Summer Associates Can Stand Out By Balancing Fear With Enthusiasm

By day, Dan Ross is a high school math teacher in Piscataway, but by night, he is a 3L evening student at Rutgers School of Law in Newark preparing for a 10-week job interview as a summer associate at 115-lawyer Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., in Bridgewater. Echoing the feelings of most budding barristers this year, he notes, “I am excited to get a broad understanding of various types of legal practice, but I am concerned about the economy.” After speaking to colleagues on the Rutgers Law Review about rescinded offers, deferrals and shortened summer programs, Ross’s concern is justified.

The year 2009 will be remembered in the annals of legal history as the great balancing act for summer associates. In fact, “There is going to be a new dynamic that we have never seen before,” says Brian Dalton, managing editor at Vault, a career services publisher of 120 different titles, including Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms , based on an annual survey of about 20,000 law firm associates, as well as the Mid-Atlantic Guide focusing on many New Jersey-based law firms, among others. “Associates are going to have to strike a balance between being an eager associate willing to be flexible and a second-year law student desperate for an offer,” he adds, noting that firms still want confident first-year associates.