Fall Recruitment

In the fall, large law firms and some government employers conduct their legal recruiting for the following summer and for permanent post-graduate positions.  The fall recruiting program caters specifically to larger firms because they are typically able to assess their hiring needs far in advance.  In addition to contacting employers directly or responding to postings on Symplicity, students may participate in our fall recruitment program, which begins in August.  Please visit the Recruitment Section of our Resources and Guides webpage. 
Preston Hall in the Fall

Private Sector

Mid-sized (50-200 attorneys) and larger law firms nationwide typically recruit law students for the following summer at this time of year; some of these firms participate in our on-campus interview and resume collect programs. Information on these firms can be found in the National Association for Law Placement’s (NALP) Directory of Legal Employers, which is available on-line at www.nalpdirectory.com.  Please note that many of the large law firms only hire for their incoming classes by giving permanent offers to their summer associates, with the result that there are few other positions available for graduating students.  If you think you might be interested in large firm practice, know that the competition is stiff (generally based on academic credentials), and that you should apply before entering your second-year (third-year if you a part-time student.)  Very few large law firms hire first-year law students.  You can research those firms by referring to the NALP Directory at www.nalpdirectory.com.

The larger accounting firms also typically hire in the fall for the following summer. Therefore, as with large law firms, if you are interested in permanent employment with one of these firms, you should apply in the early fall of your second-year (third-year if you are an evening student).

Government

Students interested in working for the government for the summer or upon graduation must often apply as early as the summer or early fall of the year preceding their intended start date.  Some government employers, including the United States Attorney’s Office, New York District Attorney Offices, including New York County, Bronx County, Queens County and Nassau County, and the New York City Law Department regularly recruit on Pace’s campus as part of our Fall OCI. For most federal (and some state) government agencies, an Honors Program is the only method of entry for attorneys into that agency for permanent (and sometimes summer) employment.  Pace subscribes to The University of Arizona’s annually updated and very helpful guide to these federal (and some state) honors programs called The Government Honors and Internship Handbook  (username and password is available from the CCPD).

Fellowships

Law students interested in obtaining funding for public interest work for the summer, and all law students interested in a post-graduate public interest fellowship, begin the search and application process as early as the summer or fall of the year preceding their intended start date.  The CCPD posts fellowship opportunities on Symplicity and maintains continuously updates list of public sector post-graduate or summer/academic year fellowships, in our Post-Graduate Fellowship Calendar of Deadlines and Summer/Academic Year Fellowships Calendar of Deadlines found on the Pace Law website (username and password is available from the CCPD.