Big Law summer associate programs were significantly shorter this year, and most were virtual, but that didn't stop firms from extending permanent job offers to nearly all their summer associates. Nor did it dissuade those summer associates from accepting those job offers.

Summer associate offers and acceptances remained near historic highs in 2020, despite the widescale disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Just shy of 97% of this year's summer associates received offers to join firms as associates after graduation—down just slightly from 2019 rate of 98%.