Biglaw’s First-Year Associate Hiring Plunge May Be Just The Beginning

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

The pattern is showing the majority of large firms will have smaller first- and second-year associate populations. The further out I look, the greater the level of uncertainty about what their needs are going to be.

—  Gretta Rusanow, head of advisory services at Citi’s law firm group, in comments given to Bloomberg Law, concerning the sharp decline in Biglaw’s hiring of first-year associates. Hiring for the class of 2025 fell 7.5% compared with the class of 2024, and the downward trend is expected to continue. According to a recent Citi survey, two-thirds of Biglaw firms expect to hire even fewer first-years in 2028 than they did in 2025.

Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

The post Biglaw’s First-Year Associate Hiring Plunge May Be Just The Beginning appeared first on Above the Law.

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

The pattern is showing the majority of large firms will have smaller first- and second-year associate populations. The further out I look, the greater the level of uncertainty about what their needs are going to be.

—  Gretta Rusanow, head of advisory services at Citi’s law firm group, in comments given to Bloomberg Law, concerning the sharp decline in Biglaw’s hiring of first-year associates. Hiring for the class of 2025 fell 7.5% compared with the class of 2024, and the downward trend is expected to continue. According to a recent Citi survey, two-thirds of Biglaw firms expect to hire even fewer first-years in 2028 than they did in 2025.

Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.