and the phrase "epic fail." Why not throw in a "LOLZ" so you can qualify for hack internet commenter of the year?
I want to buy a vacuum.
I WANT TO BUY A VACUUM.
5 - A Conundrum is a proprietary blend of wine....highly recommended in these tough times.
What does this mean? Easy - - the incoming class of 2009 arriving in Jan 2010 & March 2010, their offers are going to be retracted before they can arrive. It's already been happening at smaller boutique firms that don't make the headlines. Orrick spent too much money on their marketing campaign of branding everything with a big "O" like Ophrah and now Orrick is paying for it.
16 brings nothing to the table.
37,
Your commenting upon my comments indicates your weekends are filled with self-gratification. What you fail to realize sitting on your laptop in your parents basement that it is the substance of the comments that matters, not the protocol.
-16
lolz@37
OCI in August is silly. Recruiting Season should be pushed back till Spring Semester.
41=37
-16
From where I am sitting, I have to laugh at the SAs who think they have a job in 2012. It's gold, Jerry, comedy gold!
I am very perturbed by Orrick's web of lies and deceit. Are law students really gullible to believe they will have employment by accepting a deferral? This sort of reminds me of a bar I used to go to in my youth. The barkeeper had a sign that read "FREE BEER TOMORROW" The problem is today is never tomorrow. A deferral is as good as a rejection. The difference is "deferral" sounds nicer and looks better for public relations purposes.
CHICAGO (Sidley and MB) to 190!!!
Note the update - this makes more sense now.
"Update (11:25 AM): Please note that the original post did not contain a complete version of the memo. We now have the full memo, which we've posted after the jump."
42 refers to self gratification as if it were a bad thing.
Where is Elie? I thought this was Big Moobs Thursday.
PE,
If you noted the "FREE BEER TOMORROW" to the bartender, and had a witness sign an affidavit of such notice, you would probably be entitled to the free beer or damages resulting from not receiving free beer.
Half of the deferrals will also be moved to the firm's sister comapny, Orkin.
Anybody want to meet me and Mystal in the lobby for some lunch meat sex?
Elie is getting moob reduction surgery. It wasn't his choice...Kash gave Lat an ultimatum: "If I don't have the biggest tits in the ATL editor ranks I'm going to take my ass lobster and write elsewhere." Lat promptly sent Elie off to Dr. Zizmor for a chemical peel and mooblipo.
Orrick is a law firm.
You're welcome!
Van Winkle would never do this!
Comments on the Davis Polk post have been reopened:
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/07/davis_polk_website_makeover.php?show=comments#comments
Mooblipo - ftw
Last laugh will be on the Orrick partners - they know the firm won't be around in 2012!
Orrick takes the bull by the horns. Good on them.
47 - you make no sense
first, practically every firm is deferring. at least with this solution, it is transparent and ends the continuous cycle of deferring every class subsequent.
I know lawyers are usually poor businessmen, but it's really looking like the California firms have the worst of the poor businessmen.
37 is Roxana
yes. let me remind you that many of these fucking fool law firms were hiring like mad for corporate (including 3Ls) all the way through the end of 2007 even though signs of the recession had appeard by September. they are fools.
Ghett-O
Yes, a deferral is way of saying you no longer have a job offer. So you move on to Plan B. Deal with it.
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I would be greatly in favor of bumping OCI into the spring. One year of grades with rank based mostly on who adjusted to law school the fastest is not enough to evaluate transcripts. A third semester, based mostly in courses that the student is electing to take, will provide additional information. Took hard courses and blew them out once everyone knew what they were doing? Good. Actually took courses that match up with your proclaimed area of interest? Even better.
The economic forecasting benefits are almost secondary compared to making a huge financial commitment to someone based on gaming 1L exams slightly better.
This is the result of Obamanomics.
Just want to say I'm looking forward to another eyeful of Paula Franceze. Carry on.
There should be some form of order.
http://gawker.com/5310439/big-stick-diplomacy
nuff said
Holy cow 16. YOU... are a douche.
I am a Seton Hall summer at Orrick. Should I be scared?
firms have to deal with their deferrals at some point. why isn't it a good thing that orrick is handling this now?
i say good for them. it's hard being the first but it sounds like the right thing
OCEANS RISE
CITIES FALL
QUINN REMAINS
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Never put off 'til tomorrow who you can defer today.
As I mentioned yesterday, this move is just the beginning of a changing approach to hiring. Here are the three big changes I've heard of from the larger shops:
1. Moving hiring back into the spring (as discussed above) in order to get another batch of grades and assess hiring needs closer to "real time"
2. Avoiding (or withdrawing from altogether) the so-called "random match" OCIs, which only waste my time (e.g., Georgetown).
3. Assessing which schools even need to have on-campus representatives and which schools might produce quality applicants through resume drops
4. For some, switching to the residency model, wherein absurd pay is exchanged for real training and opportunity.
Look for all this and more at a BigLaw shop near you.
Wow, I would go with pretty much any firm over Orrick at this point. 2012?
Wow. OCI this fall is going to be a disaster.
ralph baxter is the worst law firm leader of all time.
