Slower Economy Leads to Lower Offer Rates at BigLaw Firms in Texas
What a difference a year makes. It wasn’t unusual for a BigLaw firm in Texas to make offers to almost all the law students in its summer program as recently as 2008.
But this year the offer rate to summer associates dropped significantly at a number of well-known firms, in response to the difficult economic conditions of the last year. At Vinson & Elkins, for instance, the firm offered jobs to 75 percent of its 109 summer associates, down from 95 percent last year, reports Texas Lawyer in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
Like its competitors, Vinson & Elkins also anticipates a smaller summer program next year of perhaps 90 summer associates, the legal publication notes.
A number of firms are still deciding about offers, so final statistics aren’t yet available.
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