Fordham Law Wields Banhammer on Reed Smith

Manhattan’s Fordham University School of Law has banned Biglaw firm Reed Smith from on-campus interviewing and recruiting for five years, after the law firm canceled on-campus interviews at the last minute.

From the announcement:

…after the release of EIW [Early Interview Week] interview schedules, Reed Smith contacted us to withdraw from this year’s EIW program. While the firm intends to have a 2010 Summer Associate Program and to keep its commitment to interview at other schools, Reed Smith decided to no longer interview at some schools, including Fordham…

While disappointing, Reed Smith’s action is more disheartening because of the lack of professionalism it conveys. The firm could have made its decision earlier; in fact, it received its interview schedule prior to canceling its participation. In my seven years as Dean, no other firm has canceled its interviews after the schedule was released. Thus, we have informed the firm that it will not be invited to participate in our OCI [on-campus interview] program for the next 5 years.

This is the first time the law school has banned a law firm from recruiting.

After the announcement hit the blawgosphere, Reed Smith issued a response:

Fordham is an outstanding law school and we regret that our decision has caused problems for them. Reed Smith has many Fordham graduates in our lawyer ranks; all of them valued members of our team. We look forward to discussing this matter directly with Fordham and finding a way to continue our long and successful relationship with them.

Founded in 1905, the Fordham University School of Law is a part of Fordham University, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.