Dear 1L, Last year, large law firms made 47% of summer-associate offers BEFORE formal OCI.

That was up from 23% in 2022!

—This number is according to Reuters, in a recent article about new data from the National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP).

—NALP tracks more than 180 law firms, the “vast majority of which” have 500+ attorneys.

(Link to article in a note below.)

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Also troubling are remarks from a BigLaw recruiting partner that confirm the import of the stats:

▪️ “Data-wise, in the limited field I know, we're hiring people from OCI I'd bet like 80% less frequently than we used to.”

▪️ “By OCI, it’s is too late . . . the folks who have authentic connections with our firm, people, and interests tend to sneak in earlier.”

🔻

Do I think any of this is a good thing? No.

—The stress it puts you under is unreasonable.

—The notice about these changes is coming after-the-fact.

—Most of you have not even found jobs for 1L summer yet.

—You are in the thick of a critical semester in law school where you have more difficult stuff to do than you’ve had to face ever before.

👉 I think it’s all a travesty.

But it’s also the reality. So we need to adapt and maximize your chances of success.

⬇️

My message is this:

1: NETWORK!!!

2: DO NOT WAIT FOR OCI!!

I will have more to say on networking coming up.

Please let me know any questions or observations, by comment or DM, and I will continue to monitor things and pass along what I see to try to help.

Fondly,

💌 Amanda

#Dear1L