Recruiting Policies

Non-Discrimination

All employers and their representatives engaging in recruitment activities with our students are expected to comply with our Policy on Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct.

Recruiting Policies

Northwestern Pritzker Law, our students, and all employers recruiting Northwestern Pritzker Law students shall adhere to the NALP Principles for a Fair and Ethical Recruitment Process. In addition, all parties shall follow the additional policies set forth below.

Index

Interviewing ›
Reasonable and Respectful Behavior ›
Our Partnership ›
Recruitment of First-Year Law Students ›
Recruitment of Second-Year Law Students ›
Recruitment of Third-Year Law Students ›
For Students ›

General Policies

Interviewing

During the Academic Year

Interview Blackout Dates: No interviews are permitted during the period of time between the end of classes and the end of the exam period. Please review our Academic Calendar for specific dates.
Interview Times: Students are not allowed to miss classes for job interviews. Please work with students to schedule interviewing times that do not disrupt their ability to attend and prepare for classes.
Timing: We strongly encourage employers to delay all 2L summer job recruitment efforts until after the end of the first year of law school.

During the Summer

Interview Times: Employers should afford students the opportunity to conduct interviews outside of the student’s summer employment workday and honor such requests.
Format Options: Similarly, some students may not be able to take time off of work to travel for interviews and should be offered a video interview option.

Reasonable and Respectful Behavior

We ask that all employers approach the recruitment process with reasonableness and respect for student choice and well-being. To that end, it is not reasonable to:

Interview Times: Deny a student’s request for interview time flexibility in order to avoid conflicting with the student’s class, work, or personal obligations.
Fairness: Deny to a 1L Northwestern Pritzker Law student in an employer’s summer associate program the opportunity to interview with other employers for 2L summer associate positions, when said student’s summer employer is actively interviewing students working as 1L summer associates for other employers.
Offer Consideration Period: Provide less than 14 days for a student to decide to accept or decline an offer of summer employment.
Undue Pressure: Require a student to accept or decline a diversity (or other) scholarship or fellowship on a shorter timeline than their general summer employment offer consideration timeline. So doing places undue pressure on the same population that the scholarship/fellowship alleges to uplift.
Unequal Treatment: Provide a period of offer consideration to our students that is less favorable than provided to students at other law schools, or provide a less favorable offer consideration period to one of our students in comparison to their classmates.

Our Partnership

The recruitment process is a three-way partnership between the employer, the student, and Northwestern Pritzker Law. We understand that there may be times when an employer opts to not adhere to our policies. In those instances the partnership dynamic changes and the employer forfeits the expectation that Northwestern Pritzker Law will hold students accountable for any failure on their part to follow these policies/terms of this partnership, too.

Recruitment of First-Year Law Students

The first semester of law school is a very important time in a student’s academic and legal career. Accordingly, we ask that our employer-partners act respectfully and reasonably regarding the timing and manner in which they recruit first-year law students, allowing students to focus on their studies rather than their job search and related activities.

Start Date: Employers and law students should not engage in formal one-on-one recruitment activities (g., applications, interviews, offers) prior to November 15.
Offer Consideration Period: All offers for first-year summer employment should be left open for a minimum of 14 days from the date the offer was made.
Extensions: We ask employers to grant, upon written request, deadline extensions of at least seven (7) days, provided that the student has remained engaged with the employer during the original offer period.
Networking Events: We additionally ask that employers not host first-year law student networking events prior to November 1.

Recruitment of Second-Year Law Students

The desired outcome of all recruiting activities is a successful match between law student and employer. We strive for a thoughtful process resulting in rewarding employment relationships that extend well beyond a summer job. A rushed process in which applicants are forced to make decisions with limited information and under pressure-laden timelines increases the likelihood of short-term arrangements resulting in students or junior associates quickly re-entering the marketplace.

We encourage employers and students to be measured and considerate throughout the recruitment process. We also ask that employers respect each student’s right to explore options before making such an important employment decision.

For Employers

Offers for 2L Summer Employment

Format: All offers of summer employment should be made in writing with all timelines and terms and conditions of employment clearly expressed.
Exploding Offers: Timelines should not be variable based on whether other outstanding offers are accepted prior to the candidate’s acceptance.

Offer Consideration Period – General Policy

Offer Consideration Period:
- On or Prior to June 13: Offers for 2L summer employment extended prior to the start of Northwestern’s OCI should be held open until at least June 27.
- After June 13: Offers extended after June 13 should be held open for at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter.
Extensions: We ask employers to grant, upon written request, deadline extensions of at least seven (7) days, provided that the student has remained engaged with the employer during the original offer period. See below for special considerations for holding offers open into OCI.
Public Interest Extension: Candidates may request that an employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1 if the candidate is actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations. Candidates may hold open only one offer in such circumstances. Employers are encouraged to grant such requests.

