In the legal industry, a shift is underway as law firms anticipate a period of surplus capacity and reduced demand for new talent. This adjustment marks the softest recruiting cycle for employers since the Great Recession, presenting challenges for aspiring lawyers entering the job market.
The insights stem from a report from The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) titled “Perspectives on 2023 Law Student Recruiting,” shedding light on the market’s transition from the post-pandemic hiring boom. Many law firms find themselves with talent levels that don’t align with the longer-term demands of their clients.
Key metrics indicating the competitiveness of the recruiting cycle, such as total offer volume and offer rates, saw declines this year. Additionally, a higher proportion of callback invitations led to interviews, while offer acceptance rates trended more conservatively, signaling a shift towards a more cautious recruiting season.
“Perhaps the most interesting perspective from the data this year is how it reflects the changing recruiting strategies used by law firms,” said Nikia Gray, executive director at NALP.
Gray noted that in the past most law schools hired rising 2Ls through on campus interviews (OCI) arranged by law school career offices. But now, while OCI still accounts for most offers, there’s a clear trend towards using other methods too. This change shows that law firms are broadening their recruitment strategies to adapt to the shifting job market.
“These non-OCI recruiting methods are also heavily targeting top candidates, with diverse candidates a distant second,” she said. “In short, what the data suggests is that OCI is still a valuable recruiting tool, but that firms are increasingly viewing it as a vehicle to ‘round out’ their summer programs after engaging in a vigorous round of pre-OCI recruiting to secure their ideal candidates.”
Summer 2023 programs and outcomes
In 2023, the average class size for 2L summer programs increased slightly to 14 from 13 in 2022, matching the record highs seen in summer programs in 2000 and 2016–2018.
However, the offer rate for returning as an associate post-graduation dipped from 97% to 96%, the lowest since 2017 but still above pre-2018 figures. On a positive note, for the third consecutive summer the acceptance rate for these offers remained at a robust 89%.
Around 13.5% of entry-level associate positions were filled by students who spent both 1L and 2L summers with the same firm, with nearly 8% of these also being 1L diversity fellows.
Offer rates for 1L summer associates to return for a second summer in 2024 fell slightly to 92%, with an acceptance rate of 72%.
Diversity fellows comprised the majority (57%) of all 1L 2023 summer associates, with a slightly higher acceptance rate of 74% for returning next summer.
2023 recruiting for summer 2024 programs
Law offices primarily utilized OCI for recruiting 2L students, followed by direct applications and resume collections. A slight majority of summer program offers stemmed from OCI, compared to other non-OCI methods.
For summer 2024 positions, 46% of callback interviews led to offers, marking a six-point decline from 2022 and the lowest rate since 2012. Interestingly, while offer rates decreased, acceptance rates rose to 47%, the highest NALP has recorded.
Total offer volume for summer 2024 programs decreased by 19% compared to 2022. OCI offers dropped by 31%, while non-OCI offers declined by just 5%.
The median number of offers extended to 2L students for summer 2024 programs was seven, the lowest since 2010. Most offers were made in August, with July following closely behind. Only 11% of offices recruited 3Ls in 2023, the lowest percentage since 2009.
