September 2025

NALP is currently conducting the Survey of Legal Employers on 2025 Recruiting. The results of the survey will be published in NALP's Perspectives on 2025 Law Student Recruiting in early 2026. Your participation will help to ensure a comprehensive report with important benchmarking information on recruiting and summer program outcomes. More information is available below.

Survey of Legal Employers on 2025 Recruiting

The Survey of Legal Employers on 2025 Recruiting is now open through Friday, October 17. This survey is intended to be completed by any U.S. offices that that recruited 2Ls in 2025 for summer 2026 programs and/or hosted a summer 2025 program for 1Ls or 2Ls. A PDF version of the survey is available here to assist in compiling your data; however, all survey information must be submitted via this online survey. Data on lateral hiring will be collected in a separate survey in late 2025/early 2026.

A list of frequently asked questions about the survey is included below. If you have any questions that are not covered in the FAQs, please contact research@nalp.org.

2026 NALP Legal Recruiting Summit

The 2026 NALP Legal Recruiting Summit will take place on Wednesday, January 21 in New York City. This event is an opportunity for legal recruiting and career services professionals to come together for a comprehensive look at the current state of entry-level law firm recruiting. This high-level conference tailored specifically to the legal recruiting community is a members-only event with limited space. The Summit will focus on trends in the legal market, statistics from the 2025 recruiting season, and more. Summit registration will open in October.

More information on attendee requirements is available below.

U.S. Legal Employers: If someone from your office plans to register for the Recruiting Summit, completion of the Survey of Legal Employers on 2025 Recruiting is required for attendance.

2025 Recruiting Survey Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General Survey Questions

Who should complete this survey?

U.S. legal employers that recruited 2Ls in 2025 for summer 2026 programs and/or hosted a summer 2025 program for 1Ls or 2Ls should complete the survey. Your information is important to our collective understanding of the entry-level recruiting market, even if only a portion of the survey applies to your office this year. Do not submit data for non-U.S. based offices.

Should I report office-level or firm-wide data?

Please submit a survey for each individual office for which either of the following applies:

• hosted a summer 2025 program for 1Ls and/or 2Ls, or
• recruited 2Ls for summer 2026 programs.

 Office-specific surveys will provide the most consistent and comparable information for the analyses from this survey and allows us to report city-specific information — one of the most valuable, and sought-after, features of NALP's reporting. In circumstances where office-specific information is not available, indicate that the figures are for multiple offices.

Where should we report recruiting that took place via job fairs/career conferences – in Section III or IV?

Any job fairs that are run by a consortium/group of law schools would be reported under Section III (law school-sponsored). If the fairs are organized by another entity (e.g., a bar association), please report those in Section IV (employer-sponsored) of the survey.

How do I complete the survey?

A PDF version of the survey is available to preview/collect your survey data in advance; however, all surveys must be submitted via the web-based survey at: https://qualtricsxmt3b52ch7n.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9vrnFpCUwxKTbdI.

When is the survey submission date?

All responses must be submitted by 11:59 PM PST on Friday, October 17, 2025.

How will my information be shared?

Your office data is completely confidential and will only be reported in aggregate. No information about your organization specifically or that could be attributed to your organization will be published. NALP does not release a public list of survey participants. Additionally, group or subgroup data appears in the final report only when a minimum of at least five unique firms are represented.

I am planning to register/have registered to attend NALP's 2026 Legal Recruiting Summit. Do I have to complete the survey to attend?

Yes, at minimum you must submit a survey for your office. Ideally, please coordinate submission of a survey for each U.S. office in your firm, as applicable. The results of this survey will be shared at the Summit, and by providing as much information as possible you help to ensure that we can provide you with a comprehensive presentation.

What’s new in the survey this year?

Based on your feedback, this year’s survey has been streamlined. In 2024, recruiting outcomes were reported in three sections (OCI, Early Interview Programs, and All Other Methods). This year, recruiting outcomes are reported in two sections: law school sponsored recruiting and employer sponsored recruiting.

New Questions for 2025:

• Questions on the prevalence of jumbo offers to 1Ls
• A new category (in the two sections on 2L recruiting outcomes) to capture offers that were initially accepted but later withdrawn by the student
• A new item tracking the number of 1L and 2L summer associates who received scholarships or fellowships

Who should I contact with additional questions not covered in these FAQs?

Contact research@nalp.org with any additional questions. Please allow at least two business days for a response.

