NALP Bulletin, August 2020
In May, NALP administered the first of a series of short "pulse" surveys to legal employers and law schools to learn more about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. legal employers, law schools, and JD students. These surveys were designed to quantify the rapidly evolving changes occurring in the industry. This article will highlight some of the key findings from these surveys.
Legal Employer Key Findings:
Law School Key Findings:
The full report from the May pulse surveys, as well as additional pulse surveys, can be accessed from the 2020 Pulse Surveys page.
Legal Employers Subset | % of Offices Still Hosting a Summer Program | Number of Offices |
All Offices | 85.6 | 359 |
By Firm Size (Number of Attorneys) | ||
100 or Fewer | 94.7 | 19 |
101-250 | 79.6 | 49 |
251-500 | 66.7 | 75 |
501-700 | 93.5 | 46 |
701+ | 92.8 | 167 |
By Office Size (Number of Attorneys) | ||
25 or Fewer | 86.1 | 36 |
26-50 | 80.7 | 57 |
51-100 | 90.1 | 101 |
101-250 | 78.3 | 106 |
251-500 | 97.4 | 39 |
501+ | 100.0 | 13 |
By Region and City | ||
Northeast | 83.6 | 73 |
Boston, MA | 73.3 | 15 |
New York, NY | 86.8 | 53 |
Mid-Atlantic | 85.5 | 62 |
Philadelphia, PA | 75.0 | 8 |
Washington, DC/Northern VA | 91.7 | 36 |
Southeast | 90.1 | 71 |
Atlanta, GA | 61.5 | 13 |
Dallas, TX | 92.3 | 13 |
Houston, TX | 100.0 | 15 |
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/W. Palm Beach, FL | 88.9 | 9 |
Midwest | 81.0 | 63 |
Chicago, IL | 81.8 | 22 |
Indianapolis, IN | 60.0 | 5 |
Kansas City, MO | 100.0 | 6 |
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 80.0 | 10 |
West/Rocky Mountain | 88.0 | 83 |
Denver, CO | 100.0 | 7 |
Los Angeles, CA | 90.5 | 21 |
Orange County, CA | 60.0 | 5 |
San Francisco, CA | 93.3 | 15 |
Seattle, WA | 80.0 | 5 |
Silicon Valley, CA | 100.0 | 12 |
Table 2. Length of 2020 Summer Programs (in percentages of offices reporting)
Legal Employers Subset | Less than 4 Weeks (%) | 4 Weeks (%) | 5-6 Weeks (%) | 7-8 Weeks (%) | More than 8 Weeks (%) | Total Number of Offices |
All Offices | 8.0 | 13.0 | 64.5 | 9.6 | 5.0 | 301 |
By Firm Size (Number of Attorneys) | ||||||
100 or Fewer | 0.0 | 11.1 | 55.6 | 11.1 | 22.2 | 18 |
101-250 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 55.3 | 18.4 | 5.3 | 38 |
251-500 | 2.0 | 12.2 | 71.4 | 10.2 | 4.1 | 49 |
501-700 | 0.0 | 4.9 | 87.8 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 41 |
701+ | 15.0 | 13.1 | 59.5 | 8.5 | 3.9 | 153 |
By Office Size (Number of Attorneys) | ||||||
25 or Fewer | 10.7 | 7.1 | 75.0 | 7.1 | 0.0 | 28 |
26-50 | 13.0 | 4.3 | 69.6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 46 |
51-100 | 5.5 | 8.8 | 68.1 | 11.0 | 6.6 | 91 |
101-250 | 8.6 | 16.0 | 63.0 | 9.9 | 2.5 | 81 |
251-500 | 5.4 | 27.0 | 54.1 | 8.1 | 5.4 | 37 |
501+ | 7.7 | 23.1 | 30.8 | 23.1 | 15.4 | 13 |
By Region and City | ||||||
Northeast | 5.1 | 8.5 | 71.2 | 5.1 | 10.2 | 59 |
Boston, MA | 9.1 | 9.1 | 63.6 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 11 |
New York, NY | 4.4 | 6.7 | 73.3 | 4.4 | 11.1 | 45 |
Mid-Atlantic | 3.8 | 19.2 | 57.7 | 15.4 | 3.8 | 52 |
