A Sign of the Times? Morris Manning Reinstates Summer Program

Here’s a bit of happy news to start the new week off on the right foot. The well-regarded, Atlanta-based firm of Morris Manning, which canceled its summer program in 2009, due to the economy, has reversed course for 2010.

From the firm’s press release:

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP is pleased to announced that it is hosting a ten week program for its incoming summer associate class.

“Like many major law firms, MMM elected not to host a summer program in 2009,” said Vanessa Goggans, the firm’s HR Partner. “Since then we have experienced significant economic improvement and the firm is excited and encouraged that we have business demands to support nine summer law students.”

Of the nine summer associates, three are from Emory, five are from the University of Georgia, and one is from the University of Florida. Almost all, seven out of nine, are 2Ls; one is a 1L, and one appears to be a post-3L pre-bar. Check out the full list here (PDF).

And what is the broader significance of the Morris Manning move?

The Morris Manning news is interesting insofar as it suggests that, as the economy (hopefully) returns to good health, firms will return to the traditional recruitment model. During the darkest days of the recession, industry observers wondered whether some of the changes law firms made to the recruiting process — such as eliminating summer programs, in favor of lateral hiring down the road — might become permanent.

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Are you aware of other firms that killed their summer programs but then resurrected them? If so, we’d love to hear about them. Please feel free to email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Summer Program”).

Although hiring is picking back up, landing a summer associate gig at a good firm is still an accomplishment. We are still far from the crazy days of 2006 and 2007, when enrollment at an ABA-accredited law school and a pulse could get you a job. So congratulations to the Morris Manning summer class!

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP Welcomes Nine Summer Associates [Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP]

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