Big law firms skirt freezes, but weigh retrenchments
Boston Business Journal - by Sheri Qualters Journal Staff
A cross-section of the city's top law firms and schools say Boston has sidestepped the lawyer freeze chilling some California firms, but some are eyeing future retrenchments.
Despite the economic slowdown, many firms are rewarding most of this year's crop of summer associates with job offers, but an equal number are looking to shrink next year's group.
Summer hires
Traditionally, large and prestigious law firms hire summer associates with the intention of vetting them for permanent positions.
Most of the hirees are between their second and third year of law school. But some firms have two-year programs, which include students between their first and second year of law school.
Summer associates usually reap the same weekly base pay as first-year associates and perform similar work.
This year, summer associates at Hale and Dorr LLP and Ropes & Gray, for example, pulled down $2,600 per week--the equivalent of the weekly rate of first-year associates earning $135,000 per year.
Most of the major Boston law firms are on track with hiring plans for summer associates, says Jean French, the director of career services for Boston College Law School.
They are also honoring offers extended to previous summer-associate classes by welcoming new associates on board, she said.
"I haven't heard of any offers (being) rescinded in Boston," French said. "We've had (firms in) California asking people to delay their start date until December."
Harvard Law School students have had similar experiences, said director of career services Mark Weber. Some Silicon Valley firms were "not in a position to extend offers" to summer associates, he explained, but students who summered at Boston firms are faring well.
Now the firms are back on campus, recruiting for next year's batch of summer associates. And while Weber and others say they're not privy to any particular firm's targeted number of hires, they're hearing rumblings about leaner times ahead.
"What I can tell you is that whatever number they were working from last year, I'm certain it is smaller this year," Weber said. "That's basically the message that we've been hearing from many of the firms."
Hiring long-term
Ropes & Gray, one of the city's most elite firms, has extended offers to all 73 of its summer associates, according to partner Raj Marphatia. Some are starting next year, but others plan to come on board in 2003 or 2004 after clerking for judges.
"It's hard to predict what kind of shape the economy is going to be in then," Marphatia said. "Our philosophy has always been to hire with a view to hire for long-term."
Bingham Dana LLP, likewise, offered positions to all 25 of its Boston summer associates, according to the firm's hiring partner, Marijane Benner Browne.
"We've hired pretty conservatively over the past number of years," Browne said. "We haven't had any dramatic expansion in our classes. It's always been part of our goal to bring in the number of summer associates that we can extend offers to."
Hale and Dorr and Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP have given the nod to most summer associates, 34 out of 36 at Hale and Dorr, according to managing partner Bill Lee, and 61 out of 65 at Testa Hurwitz, according to summer program chair Brian Goldstein.
While these firms can honor their previous commitments, all three plan to protect their track record by bringing in fewer summer associates next year. Ropes & Gray, for example, is aiming for 60 summer associates, according to Marphatia, and Testa Hurwitz's Goldstein said the summer associate class will be "in the 50 to 55 range." And Lee said Hale and Dorr's program will be "slightly smaller."
Earlier this summer, Goodwin Procter LLP told the Boston Business Journal that it had 32 summer associates this year, compared with 2000's crop of 66. Firm officials did not return telephone calls for this story.
Quality, not quantity
Firms that didn't hire the majority of summer associates claim the quality of the candidates, not economic worries, drove those decisions.
Nutter, McClennen & Fish LLP was "disappointed" that it could only extend offers to 14 out of 21 summer associates, said Deb Manus, the chair of the hiring committee.
"It was based on whether or not they meet the standards we set here," Manus said. "We could have extended more from a financial aspect, but not for these particular candidates."
Overall, industry observers are breathing a sigh of relief, said Betsy Armour, the director of the career development office at the Boston University School of Law.
"We were frankly expecting that perhaps there might be some fallout from the tightening market, but in fact, that worry was not borne out," Armour said. "We didn't experience any ripple effect or change in offer rate."
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