If
you’ve
been
paying
attention
to
the
slow-motion
disaster
that
is
Biglaw
recruiting
—
and
we’ve
been
covering
this
mess
for
years
now
—
you
won’t
be
surprised
to
hear
that
yet
another
law
school
is
trying
to
figure
out
how
to
deal
with
this
mess.
This
time
it’s
BYU
Law,
and
they’re
revamping
a
core
part
of
their
curriculum
to
deal
with
law
firms’
increasingly
itchy
hiring
trigger
finger.
The
Provo,
Utah
school
announced
today
that
it
is
shifting
its
Academies
Program
from
the
spring
semester
to
the
fall,
beginning
with
an
October
run
later
this
year.
The
reason
is
exactly
what
you’d
expect:
Biglaw
is
taking
direct
applications
from
1Ls
as
early
as
first
semester,
with
firms
increasingly
locking
in
their
summer
associate
classes
before
first-year
students
have
even
finished
their
first
year
of
coursework.
The
race
to
the
bottom
on
recruiting
timelines
has
gotten
so
bad
that
a
law
school
is
now
reorganizing
a
cornerstone
experiential
program
around
it.
Let’s
be
clear
about
how
we
got
here.
The
state
of
Biglaw
recruitment
has
been
in
flux
since
late
2018,
when
NALP
made
sweeping
changes
to
its
“Principles
and
Standards
for
Law
Placement
and
Recruitment
Activities,”
eliminating
all
the
timelines
and
guideposts
that
served
as
the
foundation
of
entry-level
recruiting.
When
the
rules
are
there
are
no
rules,
you
get
chaos
—
and
chaos
is
what
we
got.
Seven
years
later,
1Ls
are
securing
their
2L
summer
jobs
before
their
1L
summer
jobs,
and
offers
for
summer
associate
positions
that
explode
before
the
first
year
of
law
school
is
even
over
have
become
a
thing.
It’s
madness.
And
it’s
not
just
students
who
are
suffering.
Recruiting
teams
are
pressured
to
engage
early
or
face
the
risk
of
missing
out
on
talent,
forcing
them
to
make
hiring
decisions
with
extremely
limited
data
—
assessing
first-year
students
who
have
only
been
exposed
to
a
handful
of
classes,
often
before
grades,
feedback,
or
professional
experiences
can
provide
meaningful
insight
into
their
potential
fit.
Nobody
wins!
And
yet
the
prisoner’s
dilemma
marches
on.
So
what
is
BYU
Law
doing
about
it?
Rather
than
throwing
up
their
hands,
the
school
is
pivoting.
Its
Spring
2026
Academies
will
run
April
24
through
May
2
and
will
feature
the
largest
slate
in
the
program’s
history
—
10
immersive,
simulation-based
programs
across
major
legal
markets
including
New
York,
Dallas,
Palo
Alto,
Washington
D.C.,
Wilmington,
Salt
Lake
City,
and
Geneva,
Switzerland.
Partners
include
Kirkland
&
Ellis,
Wilson
Sonsini,
Fragomen,
and
Potter
Anderson
&
Corroon,
among
others.
There’s
even
a
new
AI
Law
and
Policy
Academy,
because
of
course
there
is.
But
the
bigger
news
is
the
fall
repositioning.
Beginning
in
October
2026,
the
Academies
will
run
before
recruiting
season
kicks
into
high
gear,
giving
1Ls
exposure
to
practice
areas,
firm
cultures,
and
career
paths
before
they’re
expected
to
make
life-altering
decisions
about
their
careers.
As
Dean
David
Moore
put
it,
the
move
ensures
“our
1L
students
are
better
prepared
to
make
informed
career
decisions
and
to
compete
successfully
in
an
accelerated
hiring
environment.”
“Many
students
count
their
participation
in
an
Academy
as
the
catalyst
behind
the
career
path
they
ultimately
pursue,”
said
Mariah
Christensen,
Academies
program
coordinator.
“By
continuing
the
Academies
program
and
adjusting
it
to
accommodate
the
new
recruiting
timeline,
BYU
Law
demonstrates
its
commitment
to
investing
in
every
student’s
future
success
in
a
rapidly
changing
legal
landscape.”
That’s
a
polite
way
of
saying:
the
system
is
broken,
and
we
have
to
work
around
it.
Worth
noting
—
and
this
is
genuinely
admirable
—
BYU
Law
funds
participation
in
the
Academies
entirely,
meaning
students
aren’t
priced
out
of
experiential
programming
that
could
shape
their
careers.
Law
students
without
lawyers
in
their
families
are
already
disadvantaged
by
the
push
of
recruitment
into
1L
year,
and
financial
barriers
on
top
of
that
would
make
a
bad
situation
worse.
There
have
been
some
small
rays
of
hope
on
the
systemic
front.
Earlier
this
year,
Cooley
took
the
unusual
step
of
intentionally
leaving
half
its
incoming
associate
seats
open
to
fill
later
rather
than
locking
in
its
entire
class
during
the
1L
panic
cycle,
an
admission
of
what
everyone
already
knows:
the
Biglaw
recruiting
system
is
broken.
And
some
firms
have
gotten
creative
in…
less
inspiring
ways.
Sullivan
&
Cromwell
and
Paul
Weiss
reportedly
tapped
upperclass
law
students
with
expense
accounts
to
wine
and
dine
1Ls
on
their
behalf
—
which
is,
shall
we
say,
a
choice.
BYU
Law’s
approach
is
trying
to
inform
and
empower
students
before
they’re
thrown
into
the,
often
overwhelming,
recruitment
morass.
The
Academies
Program
has
twice
been
recognized
by
Bloomberg’s
Innovation
in
Law
Program
since
its
2018
launch,
and
restructuring
it
to
serve
students
better
in
a
chaotic
recruiting
environment
is
exactly
the
kind
of
institutional
responsiveness
that
more
schools
should
be
modeling.
The
broken
system
will
keep
churning.
But
at
least
some
schools
are
trying
to
give
their
students
a
fighting
chance
within
it.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Bluesky
@Kathryn1