The numbers say it all – Big law firms demand for Harvard Law graduates has dropped by 20% according to a report in the Harvard Crimson.
They write:
Tough Times For Harvard Lawyers
In economic downturns, law firms have come to expect litigation activity to increase even while transactions decrease in a recession. But the magnitude of this recession?the worst since the Great Depression?has nullified this conventional wisdom, leaving firms scrambling to cope.
The fall-out has accelerated a reform process within firms to improve the way that they hire, recruit, and operate.
This year, Harvard Law School has seen a 20 percent reduction in the number of firms participating in its recruitment process, according to Mark A. Weber, assistant dean for career services at the Law School. Some members of the class of 2009 received deferred start-dates as firms struggled to keep the hiring commitments they made two years earlier. And starting salaries for the largest firms have dropped from around $160,000 to $140,000.
Administrators and experts at the Law School have hinted at the possibility of pushing back the start date of the fall recruiting season. But starting this spring, the Law School will host a second recruitment period for ?firms whose hiring outlooks have changed,? in anticipation of an economic recovery.
Full report at? http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=529261
