Posted by Judith Collins on Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Associate deferrals are down — but they have not disappeared. According to NALP’s Survey of Legal Employers on Fall Recruiting and Associate Deferrals, about 12% of associates from summer 2010 programs who accepted an offer are expected to start after December 1, 2011. The figure rises to about 15% in the largest firms. This contrasts with an overall figure of almost 40% from the summer 2009 programs, and over half at the largest firms. But as is the case with the finding posted earlier that offer rates from summer programs were up in 2010, some additional variables are at work here. First, summer class sizes were smaller; second, to the extent that firms have moved their start date back to January, fewer associates are deferred based on the definition used in the survey. More information will be available soon in Perspectives on Legal Recruiting, which will be published in March. You can read last year's Perspectives here.
