Law Firms Trim Summer Associate Parties, Could Make ‘Dramatically Fewer Offers’
Summer associates in years past were treated to high-priced lunches and lavish parties, and nearly all of them received job offers.
No more, the Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports. “The lunch tables have turned,” the publication says. “There will be less travel, fewer restaurants and a limited number of swanky events. Fewer associates are working shorter summers; entertainment budgets are capped and weekends in wine country have been replaced by dinners at partners’ houses.”
An anonymous associate at Latham & Watkins told the publication the firm has capped the amount it will pay, per head, for summer associate lunches, with the amount varying based on the office. And the weekend of associate training previously held in Arizona has been replaced with regional educational seminars.
Best Best & Krieger is saving on travel by consolidating events and hosting them within the firm, partner Jill Willis told the publication. Dinners at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges will be hosted at partners’ homes rather than restaurants.
Other events still being planned include a serious hike in British Columbia for Quinn Emanuel summer associates and vineyard trips at Munger, Tolles & Olson, according to the story.
The cuts in social events come as law firms are hiring fewer summer associates and trimming the length of their programs. The next big question is how many of the summer associates will receive permanent job offers. At one time, law firms made offers to about 90 percent of their summers, but that could be changing, according to law firm consultant Peter Zeughauser.
“I think there will be dramatically fewer offers, as much as 80 to 90 percent fewer offers,” he told the Daily Journal. “It wouldn’t surprise me if some firms skip a year entirely.”
