Entry Level Law Firm Recruiting Up, But Uncertainty Prevails

Law firm hiring of entry-level lawyers was up last year, but some firms have been paring back their summer associate programs, according to a newly released report.

The National Association for Law Placement, which authored the report, said that summer associates received offers of employment at historically high rates for the second year in a row in 2019. But even with a 98% aggregate offer rate, the report said some firms were already making adjustments “with so many political and financial variables uncertain.”

“The largest law firms continue to trim summer program size just slightly, perhaps in anticipation of ...