Curtail on summer associate programs?

[hazmat]

<p>

**For associates at law firms, how quickly things have changed.</p>

<p>This time last year, salaried lawyers at many of nation’s largest firms had just scored a pay bump, as business was blazing and firms were scrambling to keep talent. Now, due largely to a slowdown in work relating to mortgages, real estate, mergers and private equity, some firms are taking such measures as rescinding offers to incoming associates and summer associates, asking first-year lawyers to start several months later and shortening their summer programs to save money.

**
[Law</a> Firms Curtail Associate Programs As Economy Slows - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120812870657811461.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news]Law”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120812870657811461.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news)
Free article.

**Scaling back the summer program for law students and delaying start dates for new hires are unusual moves for law firms, which worry a great deal about how they are perceived in the marketplace for talent, considered highly competitive in good times. Still, the moves represent more “tinkering around the edges rather than doing anything really radical,” like large layoffs says James Jones, senior vice president at legal consulting firm Hildebrandt International. Law firms, he says, are reluctant to lay off people because it is expensive and time-consuming to staff up when the market regains its vigor.

**</p>