“There are no NALP police.”
— James G. Leipold, Executive Director, NALP

Oh, but wouldn’t it be fun if there were? Let’s use our imaginations….

As the Bad Boys theme song plays in the background, a bespectacled Jim Leipold, accompanied by a gaggle of burly NALP goons, breaks down the door at 111 Huntington Avenue — the Boston offices of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge.

Leipold handcuffs Kelly. “You are being arrested for your firm’s violation of Part V.C.1 of the NALP Principles and Standards,” he tells her. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to the managing partner of your law firm, as well as the right to blame the managing partner for your firm’s breach of the NALP rules. But don’t be surprised if you get hit with a stealth layoff after doing so.”

Bad firms, bad firms, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when NALP comes for you?

NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals (fka the National Association for Law Placement), promulgates “guidelines that offer an ethical framework for all participants in law student recruiting.” In past years, these guidelines were generally followed by law firms, schools, and students. This year, however, with the economy in the tank, things are… different.

Over the summer, uber-prestigious Sullivan & Cromwell tried to ditch the requirement that law firms give law students 45 days to weigh offers of summer employment. S&C ultimately backed down. But as reported in these pages earlier today, Edwards Angell has told law students receiving offers that they have three weeks to accept, “or until the summer class fills up” — whichever is earlier.

And EAPD isn’t the only firm that has decided to make offers with shorter fuses. Another firm is giving offerees two weeks to make up their minds.

More information, plus reflections on the NALP rules, after the jump.

Tired yet of our coverage of the NALP conference — which, after all, ended last week? If so, read coverage by others.

E.g., Ari Kaplan, for Law.com (describing the plenary panel, where yours truly was set upon by an angry mob asked tough questions); Brian Dalton, for Vault (“Every time a pointed question came his way, Lat managed to defuse the tension through self-deprecating humor and by speaking really, really fast.”); and John Bringardner, for Legal Blog Watch (“[W]hile the law school staff, recruiters and related industry types at the show report lower attendance than in years past, it’s not all glum news.”).

Even if you’re getting NALP fatigue, we suspect that this panel will interest you: Recruiting During Recession and Recovery. Recruiter and law-firm consultant Frank Kimball — former hiring partner of McDermott Will & Emery, founder of Kimball Professional Management, and a talented dancer (we saw him getting his groove on at the MLA karaoke party) — spoke to a packed room about the challenges of running a recruiting program in tough times.

Read about his remarks — which took the form of advice to law firm recruiting departments, but which should also interest applicants seeking jobs with said firms — after the jump.

Many of the events we attended at last week’s NALP conference were on the depressing side. After a decade, or perhaps two decades, of growth, the legal profession is experiencing a painful contraction.

But perhaps the current carnage, and the challenge it poses to the existing law firm business model, could give way to reform. As James Jones of Hildebrandt explained, the economic crisis could lead to positive changes in terms of the cost-effective delivery of legal services. “A financial crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” he quipped.

Jones is not alone in this assessment. We attended a panel discussion entitled The 21st Century Lawyer: New Models for Practicing Law, in which three pioneers of the profession — Audrey Bracey Deegan, of Deloitte Consulting LLP; Deborah Epstein Henry, of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC; and Mehul Patel, of Axiom — discussed the alternative models of practice represented by their organizations. These models could become more compelling as the Great Recession forces firms to rethink how they do business.

An account of the panel, which was ably moderated by Professor Carole Silver of Georgetown, after the jump.

Despite the depressed mood here at the NALP conference in Washington, some folks are still up for fun. We’re about to head off to karaoke night, sponsored by Major, Lindsey & Africa, which we’ve heard is not to be missed.

Last night, SJL Attorney Search hosted a swanky reception at the National Portrait Gallery. Attendees availed themselves of the open bar to dull the pain. At the emcee’s instigation, a dozen brave female volunteers took the stage to “do the twist”:

One spectator was unamused: “Fiddling while Rome burns.”

But hey, a little dancing can’t hurt. When the emcee exclaimed “Now turn it around! Turn it around!”, surely he was referring to the economy.

A few pictures — don’t get your hopes up, it’s not as extensive as this morning’s slideshow — after the jump.

As mentioned previously, your above-signed writer is currently at the annual education conference of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Yesterday we attended some excellent events.

One of our favorite presentations, despite its deeply depressing nature, was “Understanding the Current Legal Economy.” Law firm management guru James Jones — Managing Director of Hildebrandt International, and former managing partner of Arnold & Porter — spoke to a packed ballroom about how the legal industry is, in short, completely screwed (at least for 2009, and probably beyond).

We took some notes on Jim Jones’s talk, which we’ve written up in this post. It is, we confess, what some might call a notebook dump. Alas, we don’t have the time for a more polished write-up.

Even if inelegantly written, we think you’ll find it interesting. Check it out, after the jump.

Elyse DiPierri, sales and marketing director for Above the Law, at the NALP conference booth for ATL (booth #53 — feel free to drop by if you’re here).

Greetings from Washington, host city for the 2009 annual education conference of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). We’ve been down in our former stomping grounds since Tuesday. The conference started yesterday and will continue into Saturday.

We attended a number of very interesting events yesterday — and participated in a fun and lively plenary panel, entitled “Don’t Fight the Web: Surviving and Thriving in a 2.0 World” — and we will be filing a few reports on the proceedings. Although we understand that there are fewer attendees this year, which is understandable in light of the economic crisis, the conference still appears to be well-attended (standing room only at several panels, including our plenary).

In addition to attending events, catching up with old friends, and networking up a storm, we’ve been manning the Above the Law booth in the exhibition hall. Check out a slideshow of booth photos — featuring ATL swag, as well as our lovely and amazing advertising sales director, Elyse DiPierri — after the jump.