Philadelphia, PA | 0.0 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 6 |
Washington, DC/Northern VA | 3.0 | 18.2 | 60.6 | 12.1 | 6.1 | 33 |
Southeast | 15.6 | 15.6 | 59.4 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 64 |
Atlanta, GA | 12.5 | 12.5 | 62.5 | 0.0 | 12.5 | 8 |
Dallas, TX | 25.0 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 8.3 | 0.0 | 12 |
Houston, TX | 13.3 | 6.7 | 73.3 | 6.7 | 0.0 | 15 |
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/W. Palm Beach, FL | 12.5 | 37.5 | 37.5 | 12.5 | 0.0 | 8 |
Midwest | 4.1 | 26.5 | 49.0 | 16.3 | 4.1 | 49 |
Chicago, IL | 11.8 | 17.6 | 58.8 | 11.8 | 0.0 | 17 |
Kansas City, MO | 0.0 | 0.0 | 83.3 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 6 |
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 0.0 | 25.0 | 37.5 | 37.5 | 0.0 | 8 |
West/Rocky Mountain | 9.6 | 1.4 | 76.7 | 8.2 | 4.1 | 73 |
Denver, CO | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7 |
Los Angeles, CA | 15.8 | 5.3 | 63.2 | 10.5 | 5.3 | 19 |
San Francisco, CA | 7.1 | 0.0 | 64.3 | 14.3 | 14.3 | 14 |
Silicon Valley, CA | 8.3 | 0.0 | 83.3 | 8.3 | 0.0 | 12 |
Legal Employers Subset | % of Offices Reporting Layoffs or Furloughs | Total Number of Offices |
All Offices | 10.5 | 381 |
By Firm Size (Number of Attorneys) | ||
100 or Fewer | 0.0 | 22 |
101-250 | 8.6 | 58 |
251-500 | 12.6 | 87 |
501-700 | 13.7 | 51 |
701+ | 10.6 | 161 |
By Office Size (Number of Attorneys) | ||
25 or Fewer | 1.8 | 55 |
26-50 | 4.9 | 61 |
51-100 | 7.8 | 102 |
101-250 | 19.0 | 105 |
251-500 | 17.9 | 39 |
501+ | 0.0 | 13 |
By Region and City | ||
Northeast | 6.6 | 76 |
Boston, MA | 6.7 | 15 |
New York, NY | 5.5 | 55 |
Mid-Atlantic | 12.5 | 64 |
Philadelphia, PA | 25.0 | 8 |
Washington, DC/Northern VA | 8.6 | 35 |
Wilmington, DE | 0.0 | 5 |
Southeast | 7.8 | 77 |
Atlanta, GA | 28.6 | 14 |
Dallas, TX | 7.1 | 14 |
Houston, TX | 0.0 | 15 |
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/W. Palm Beach, FL | 0.0 | 9 |
Midwest | 17.9 | 67 |
Chicago, IL | 17.4 | 23 |
Indianapolis, IN | 20.0 | 5 |
Kansas City, MO | 50.0 | 6 |
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 27.3 | 11 |
West/Rocky Mountain | 8.8 | 91 |
Denver, CO | 0.0 | 7 |
Los Angeles, CA | 9.5 | 21 |
Phoenix, AZ | 20.0 | 5 |
San Diego, CA | 0.0 | 6 |
San Francisco, CA | 0.0 | 14 |
Seattle, WA | 20.0 | 5 |
Silicon Valley, CA | 7.7 | 13 |
Law School Subset | % Jan. 2021 | % Feb. 2021 | Total Number of Schools |
All Schools | 71.2 | 21.2 | 66 |
By Type of Institution | |||
Public | 74.2 | 22.6 | 31 |
Private | 68.6 | 20.0 | 35 |
By Region | |||
Northeast | 90.0 | 0.0 | 10 |
Mid-Atlantic | 92.9 | 7.1 | 14 |
Southeast | 60.0 | 40.0 | 5 |
Midwest | 52.6 | 36.8 | 19 |
West/Rocky Mountain | 70.6 | 17.6 | 17 |
By Fall 2019 JD Enrollment Size | |||
Fewer than 350 students | 57.1 | 42.9 | 7 |
350-549 students | 73.1 | 19.2 | 26 |
550-750 students | 70.6 | 17.6 | 17 |
751+ students | 73.3 | 20.0 | 15 |
By % of Class of 2019 Grads Receiving Job via OCI | |||
25% or Less | 69.8 | 23.3 | 43 |
26-50% | 60.0 | 20.0 | 10 |
51% or More | 100.0 | 0.0 | 8 |
Chart 1. Format of 2020 Summer Programs by Region (in percentages of offices)