Law Schools
Columbia Law School. Shutterstock
Columbia Law School has decided to push back on-campus interviews for summer associates until January 2021 amid pressure from law firms, according to a published report.
Several other law schools are also considering delays, according to the report by Law.com.
Law firms interview students who have finished their first year of law school in late July or early August, Law.com explains. That gives firms a full year of grades to consider for their summer associate programs.
But several top schools are either requiring or mandating pass-fail grades this semester as they go online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That would give law firms just one semester of grades to consider if on-campus interviews are conducted this summer.
Several major New York law firms are strongly considering January 2021 for on-campus interviews, Columbia law dean Gillian Lester told students in an email.
That could give the law firms an extra semester of grades to consider.
According to Law.com, Columbia’s decision to delay interviews “looks likely to create a wave of other schools doing the same.”
Other law schools considering a delay in on-campus interviews include Harvard Law School, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, New York University School of Law and Northwestern University.
