{"id":143796,"date":"2026-02-10T16:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/10\/top-biglaw-firm-pumps-the-brakes-on-early-recruiting-in-a-rare-win-for-law-students\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:37:10","slug":"top-biglaw-firm-pumps-the-brakes-on-early-recruiting-in-a-rare-win-for-law-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/10\/top-biglaw-firm-pumps-the-brakes-on-early-recruiting-in-a-rare-win-for-law-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Biglaw Firm Pumps The Brakes On Early Recruiting In A Rare Win For Law Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time in years, a Biglaw firm is making a recruiting change that could positively impact law students \u2014 and we\u2019re totally here for it.<\/p>\n

Cooley just did something that should be obvious, but somehow feels radical in the modern recruitment era: the firm has stopped pretending that first-semester first-year law students should be making life-defining career decisions before they even understand what lawyers do.<\/p>\n

Instead of locking in its entire 2028 associate class during the 1L panic cycle, Cooley is only hiring about half of the class now \u2014 and intentionally leaving the rest of the seats open to fill later, after students actually have more law school experience, exposure, and clarity. In a system that\u2019s been built on speed, pressure, and early commitment, slowing down is the reform students actually need. Bloomberg Law<\/a> has the details:<\/p>\n

\n

The firm is extending some offers this winter to first-year law students (1Ls) for the summer of 2027. It will then supplement by recruiting after students\u2019 first year of law school, aiming to fill 30-40% of its class of 2028 after the initial 1L hiring spree, and use the overlooked 3L market to help complete its ranks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to broaden the students that we\u2019re able to see over time, rather than rushing to hire our entire entry level 2028 class now with 1Ls who don\u2019t necessarily know what they want to do,\u201d Carrie Wagner, Cooley\u2019s chief talent officer, told Bloomberg<\/a>. That\u2019s not just corporate HR speak \u2014 it\u2019s a quiet admission of what everyone already knows: the Biglaw recruiting system is broken.<\/p>\n

Law schools lost control of the recruiting process during COVID. On-campus interviews collapsed, firms took over timelines, and because the entire process got sped up, students were crushed by it. Students are being pushed to apply for elite jobs, often before finals, before grades, before practice-area exposure, and before they even know whether they like litigation, corporate work, or the law in general. Offers come fast, deadlines are short, decisions are rushed, and the pressure is intense<\/em>. Cooley is hoping to cool down the process and allow students \u2014 and the firm \u2014 to have some much-needed breathing room. <\/p>\n

Cooley\u2019s new approach is an attempt to slow down the system that\u2019s putting too forcing students to make decisions they\u2019re simply not ready for yet<\/a>. This is what student-centered recruiting should look like. <\/p>\n

Biglaw recruiting has been a pot ready to boil over for years. Faster timelines. Younger students. Earlier and earlier decisions. More stress. More mismatches. More burnout, far too soon. Cooley\u2019s move is a serious one \u2014 one that eases the pressure and provides much-needed relief for students. Cooley is offering something to students that Biglaw usually doesnt: the gift of time. We can only hope that more firms follow in Cooley\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

Cooley Dials Down Recruiting Pressure Cooker for Summer Program<\/a> [Bloomberg Law]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Top Biglaw Firm Pumps The Brakes On Early Recruiting In A Rare Win For Law Students<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the first time in years, a Biglaw firm is making a recruiting change that could positively impact law students \u2014 and we\u2019re totally here for it.<\/p>\n

Cooley just did something that should be obvious, but somehow feels radical in the modern recruitment era: the firm has stopped pretending that first-semester first-year law students should be making life-defining career decisions before they even understand what lawyers do.<\/p>\n

Instead of locking in its entire 2028 associate class during the 1L panic cycle, Cooley is only hiring about half of the class now \u2014 and intentionally leaving the rest of the seats open to fill later, after students actually have more law school experience, exposure, and clarity. In a system that\u2019s been built on speed, pressure, and early commitment, slowing down is the reform students actually need. Bloomberg Law<\/a> has the details:<\/p>\n

\n

The firm is extending some offers this winter to first-year law students (1Ls) for the summer of 2027. It will then supplement by recruiting after students\u2019 first year of law school, aiming to fill 30-40% of its class of 2028 after the initial 1L hiring spree, and use the overlooked 3L market to help complete its ranks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to broaden the students that we\u2019re able to see over time, rather than rushing to hire our entire entry level 2028 class now with 1Ls who don\u2019t necessarily know what they want to do,\u201d Carrie Wagner, Cooley\u2019s chief talent officer, told Bloomberg<\/a>. That\u2019s not just corporate HR speak \u2014 it\u2019s a quiet admission of what everyone already knows: the Biglaw recruiting system is broken.<\/p>\n

Law schools lost control of the recruiting process during COVID. On-campus interviews collapsed, firms took over timelines, and because the entire process got sped up, students were crushed by it. Students are being pushed to apply for elite jobs, often before finals, before grades, before practice-area exposure, and before they even know whether they like litigation, corporate work, or the law in general. Offers come fast, deadlines are short, decisions are rushed, and the pressure is intense<\/em>. Cooley is hoping to cool down the process and allow students \u2014 and the firm \u2014 to have some much-needed breathing room. <\/p>\n

Cooley\u2019s new approach is an attempt to slow down the system that\u2019s putting too forcing students to make decisions they\u2019re simply not ready for yet<\/a>. This is what student-centered recruiting should look like. <\/p>\n

Biglaw recruiting has been a pot ready to boil over for years. Faster timelines. Younger students. Earlier and earlier decisions. More stress. More mismatches. More burnout, far too soon. Cooley\u2019s move is a serious one \u2014 one that eases the pressure and provides much-needed relief for students. Cooley is offering something to students that Biglaw usually doesnt: the gift of time. We can only hope that more firms follow in Cooley\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

Cooley Dials Down Recruiting Pressure Cooker for Summer Program<\/a> [Bloomberg Law]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Top Biglaw Firm Pumps The Brakes On Early Recruiting In A Rare Win For Law Students<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time in years, a Biglaw firm is making a recruiting change that could positively impact law students \u2014 and we\u2019re totally here for it. Cooley just did something that should be obvious, but somehow feels radical in the modern recruitment era: the firm has stopped pretending that first-semester first-year law students should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":143797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Staci-Zaretsky-Gy3tfu.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}