Can't help but feel bad for the poor SeTTTon Hall summer at Orrick. Yes, you should be scared as hell.
PE hangs out at first and last chance saloon? Must be a Boalt 2L.
82: You are hideous. Are you supposed to be Halverson or Elie's left moob?
Alas, poor Orrick, I knew it, Lat:
a firm of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: it hath
deferred me on its back a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is!
82's avatar is brilliant. These ideas may trickle down from Biglaw, as even our midsized shop will be taking steps 2 and 3 this fall, abandoning OCI at a few schools that historically have not produced strong candidates.
I like Oreck vaccum cleaners - cause like the firm, they really suck!
To all of those summers thinking that there's actually going to be a job for you in 2012 - I've got a fantastic investment opportunity for you in Madoff Securities!!! Can't lose!!! Steady 12% return year-over-year!!
It's about time OCi was revisited. Hugely ineffecient and ineffective for the true hiring needs of a firm.
Every scared law student brings a smile to my face. :)
I'm a recent graduate and former Orrick SA who was deferred. I have an interesting job for 2010, which is being paid for by Orrick, as do most of my deferred peers. Orrick really went out of its way to make sure that we all got fellowship positions -- how many other firms did that? I'm happy to know that there won't be a bottleneck at the firm when I'm scheduled to arrive in January 2011. Now I have to hope the firm survives that long...
Orrick has an office in NYC.
Did it saying anything about how much they will pay those starting in 2012?
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Classes of 09-10-11. Good luck making partner wherever you land.
Now THAT will be a bottleneck. Oh my. As if it isn't hard enough already.
Seriously...Orrick DC sucks so hard.
Orrick won't defer their UGA grads.
Orrick is a good firm if you have any desire to lateral into BIGVACUUMLAW.
82: I like you.
82, I loved your work in the Star Wars films. That is all.
The Orrick kids got screwed. But let's not forget how much all these law firm public interest fellowships screw over rising 3L's who are looking for public interest jobs after graduation (and have always been interested in public interest law). For example, the well-known public interest law organization where I am currently summering told us that they will not be accepting public fellowships for next year (i.e. Skadden, Equal Justice) because they already have two laid off associates and anticipate having more deferred associates. The few organizations that do hire new graduates generally are not because they can now get free labor. This is incredibly frustrating to those who want to build a career in public interest law, have a genuine interest in it, and have designed their educations and resumes around it. Not only are these firms screwing over their summers and new associates, but they're also screwing over the "public interest people."
82 = Davis Polk associate
71 -- below median. sorry that i beat you.
see you when you're washing my windows.
--T10 top 10% LR stud
I'm starting school in the fall, and was so excited...and then today, I discovered this blog. This sucks!
PE is six months late on his Discover Card bill.
The ship be sinking...
I'm depressed
Only a total idiot would stand/sit around waiting a year or two to see whether some law firm actually allows them to come to work. Even a shit-for-brains would know to get moving in another direction.
Dear rising 2Ls and incoming 1Ls...DROP OUT NOW!
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I don't know much about Orrick, but I think this is a classy move. Again, one of the main reasons we deferred 3L's are so screwed is that we didn't have time to plan. Our firms have not provided us with any certainty about our careers whatsoever.
Unlike other, more "prestigious", NY firms, Orrick is dealing with the problem head on. At least the current summers will know in advance that they need to find other options post-graduation.
And, more importantly from my perspective, it seems that Orrick will hold to its January start date!
First!
115 what exactly are you basing this advice on ?
There will be jobs still available, just not the most desirable.
the ship be sunk
117--ditto.
I agree with 117 also (and it seems that Lat does too).
Everyone else is IN DENIAL. Kudos to Orrick for having some cojones.
lol cojones...i shall use that from now on!
I'm not part of BigLaw and I've always thought Orrick had a surplus of arrogance, but at least they are announcing now what they are doing. The entire Fall OCI process, maybe the entire OCI process has become counterproductive.
And, betting that anyone will be around in their present form in 2012 has risks. All law firms have is their human capital, and if enough of that capital (i.e. rainmakers) leaves, the firm is toast.
is this working?
The typical comments on this board are hilarious.
"What??? A big law firm isn't doing exactly what every other firm is doing??? TTT! OMG you are a CLOWN if you think your job is still there!!!"
Orrick is, as usual, just being straight up with its employees and potential new hires. That's quite admirable.
they f-ed up, as did most large firms.
16 you're a bitch.
All these deferral announcements - by Orrick or any other fims - are not binding and they can change their minds at any time for any reason. All deferred associates will be (unless they are stupid idiots) looking for other jobs - biglaw or otherwise. It bugs me that law firms give out statements such as:
"We also hope that each and every summer associate who receives an offer from Orrick decides to accept it and join us in January 2012 at the end of the fellowship program. We will work closely with the 2009 (law school class of 2010) summer associates to encourage, reassure and assist with their decisions."
Everyone who gets an offer from Orrick will accept, but many will (should) dump that offer at the first sight of a REAL job offer. And Orrick is dreaming that anyone can ever be "reassure[d]" by law firms that has deferred and laid off associates on such massaive scale.