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Summer associate pay strong

The pay and hiring rates for summer associates at major Virginia law firms remain strong and steady, according to an exclusive survey by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Many major law firms are hiring as many or more summer associates in 2008 as they did a year ago. For the most part, they are paying them the same. On average, weekly summer associate pay rose by less than $200 from 2007 to 2008.

Our findings are consistent with those of NALP – The Association for Legal Career Professionals. NALP found that summer program recruiting has remained strong over the past four years, although not at the high level seen eight to 10 years ago.

The average Virginia 2008 summer associate pulls in $2,354 per week, compared to $2,165 last year.

Many recruiters say that summer salaries are linked to a large degree to the level of pay for new full-time associates. The VLW survey of new associate salaries showed a record increase last year, with some firms paying as much as $35,000 more per year than in 2006.

The figures are holding steady at McGuireWoods LLP. Noting increases a few years ago, hiring partner Jackie Stone said, “It seems that trend has settled down somewhat.” McGuire is paying $2,800 a week at its offices in Richmond and Northern Virginia. It is hiring the same number of summer associates as last year and paying the same.

A recruiting representative at Williams Mullen, with three Virginia offices, said that this year’s $300 boost for that firm is “an effort to remain competitive.” That firm is paying $2,100 in its Richmond and Virginia Beach offices. The figure in Tysons Corner and Washington is $2,400.

Explaining that the firm offers bonuses to attract new full-time associates, Beth Fuchs at Williams Mullen said the firm wanted to offer commensurate increases for summer program participants. “We wanted them to be in the same ball park as the full-time associates.”

The economic downtown and its impact on big firms may not be reflected in this year’s summer program, since all the recruiting and hiring was finished before the numbers dropped. Still, it would seem that Virginia has been insulated from the doldrums, so far.
Referring to the fears of layoffs, rescinded offers and summer program cutbacks, Stone, with McGuireWoods, said, “I have not heard of those situations in the Virginia market.” She acknowledged that the firms’s Charlotte office has felt the strain. “We have been extremely fortunate … in Virginia,” she said.

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