There have been no significant increases to summer programs that were gutted when the economy crashed and even with the rash of spring bonuses being offered by many firms this year, associate compensation has still not returned to pre-bubble levels - when firms were making less profit than they are now. Meanwhile, law school admissions continue to rise, all of which combines to make it increasingly difficult for new graduates to find a paying gig.
Some schools have always offered fellowships that make it easier for students to find work doing public interest law, but now one school is going a step further. Southern Methodist University is offering to pay a graduate's first month salary for any firm that is interested in ''test driving'' the candidate. So far, 48 students have used this program to get their foot in the door and 35 have capitalized on the program by landing a permanent job with the host firm, according to The National Law Journal.
Public interest fellowships and programs like SMU's help to boost overall graduate employment, which in turn boosts a law school's rankings in the always important US News & World Report annual list of law schools. At the same time, the programs are very beneficial for students that take advantage of them, regardless of the school's motivation.
The downside to programs like these is that they are in effect subsidized by students who don't use them to find a job, and those students probably would rather see tuition lowered instead of giving the money to law firms.
