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    Attracting Graduates from the Best Law Schools: What Matters Most to Top Young Talent?

    Attracting Graduates from the Best Law Schools: What Matters Most to Top Young Talent?

    January 24, 2025   |   Written by Rachel Reynolds

    Most law firms have periods when they need to hire a new lawyer and are looking for a young attorney who is right out of law school. New graduates can be ideal because they are eager to learn, engage, and build a career, and a law firm can grow the attorney through their firm’s culture and processes.

    So how do law firms attract graduates from the best law schools? What matters most to top young talent? Why is your law firm an attractive choice compared to other firms? Let’s take a closer look at the important elements that cause graduates to select particular firms:

    Strong Training and Mentorship

    According to research, young attorneys deeply value training and meaningful mentorship when they choose a law firm during recruiting, because they want a strong legal foundation to build their career on. This invaluable guidance and professional development from senior attorneys is exceptionally important. Graduates are looking for:

    • Structured training programs and mentorship from experienced attorneys
    • Exposure to real-world legal procedures and etiquette
    • Direct supervision, feedback on their work, and insights into legal career paths
    • Opportunity to develop essential soft skills like communication and negotiation.

    Clear Career Progression

    Young attorneys highly value a clear career progression in a law firm with some sense of a timeline. They don’t want to end up languishing indefinitely as a researcher or junior associate. They prefer to:

    • Have a structured career path with specific milestones
    • Develop relationships that can lead to future career growth
    • Attend conferences, roundtables, and professional membership organizations where they are exposed to many attorneys who specialize in various practice areas
    • Expand their network among other attorneys, clients, and business owners to build a strong referral network.

    Meaningful Work

    Young attorneys want meaningful legal work and exposure to their preferred practice area whether that be business, personal injury, criminal, estate planning, environmental, or family law. Graduates are looking for the opportunity to:

    • Explore different areas of the law so they can be certain of their specialty
    • Have exposure to senior attorneys who work in specialized practice areas
    • Have the opportunity to do pro-bono work for non-profits that are doing good in their communities.

    Compensation

    Graduates from law schools obviously care about compensation, though, somewhat surprisingly, it is often not their top priority when choosing a job. Research shows that 57% of job seekers prioritize benefits and perks when considering job offers, and 70% would choose better benefits over higher pay. Granted, because many have significant student loans, they must earn a reasonable sum to meet their monthly debt obligations. But compensation isn’t everything. They look for:

    • An annual salary that is commensurate with the size of the law firm and the geographic region
    • Debt forgiveness opportunities
    • Signing bonuses that provide money up front before starting a job
    • Relocation assistance or a first-month housing stipend
    • Tuition assistance for further studies.

    Access to Client Interactions

    Graduates really value a law firm that will give them at least a small amount of access to client interactions so they can gain experience in professional client communications, participation in client meetings, and learning how to explain complex legal concepts in understandable terms. Graduates want to:

    • Have the opportunity for hands-on client interactions that help develop crucial interpersonal skills that can’t be learned in classrooms
    • Watch more experienced attorneys handle face-to-face meetings with clients
    • Move beyond legal research on behalf of senior attorneys.

    Resources

    Young attorneys value access to sophisticated technology and research tools. These digital natives have lived their lives with mobile phones, social media, and the internet, and they’re eager to use AI, online platforms, and technology to help do their jobs. They value:

    • Dedicated support staff and administrative resources so they can focus on legal work
    • Advanced technology at their fingertips
    • Law firms that are innovative and open to evolving technology.

    Work/Life Balance

    The largest law firms in the U.S. are notorious for requiring junior associates to work 80-90 hours a week for the first few years. Graduates these days are hoping for at least a modicum of work/life balance. They value:

    • Working an achievable number of hours each week that still enables them to have time for recreation and a social life
    • Annual wellness allowances for gym, yoga, and recreational memberships
    • The ability to sometimes work remotely one or two days a week
    • Vacation time that they can actually use
    • Dinner vouchers and paid taxis for late work
    • On-site childcare facilities
    • Concierge assistance for personal errands like drycleaning, handling travel arrangements, and securing tickets to events. This helps young attorneys with time management.