Section I: Length and Outcomes for Your Summer 2025 Program

Who should be counted in Question #12 (Outcomes for 1Ls)?

This item refers to any 1L students who participated in a summer program at your office and received an offer to return as an entry-level associate after graduation — without a requirement that they must return for any portion of their 2L summer. Typically, only a very small percentage (less than 2%) of 1Ls receive an associate offer at the conclusion of the 1L summer and many firms do not make associate offers this early. If you are unsure if you have any students who should be reported here, contact us at research@nalp.org. Any students reported in this item should not be included in questions #13-17.

Section II: 2025 Recruiting Methods

Question #2 asks about the various recruiting methods that were utilized to recruit 2Ls for the summer 2026 program. If I am reporting office-level data, should I report only the methods used by my office or by the firm as a whole?

Report based on the methods utilized only by your office. Additionally, only select the methods that were used to recruit for the 2026 2L program. Do not select methods that your office may have utilized in prior years or plans to use in the future if they were not utilized during the most recent recruiting cycle.

In Question #2, what types of recruiting methods are included in the law school sponsored recruitment program option?

The law school sponsored recruitment program option includes any method for students to interview for 2L summer employment that is coordinated by a law school, group of law schools, or law student organization(s), including OCI. These are programs in which the law school set up and scheduled interviews on your office’s behalf.

Note: Job fairs/career conferences should be reported separately under their designated response option.

Section III: Law School Sponsored Recruiting for 2L Summer Programs

What interviews should be reported in this section?

Only interviews that resulted from recruiting that took place via law school sponsored recruitment programs (i.e., the law school set up and scheduled interviews on your office’s behalf) should be reported in this section. This includes any method for students to interview for 2L summer employment that is coordinated by a law school, group of law schools, or law student organization(s), including OCI.

Data for employer sponsored recruitment should be reported in Section IV.

Should I report evolving offers in this section?

Yes, if your office made evolving offers via law school sponsored recruitment programs, count the student’s interview and offer figures within this section of the survey.

An evolving offer is an offer of employment extended to a current first-year student for employment between their second and third year of law school when the student initially applied for and/or interviewed for employment between their first and second year of law school.

Should I include all offers made or just acceptances in Question #14 (Timing of Responses to 2L Offers)?

Please report the timing of responses for all offers made via law school sponsored recruitment programs. This includes offers that were accepted, declined, or a response was not received/still pending.

In Question #14 (Timing of Responses to 2L Offers), how should I report response timing for an offer that was initially accepted, but then withdrawn by the student?

Please report the timing based on the acceptance withdrawal date.

Section IV: Employer Sponsored Recruiting for 2L Summer Programs

What interviews should be reported in this section?

Only interviews that resulted from recruiting that took place via employer sponsored recruitment programs (i.e., the law firm/legal employer set up and scheduled student interviews) should be reported in this section. This includes any method for students to apply and interview for summer employment that is coordinated by an employer.

Data for law school sponsored recruitment should be reported earlier in Section III.

How should I report the number of schools represented in Question #2?

Report the number of unique schools from which students were interviewed for a position in the summer associate program for your office via employer sponsored recruiting only. Count each law school only once in your 2025 and 2026 summer program recruiting cycle figures. Calculate your counts based on students interviewed, not on applications received. Law schools that have multiple campuses, but are accredited as one institution (e.g., Rutgers Law School’s Camden and Newark campuses) should be counted as one law school.

I’m not sure what to report in Questions #3.

Question #3 asks about the total number of students who made it to the final round of interviews. For offices that conduct both screening and callback interviews, report the total number of full round/callback interviews only. If your office conducts just one round of interviews, report the total number of candidates that were interviewed.

Should I report evolving offers in this section?

Yes, if your office made evolving offers via employer sponsored recruiting, count the student’s interview and offer figures within this section of the survey.

An evolving offer is an offer of employment extended to a current first-year student for employment between their second and third year of law school when the student initially applied for and/or interviewed for employment between their first and second year of law school.

Should I include all offers made or just acceptances in Question #16 (Timing of Responses to 2L Offers)?

Please report the timing of responses for all offers made via employer sponsored recruiting. This includes offers that were accepted, declined, or a response was not received/still pending.

In Question #16 (Timing of Responses to 2L Offers), how should I report response timing for an offer that was initially accepted, but then withdrawn by the student?

Please report the timing based on the acceptance withdrawal date.