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Jones Day has been the most vociferous opponent of the NALP recruitment plan, as we originally reported here, but several other firms have come out against it.
Weil Gotshal and Lowenstein Sandler have spoken out against it, saying that it would create a five month gap between on campus interviews and the extension of offers – a gap that would be expensive for firms that feel compelled to spend larger amounts of money wining and dining top recruits.
Jones Day has asserted that a predetermined “offer day” raises anti-trust issues and benefits weaker firms that are less able to predict their own internal needs to the detriment of better run firms.
Cleary Gottlieb is also opposed to the plan.
Taking NALP’s corner are firms like White & Case and Wilkie Farr.
This raises some interesting questions about law firm recruitment and the NALP plan. There are three constituent groups affected by the plan: Law firms, students, and law schools. Which group, if any, should the NALP plan seek to benefit and which group benefits from the current plan?
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Certainly a longer recruitment period benefits law students, who will have more time to meet with and learn about the various firms while also receiving increased perks. Some firms may benefit as well by having more information about their own internal numbers before issuing final offers, and Jones Day’s objection not withstanding even the best run firms will be able to capitalize on this information. The longer recruitment period will, however, cut down on the advantage enjoyed by some firms. But what about the schools themselves, who certainly have a vested interest in seeing their students receive offers from top ranked firms? Will the NALP plan benefit them all equally or will some schools fare better than others as a result of the plan, and should that factor into the decision?
The discussions thus far have focused almost entirely on the firms and the students. I’m eager to hear your comments on the impact to the schools.
