Dechert Is Giving Summer Associates Option to Delay 2024 Start

Dechert is giving up to 20 summer associates the option to delay their 2024 start, with the incentive of a $75,000 stipend for those who choose to work with a nonprofit entity through the firm.

The associates who accept a deferment would start at the firm in fall 2025, a Dechert spokesperson confirmed Friday. Those that choose to work for a pro bono or nonprofit organization through Dechert will receive a $75,000 stipend and benefits, the spokesperson said.

“While there is a spot for all should they chose to start in the fall of 2024, we created the opportunity for up to 20 Summer Associates to defer for a year and come back in the fall of 2025,” a firm spokesperson said in an email to Bloomberg Law. “They are welcome to explore, study, travel or experience another opportunity.”

The firm did not immediately reply to questions on how big its latest summer associate class was and whether this is the first time it has extended such an offer.

Dechert’s move is similar to an option Silicon-Valley based Cooley gave to first-year associates. Cooley has given some corporate associates set to start in January the chance to push back their start date by a year in exchange for $100,000. Other options at that firm include switching to another practice area with higher demand right now, Bloomberg Law reported in June.

The moves come as some firms experience a drop in demand, primarily caused by a decline in corporate deals and mergers and acquisitions.

Dechert, among the 50 largest law firms in the US by gross revenue, in May laid off 55 lawyers and 43 professional staff members, representing about 5% of its global workforce. The cuts included a “redundancy process” that is underway in the firm’s London office, according to a firm statement.

Partners David Forti and Mark Thierfelder became the firm’s co-chairs in July, succeeding Andy Levander, a New York-based white-collar attorney who had been in the post since 2011.