Last year’s law firm summer associate recruitment was “flat” (yet still “robust”) compared to recent years, according to the latest data released by NALP:
Across employers of all sizes, the median number of offers extended fell slightly from 12 to 11.5, still well below the high of 15 measured in 2007, but well above the low of 7 measured in 2009.
Half of the firms responding to the NALP survey made fewer summers offers than the year before, a break from the previous two years where most firms reported that they had increased offers.
AI Is Reshaping Legal Practice—But Tools Aren’t The Real Differentiator.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
Among the multitude of factoids to be found in NALP’s voluminous (50 page) report, Perspective on 2016 Law Student Recruiting, is just how much harder it used to be to snag an offer at the end of the summer. Back in 1993, the earliest year for which NALP publishes data, the summer offer rate was 77.8%. That percentage has steadily climbed upward since (with the exception of 2009), and today sits at 94.6%.
Brian Dalton is the director of research for Breaking Media. Feel free to email him with any questions or comments.