Some Top Law Firms Will Not Interview At Yale

It is not unusual for some top firms to decline to interview at Yale Law School. The school is so small, and quite frankly some firms know that they are not going to attract Yale talent.
That said, in this market some firms are unsure about what to do with fall recruiting. Is pulling out of Yale this year an indication of a firm’s larger decision to scale back its 2010 summer program? A tipster has done some legwork for Above the Law readers:

Yalies got a fall interview program pep-talk/preparation video yesterday. According to the CDO, the firms participating plan to have “robust summer programs” but “smaller” than in the past. Nothing too surprising….
Interesting to you guys will be the top firms who are NOT participating in the fall interview program at Yale. I went through Vault up to 50. If firms with New York offices won’t send people on an hour-and-a-half train ride to New Haven, even just for show, they must really be hurting.

Check after the jump for the list of Vault 50 law firms that won’t be doing OCI at Yale.


A few of the names on this list were expected because of previously reported decisions. We know that Morgan Lewis has canceled its 2010 summer program. And we know that Orrick and DLA Piper have decided to postpone recruiting until at least November.
But other names on the list are a little more interesting:

V50 Firms Not Recruiting at Yale Law School for Summer 2010
White & Case
Clifford Chance
Milbank
Akin Gump
Quinn Emanuel
Orrick
DLA Piper
Baker McKenzie
Morgan Lewis

White & Case has already deferred current summer associates for a year, so it is not all that surprising if it is cutting back on its 2010 recruiting efforts. Milbank canceled its summer program in Los Angeles, but the firm reports the New York summer program is still going forward.
But it’s hard to speculate about what this decision says regarding Quinn Emanuel, Clifford Chance, Akin Gump, and Baker & McKenzie. Those firms have taken their hits just like everybody else during this recession, but they haven’t yet given an indication of what they plan to do with 2009 summer associates. We certainly don’t know what they’re planning for the 2010 summer.
Is pulling out of Yale a harbinger of larger cutbacks for these firms? Or is it normal for these firms to eschew recruiting at the top law school in the country?
We’ll keep an eye out for the recruiting plans at these firms.
Earlier: Morgan Lewis Cancels 2010 Summer Program
DLA Piper: Pushes Back Current Summers
A Yale Law School Degree: Not Worth What It Used To Be?

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