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The Undecideds

No, I'm not talking about the Ohioans who do that dial-o-graph thing on CNN during the debates.* I'm talking about the 2Ls still holding offers. There's considerable traffic on ATL on the subject. Here are my brief thoughts. And as a caveat, these are my personal observations, not my firm's policies, preferences, etc...just what I would do if I was a 2L under the new rules.

This is the first year under the new rules. Previously, you had until Nov. 1 to accept or decline. Although you were supposed to narrow the number of offers you had open by certain dates, e.g., only two offers open by Oct. 15 (I think), in practice, this was not and could not be enforced, and most acceptances happened on the last couple of days.

Under the new rules, there is no set deadline for all firms and offerees as it depends on the date of the offer letter + 45 days. Combined with an earlier and earlier recruiting season, this means most offers are accepted or rejected at an earlier date than late October/November. This means firms know that they have reached a certain critical point for their summer hiring much earlier, perhaps even long before your own personal deadline to accept/decline. It is with this backdrop that I think we should view stories like the Akin Gump offer withdrawal.

Second, the reason for the new rule is to give some sort of an enforcement mechanism to people declining offers in a timely manner. Remember, the majority of NALP's student constituency is not as fortunate as Boalties when it comes to job offers. There's considerable pressure to get those who are fortunate to make up their minds quicker. Even some of your classmates, judging by some comments, are not having as much of a success as they imagined. So be considerate, and let the firms that you're not interested in know as soon as you can. If you are interested, let them know and keep in contact with the firm.

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*But if you are curious about the undecideds in this election, watch this.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on October 23, 2008 (boomark / email).