Every year, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) holds its Legal Recruiting Summit for legal recruiters from law firms and career services professionals at law schools from throughout the country. This year, the event was held for the first time at Fordham Law School on Jan. 30.
The one-day conference is an opportunity for professionals to network and learn about trends in the legal job market. Attendees heard from expert speakers on issues facing law schools, legal employers and law school graduates. While last year’s summit featured programs about communicating with Gen Z through social media and other technology, health and wellness within the legal profession were a top talking point this year.
Fordham Law School Dean Matthew Diller mentioned how pleased he was that wellness was included on the agenda.
“It is an incredibly energizing time for our students to be in law school … but, at the same time, students are very anxious. They are aware that the legal profession is changing and changing rapidly and that, as they go out and launch their careers, they will be facing new realities that generations haven’t faced before,” Dean Diller said in his opening remarks. “As we work together, remember the emotional stress and the anxiety that students in all of our law schools face as they go through this process.”
Dean Matthew Diller speaking at the podium
NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold highlighted findings from the 2019 recruiting season, noting how the law graduate employment rate (9 to 10 months after graduation) has been increasing since 2014—with the average percentage exceeding 86.7 percent. He also reported there was an increase in the number of job opportunities posted outside of on-campus interviews (OCI) (e.g., direct applications and resume collections). Sixty-five schools reported that one or more of their students received at least one pre-OCI offer for 2L summer employment—up from 57 last year, and 42 the year before. Based on 131 law school responses, 30 percent of respondents saw an increase of more than 15 percent of employers conducting on-campus recruiting in the fall. Thirty-one percent of 118 law school respondents noted an increase of more than 30 percent of employers conducting on-campus recruiting in the spring.
