NALP and The NALP Foundation have convened a series of Roundtable discussions on The Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development & Advancement. Transcripts and videos of each previous Roundtable, as well as NALP articles and other information, are available from the links below.

March 12, 2010

During the fourth and final NALP roundtable panel discussion on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement, participating industry leaders agreed that the legal economy is slowly recovering but said they expect another anemic recruiting season in 2010. Key discussion points included changes being driven by clients and the movement toward competency-based promotion and advancement schemes. Also, the panel will be discussing the recruiting landscape for this coming fall. A list of participants, as well as video and transcript, are available here.

December 14, 2009

The third Roundtable on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement was held December 14 in the New York offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and brought together another panel of distinguished industry leaders for a discussion about how we might change and improve the ways law firms recruit new associates in the new economy. It was during this Roundtable that Phillip Bradley, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Duane Reade, asked whether legal education had gone the way of the auto industry. A list of participants, as well as video, transcript, and articles are available here.

September 28, 2009

The second Roundtable on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement was held September 28, 2009 in the San Francisco offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and brought together another panel of distinguished industry leaders for a discussion about how we might change and improve the ways law firms recruit new associates in the new economy. Highlights included a discussion about whether this industry should move to a matching system similar to the one used by medical schools to place graduates in internships, as well as further debate about how moving the OCI process later in the season might work as a practical matter. Panelists also discussed implementing a common offer date. The discussion produced a hopeful consensus that the legal job market will improve for the Class of 2012, but also an agreement that for now, law firms will proceed very conservatively in the hiring arena. A list of participants, as well as video, transcript, and articles are available here.

June 24, 2009

Nineteen industry leaders met on June 24, 2009, for the first invitation-only Roundtable on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement, sponsored by NALP and The NALP Foundation and hosted by Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, DC. Participants concluded that the economic slow-down will have a lasting impact on lawyer hiring and development, including a move away from lock-step lawyer advancement models by many law firms; agreed that beginning on-campus interviewing of second-year law students in August is problematic and that different models should be considered; explored the ways in which the economy and client needs may change traditional law firm leverage models; expressed great interest in development of an apprenticeship model of lawyer training; concurred that commitments to diversity would withstand the impacts of the recession; concluded that increased competition will create new demands for lawyer training; and agreed that where associate retention was once the impetus for lawyer professional development, the new impetus is client retention. A list of participants, as well as video, transcript, and articles and more are available here.