Biglaw firms are experiencing a shift in their recruitment strategy. For the first time in decades, more offers to law students are being made outside traditional on-campus interviews (OCI) and early interview programs (EIP). NALP data shows that only 44% of offers stemmed from these programs, with the remaining 56% derived from direct applications and referrals. This transition was fueled by pandemic-driven changes in technology, allowing law firms to engage directly with candidates, presenting a new era of hiring practices in legal recruitment.
In total, law school interview programs (OCI and EIP) drove only 44% of offers. The majority of offers (56%) resulted from employers recruiting outside of law school interview programs, such as via direct application, resume collects, and referrals.
The pandemic-era shifts in technology and hiring practices facilitated direct engagement between employers and law students, without law schools being required as intermediaries, and gave law firms greater flexibility in crafting their recruiting strategies.
The market is coalescing around direct recruiting and other non-law school-based recruiting practices as being the preferred methods - or at least the most necessary - to compete for talent.
With fewer offers on the table, desperation was once again thick in the air, and it translated to an acceptance rate to those offers of 49%.
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