Offer Consideration Period – OCI Extension

Background: Our virtual on-campus interview program (OCI) remains the best option for students to meet with a wide range of employers without impacting their summer employment. Additionally, its timing best aligns with the point in the summer when a student can reflect on their work and networking experience to determine career interests and priorities.
Keeping Offers Open: Northwestern Pritzker Law students are allowed to carry into OCI up to two (2) offers extended prior to July 15, though those two offers cannot be in the same market.
Extension Requests: We ask that all employers recruiting Northwestern Pritzker Law students agree to extend a pre-OCI offer’s acceptance deadline to one week from the last day of Northwestern’s OCI upon a student’s request, provided that the student:
- Makes the request in writing to the firm’s recruiting manager or other designated contact, with their career adviser copied;
- Assures the employer of their genuine and ongoing interest in the employer’s summer employment offer; and
- Affirms that this offer is the only offer they are holding open in that market, and one of the no more than two offers the student is allowed to carry into OCI.

For Students

General Expectations

Interviewing: Students are not allowed to miss classes for job interviews.
Responses: Students are expected to respond to all employer outreach in a timely manner. Ghosting is neither professional nor an option.

Offers for Summer Employment – General Policies

Our Offer Consideration Period:
- On or Prior to June 13: We ask all employers extending offers for 2L summer employment prior to the start of Northwestern’s OCI should be held open to at least June 27.
- After June 13: Offers extended after June 13 should be held open for at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter.
Timeliness:
- Students are expected to accept or decline all offers of employment within the employer’s stated timeline. Failure to respond within the stated timeline will result in the termination of the offer.
- If a student receives an offer for summer employment and based upon other offers they have already received knows they will not accept that offer, they should quickly decline said offer.
Extensions: A student seeking to extend the offer consideration period must:
- Make the request in writing to the firm’s recruiting manager or other designated contact, copying their career adviser; and
- Remain engaged with the employer during the original offer period, as well as the extension period.
- See below for requests to hold offers open into the 2L Summer OCI.
2L Summer Offer Limit: Students may not hold open more than three (3) offers at any given time.
- Recognizing that a student cannot control when offers come in, once the total number of offers exceeds the allotted number, a student has three (3) business days to release offers so that they are again within the allotted number of open offers.
- Students may not hold open more than two (2) pre-OCI offers once OCI has begun.
Reneging: After having accepted an offer of employment (written or verbal) you may not interview for or accept conflicting or mutually exclusive offers of employment.
- Once you have accepted a job offer, you should (a) report your acceptance to your Career Adviser; (b) cease interviewing; and (c) contact employers with whom you have already met to withdraw your name from consideration.
- Please consult our full “Job Offers & Acceptances Policy” in Career Space in the “Policies” section for additional terms and considerations.

Recruitment of Third-Year Law Students

Offers to Candidates not previously Employed by the Employer

Offer Consideration Period: Offers for full-time positions to commence following graduation made to candidates not previously employed by the employer should be left open for the latter of (a) a minimum of 21 days following the date of the offer letter, or (b) a minimum of 21 days from the end of Northwestern Pritzker Law’s OCI.
Extensions: Prior to an offer’s expiration, a student may request an extension to decide on the offer. The request should be made in writing to the employer’s designated recruiting contact. The employer should not unreasonably deny the granting of an extension.
Reaffirmation: If requested in the offer letter, students should reaffirm their interest in the offer within 14 days of the date of the offer letter. If an employer affirmatively requests such a reaffirmation and a student fails to reaffirm, decline or extend an offer within the 14-day period, the employer may retract the offer.

Offers to Candidates previously Employed by the Employer

Offer Period: Offers for full-time positions to commence following graduation made to candidates previously employed by the employer should be left open until at least October 1 of the candidate’s final year of law school, provided that such offers are made prior to or on September 15. After September 15 of a candidate's final year of law school, employers offering full-time positions to commence following graduation to candidates previously employed by them should leave those offers open for at least 21 days following the date of the offer letter.
Reaffirmation: If requested in the offer letter, students should reaffirm their interest in the offer within 21 days of the offer letter’s date. If an employer affirmatively requests such a reaffirmation and a student fails to reaffirm, decline or extend an offer within the 21-day period, the employer may retract the offer.
Public Interest Extension: Candidates may request that an employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1 if the candidate is actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations. Candidates may hold open only one offer in such circumstances. Employers are encouraged to grant such requests.