The stipend will be paid this September. Associates who choose the plan will be able to start at the end of 2010, if they pass the bar.
Deferred associates can take time off or do public interest work, but they cannot do work for another private firm.
Associates have already received a $4,000 stipend, in addition to a bar stipend.
In April the firm cut 93 US support staff, and cut associate pay.
Founded in 1904, Hogan & Hartson is the oldest major law firm headquartered in Washington, DC. It is a global firm with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide, including offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.