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Law360 (April 28, 2020, 10:01 PM EDT ) Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP and Jenner & Block LLP are the latest law firms to amend their plans for summer associate programs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials with both firms confirmed they will push back the start dates for their programs. Jenner & Block said its program will be conducted remotely, while Paul Weiss is still mulling how much of its offerings will be conducted remotely.
Jenner & Block's program will begin June 8, said Anne Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the firm.
The start date for Paul Weiss' program could not be confirmed on Tuesday. The firm expects to extend job offers to second-year students accepted into the program, an official said.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, law firms across the country have been making adjustments to their summer associate programs, with some, such as Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, announcing early that the program would move forward, and others deciding to cancel their offerings.
Dechert LLP confirmed Monday that it has canceled its summer associate program in light of the outbreak and instead will host virtual meetings to provide the participants with some visibility into the law firm and its community.
Dechert, which said it will pay the summer associates for six weeks, has offered its second-year summer associates permanent positions and will invite back its one first-year summer associate for next summer.
Arent Fox LLP, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Pepper Hamilton LLP, Schiff Hardin LLP and Troutman Sanders LLP have also either canceled or suspended this year's programs, but have also promised to provide job offers to the second-year students who were accepted into them.
Other firms, such as Shearman & Sterling LLP, have confirmed cuts to the lengths of their summer associate programs. While Shearman's program will start no earlier than June 22, participants will still receive a full 10 weeks of pay, the firm confirmed Friday. Shearman is preparing to offer the program either remotely, in-person or as a combination of the two.
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP has also pushed back its summer associate program until June 22, a firm spokesman said Monday. The program will last for five weeks and be conducted remotely.
All second-year summer associates "will be extended an offer to return to the firm as first-year associates following graduation," the Cadwalader spokesman said.
And Allen & Overy LLP confirmed Monday that the firm's summer associate program will begin in mid-June and will be conducted remotely.
--Additional reporting by Michele Gorman and Emma Cueto. Editing by Jill Coffey.
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