Big Law Firms Shower Summers with Swag

Given the limited number of first-year associate jobs at the largest U.S. law firms, it would be a pretty big diss for a summer associate to reject their full-time offer. But it happens.

The National Law Journal reports that some firms are courting summer associates, giving them free lunch, private boxes at sports outings, and of course, showering them with their swag. As Michael Scott once said, it’s all about the perks .

Out of all these, the swag naturally caught our attention.

It’s not a new concept, by any means: Quinn Emanuel is famous for handing out flip-flops in its downtown Los Angeles office to reflect its easy-going dress code. It’s not the only firm to dispatch the swag train, and Above the Law once held a contest over the best items.

Within the annals of swag, some of the most memorable events took place in 2009, when Mayer Brown offered its lawyers custom-made Nike running shoes, and one small firm reportedly offered lawyers engraved iPods.

This year, Suzanne Monyak of the NLJ pointed to four firms for examples: Latham & Watkins, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, McDermott Will & Emery and WilmerHale. One Latham lawyer described the swag environment as “inundated,” in which lawyers have received backpacks, golf balls, gym bags and stress balls.

Of the other firms, Monyak wrote:

Consider tossing in applications for McDermott and Akin Gump. Akin Gump gives each summer associate an L.L.Bean-style bag embroidered with the firm name, a beach towel, and a hat, as well as a signed copy of one of Akin Gump alum and civil rights activist Vernon Jordan’s books. McDermott’s offerings include a cooler and a speaker system. [Sam Neel, a second year associate at McDermott] said that the McDermott item he has used the most is a glass bowl with an engraved wooden cover that once held assorted candies. Three years later, the bowl occupies an important place in his kitchen as a holder of dog treats.

We’d like to see some evidence. So we reached out to a handful of firms and asked for photos. Here’s one that came back from McDermott Will & Emery.

Jealous? If you’d like to send your photos ofyourfirm’s swag, feel free to drop us a line at BigLawBusiness@bna.com.