    While concierge services may seem a bit over-the-top for young attorneys, it helps them be more efficient at work, and it’s a significant recruiting tool. Only 3% of companies offer concierge services, but 30% of employers on “best place to work” lists provide this perk, suggesting it contributes to workplace satisfaction and productivity. The goal is to help attorneys make the most of their downtime rather than spending it on personal errands. By handling these tasks, concierge services allow lawyers to focus on their legal work while maintaining a better work/life balance.

    Law firms can compete with rival firms in attracting top young talent by offering a customized package of elements that young attorneys care about. Even though a firm might not be able to offer the highest compensation in town, that doesn’t mean they won’t attract the perfect graduates for their firm.

    Long Hours and High Performance

    First-year associates at top law firms typically work extensive hours, with significant variation between actual worked hours and billable hours. Surveys show that at large firms with more than 700 attorneys, associates are expected to bill 1,930 hours annually. To achieve these billable targets, first-year associates typically work:

    • 80-100 hours per week (6-7 days) while billing 40-60 hours
    • 65-80 hours per week to reach 2,400 billable hours annually.

    Research shows that the efficiency rate for first-year associates is typically about 75%, meaning only three-quarters of worked hours are billable. To achieve 2,200 billable hours, associates often work from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, plus two to three Saturdays monthly, totaling about 3,058 actual worked hours annually.

    Because work/life balance can be more important to today’s law firm graduates than it has been to previous generations of lawyers, this means smaller and boutique firms are sometimes more competitive than they have been in the past in attracting top talent.

    Top U.S. Law Schools

    Depending on which survey you look at, a handful of law schools are typically ranked at or near the top. Top-ranked law schools in the United States, not necessarily in order, include:

    • Stanford University
    • Yale University
    • Harvard University
    • University of Chicago
    • Georgetown University
    • New York University
    • University of Pennsylvania
    • University of Virginia
    • Northwestern University
    • University of Michigan
    • Columbia University
    • Duke University
    • University of California, Berkeley
    • Cornell University

    Many law firms recruit heavily at these schools for top talent. Firms target specific law schools with different grade requirements — typically recruiting from the top 30-50% of Top 10 schools, but only the top 5-10% from lower-ranked schools. However, less well-known schools can also be important places to recruit to find talent that uniquely fits your firm’s practice areas, firm culture, geographic location, and other elements. Law firms typically build relationships with law schools through campus visits and recruiting events.

    Priorities of Summer Associates/Law Students

    What about even younger law students, typically second-year students, who haven’t finished school yet but seek summer associate positions? What’s important to them? The most significant consideration is practice area interest/alignment and the type of workplace environment. Studies show that 44% of law students prefer law firm internships, while 29% are open to both law firms and individual advocate positions. Summer associates value:

    1. Practice Area Alignment
      • A match with their legal interests and preferred specializations, such as environmental law, human rights, or corporate law
      • Exposure to senior attorneys who specialize in their desired practice area
    2. Learning Opportunities
      • Direct mentorship from experienced attorneys
      • Hands-on case experience
      • Legal research and writing opportunities
      • Client interaction experience
    3. Location and Flexibility
      • Geographic personal preferences near major metropolitan areas or smaller cities
      • Opportunity for remote work and flexible schedules

    Recruiting At Its Best

    Perhaps most important to any law firm is finding candidates who are a good “fit” with their firm’s culture and legal needs. Even the most outstanding law school graduate specializing in the wrong practice area doesn’t make sense as a new hire. One of the most important things a law firm can do before recruiting, is to have a very clear idea about what they need in a new attorney, including skills, personality, flexibility, and drive. Everything else flows from there.

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