Many law firms are cutting back on summer internships

By Chris Mondics
The Los Angeles Times
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For top law school students, summer-internship programs at major law firms have helped open the golden door to lucrative full-time employment.
But at some firms, that door is starting to swing shut.
Many prominent law firms report substantially smaller internship programs this summer, as firms cope with the downturn in the legal marketplace and clients’ demands that only seasoned lawyers be assigned to their matters.
What’s more, firms are shortening their programs and paying summer associates less.
“It was definitely a challenging market for our students, and they did have fewer choices for this summer,” said Melissa Lennon, assistant dean in the office of career planning at Temple University Law School in Philadelphia.