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Fall Interviewees
Students wait for their turn in the interviewing rooms in Slaughter Hall.

Fall Interviewing Numbers Remain Strong

On a typical fall day at the Law School, second-year students wearing crisp suits and nursing bottled water gather in the corridors of the second floor of Slaughter Hall, waiting to interview with firms of their choice. On September 20 the pre-interview chatter may have been slightly more anxious as big-name firms including King & Spalding; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; and Latham & Watkins interviewed students hoping to squeeze into a tighter job market and land opportunities in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, and Chicago.

The faltering economy has made only a slight impact this year on the number of employers attracted to the Law Grounds during the fall interview season, which lasts from September 4 to October 18. While more than 6,700 interviews took place last year, Steve Hopson, Senior Assistant Dean for Career Services, expects more of the same this season; to date, Career Services has attracted 950 offices for fall interviewing with 530 schedules arranged-more than last year's yield of 927 offices and 503 schedules.

"We've got a few more employers than last year, when our numbers really fell off," Hopson said. "If anything, though, I think the summer classes may be slightly smaller this year on account of the continuing state of the economy. This means fewer offers to 2Ls."

Second-year students are very likely to be hired full-time after graduation by the same firm they work for during the summer before their third year, according to Hopson. Offers made to 2Ls during the fall are held open until December 1 under guidelines established by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Students can hold no more than four offers after October 15 and no more than three after November 1.

While second-years and third-years with jobs may be in good shape, Hopson said third-years who do not have jobs yet will likely be hurt by the recession.

"If you haven't gotten an offer, you're going to be hard-pressed to find something before graduation," he said. Still, "last year was the year that most people cut back."

Students may be looking less to the corporate world and more to litigation as a result of the economic downturn. "Not surprisingly, transactional work is down, but litigators are in demand and some firms have even told me that last year was the best in their history. But there's no question that firms are not hiring the numbers that they were two or three years ago. This year is basically like last year, with a little tighter market," Hopson said.

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