First Year Associate Development Program Noted in Philadelphia Business Journal and Philadelphia Inquirer

The firm’s innovative First Year Associate Development Program was noted in the Philadelphia Business Journal and Philadelphia Inquirer in articles discussing proposals from the American Bar Association's midyear meeting to change law school from a three-year curriculum to two years.

The articles note that since the sharp downturn in the legal market seen in 2009, lawyers and legal educators across the country have engaged in debate about how young lawyers are trained. Many law deans are advocating for a two-year law school curriculum, arguing that a new lawyer can learn more spending their third year in a law firm than in law school. Others say a switch in curriculum would result in under-qualified lawyers entering the profession.

The Philadelphia Business Journal notes that after the recession hit in 2008, Drinker Biddle started a new training program for entry-level associates in which it chose to pay them less ($100,000 as opposed to $145,000) while putting them through a rigorous training program and not having them handle billable work for six months.

The Journal says programs like Drinker Biddle’s could become more popular if law students are graduating at younger ages if and when schools shorten the length of time it takes to complete college and law school.

To read the Philadelphia Business Journal article, click here.

To read the Philadelphia Inquirer article, click here.