Big Law typically recruits and interviews students at the start of their second year of law school, but intense competition has shops like Latham & Watkins tapping students before they finish their first year.
Law schools aren't happy about it, but too bad, they're allowing it.
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1. Law firms are interviewing law school students about a year earlier than usual. The recruiting environment is akin to the "Wild West," according to one partner at a law firm who has been interviewing students.
Latham & Watkins, for example, now interviews students before they finish their first year of law school. Historically, Big Law has recruited and interviewed students at the start of their second year. Others, from Skadden to Davis Polk, have also made a significant number of early offers.
While this might give law firms a leg up on nabbing the best candidates, recruiters and student advisors said this rapid process is chaotic and unfair.
Some law firms have even pressured students to accept an offer before they have had a chance to test the waters and interview with other law firms. This raises the risk that these students might be a year into their post-law-school employment before they realize they've made the wrong decision.
While Big Law's early recruitment efforts are not exactly on the level of the NBA plucking talent out of high schools, it does back these young adults into a corner at a time when they might still be uncertain about what's next on their horizon.
Insider's Jack Newsham has the story on Big Law's tactics to lock in talent earlier than ever.
Plus, check out Insider Senior Correspondent Casey Sullivan's piece on how elite law schools are pushing students onto a "conveyor belt" of Big Law firms.
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Curated by Aaron Weinman in New York. Tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @aaronw11. Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.