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Law360 (March 27, 2020, 6:55 PM EDT) -- Amid the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Covington & Burling LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP all say they plan to continue with their summer associate programs, though many of the law students hired for the programs might wind up working remotely.
Boies Schiller announced on Thursday its plans to definitely continue with the program, and has assured its 28 incoming summer associates that they will have a place at the firm during the summer.
"Recruiting the best and brightest has always been a cornerstone of the firm. These are unprecedented times but one of the first things we did was make sure we could honor all our obligations to our summer associates," Natasha Harrison, a managing partner at Boies Schiller, told Law360 in a statement. "We wanted to give them some certainty in these uncertain times.''
A Fried Frank spokesperson also said that the firm plans to move ahead with the summer associate program, though it is still "working on details," such as the best format and start date for the students. Covington & Burling said that "at this time," it too plans to proceed with the program, but is likewise looking into remote options.
Though some firms have apparently decided to move forward, others have seemingly not made up their minds about summer associates.
Michelle Fivel, a partner with legal recruiter Major Lindsey & Africa, told Law360 that many firms are trying to make numerous personnel-related decisions right now, from working out how to manage the hiring process to assessing the staffing needs of various practice groups in unprecedented times.
However, she added, some preliminary data Major Lindsey received from a survey of New York firms suggests that most are not planning to jettison their summer associate programs.
"They're very busy right now," she said. "A lot of firms are very forward-thinking."
Firms were concerned about losing talent, Fivel said, which might especially be true if more firms announce their plans to keep on course with regard to summer associates. Though she stressed that firms were balancing many considerations right now, how other firms might proceed is "always a factor."
"I think the top firms especially will be paying attention to what their competitors are doing," she said.
Even if keeping summer programs as planned ultimately is not the norm among firms, Fivel said she expects that most firms that cancel the programs will still make employment offers to the law students they tapped as 2020 summer associates.
"My guess is that would be the default," she said. "It doesn't allow the firms to really evaluate the candidates or allow the candidates to evaluate the firm, but I would expect that would be the most common way to handle it."
However, if that isn't the case, the legal industry could see an unusually robust recruiting season for third-year law students next year, she added.
"Nothing is business as usual right now," she said. "But firms still ... need people."
--Editing by Alanna Weissman.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
