Skadden, BigLaw Firms Increase Hiring: Law Schools Move OCIs to Aug.
The fall semester will soon start for law students across the country. So will the fall recruiting season, and all the related tears of frustration that accompany it.
But along with the usual weeping, fall OCI might bring a few smiles this year, with reports that offer rates are up and both Skadden and Bingham McCutchen are increasing 2012 summer class sizes.
So, is the legal market improving for newly minted 2Ls and 3Ls? And, if so, is your law school taking advantage of the uptick?
While a recent article in the Wall Street Journal points to Skadden's plan to increase its summer 2012 class by 66% (Bingham's will be up by 29%) as evidence that things are improving, this may not necessarily be demonstrative of the entire legal economy.
While BigLaw jobs might be slowly increasing hiring, and a number of law firms have reported 100% offer rates in recent weeks, it seems as though government hiring has taken a hit.
One of the more prominent victims is the DOJ Honors Program, which has reduced the number of potential hires from previous years in light of government-wide budget constraints.
Most state and local government hiring programs appear to be in the same boat.
With such unbalanced, and potentially unstable, growth, some law schools appear to be pushing firms and other employers to ramp up recruiting now.
Up from just 7 in 2000, the Journal reports that over 100 law schools have moved fall OCI to August, hoping to fill slots before recruiters can meet with students at schools with OCI weeks in September and October.
So, when is your fall OCI? And if it isn't in August, what are you going to do about it?
Related Resources:
- Several Law Firms Plan to Increase Hiring; Law Schools Jockey for Placements (ABA Journal)
- Corporations Hiring GCs out of Law School Instead of from BigLaw (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Why Weren't You Hired as a 2011 Supreme Court Law Clerk? (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)