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If you get an offer after your 2L summer at a big law firm, do you have to accept right away or is it normal to take a few days to think it over? Knock on wood I get the offer also lol

Perhaps my experience was atypical. I was asked straight-out, “if we make you an offer will you accept it?”

At my firm it is unusual for exiting summers to accept on the spot. This sounds like a question you should be casually asking associates in the same firm/office right now before you reach this point and not TLS.

Some firms make offers in person, to everyone at some kind of weird party. Others make a call or send a nice letter to you after you're done to make the offer. Most firms won't require you to answer immediately when you receive it because that is kind of tacky. I think it's normal to take a few days, sometimes longer if you have other concerns (family or SO who need to make arrangements).

If you are planning to accept I don't know why you wouldn't just do it on the spot. I guess if you are planning to decline the offer then it might be easier for you to not have to say it to someone's face.

If it's a NALP firm, the guidelines require full-time offers to be help open for 28 days with a 14 day reaffirm requirement if requested. It's worth thinking about it ahead of time though if you think you need to think it over for a vague reason like your own peace of mind. If you have a concrete reason for thinking you might turn them down, you should of course take your time.

Avian wrote:If it's a NALP firm, the guidelines require full-time offers to be help open for 28 days with a 14 day reaffirm requirement if requested. It's worth thinking about it ahead of time though if you think you need to think it over for a vague reason like your own peace of mind. If you have a concrete reason for thinking you might turn them down, you should of course take your time.

Maybe but this isn't reality. I was asked by one of my summer firms whether i would commit on the spot. Other did not. Both nalp

ballouttacontrol wrote:

Avian wrote:If it's a NALP firm, the guidelines require full-time offers to be help open for 28 days with a 14 day reaffirm requirement if requested. It's worth thinking about it ahead of time though if you think you need to think it over for a vague reason like your own peace of mind. If you have a concrete reason for thinking you might turn them down, you should of course take your time.

Maybe but this isn't reality. I was asked by one of my summer firms whether i would commit on the spot. Other did not. Both nalp

Did they tell you they would retract the offer if you didn't accept on the spot? Nothing stops them from asking you to accept on the spot.

Avian wrote:

ballouttacontrol wrote:

Avian wrote:If it's a NALP firm, the guidelines require full-time offers to be help open for 28 days with a 14 day reaffirm requirement if requested. It's worth thinking about it ahead of time though if you think you need to think it over for a vague reason like your own peace of mind. If you have a concrete reason for thinking you might turn them down, you should of course take your time.

Maybe but this isn't reality. I was asked by one of my summer firms whether i would commit on the spot. Other did not. Both nalp

Did they tell you they would retract the offer if you didn't accept on the spot? Nothing stops them from asking you to accept on the spot.

Common sense dude of course not but it would not have been a good look at that firm to say no.

Firms don't give a fuck about nalps artificial rules and nalp can't do dick anyways

ballouttacontrol wrote:

Avian wrote:

ballouttacontrol wrote:

Avian wrote:If it's a NALP firm, the guidelines require full-time offers to be help open for 28 days with a 14 day reaffirm requirement if requested. It's worth thinking about it ahead of time though if you think you need to think it over for a vague reason like your own peace of mind. If you have a concrete reason for thinking you might turn them down, you should of course take your time.

Maybe but this isn't reality. I was asked by one of my summer firms whether i would commit on the spot. Other did not. Both nalp

Did they tell you they would retract the offer if you didn't accept on the spot? Nothing stops them from asking you to accept on the spot.

Common sense dude of course not but it would not have been a good look at that firm to say no.

Firms don't give a fuck about nalps artificial rules and nalp can't do dick anyways

My firm asked that we accept on the spot as well, but people did say they wanted time, and they're still here. If no one asked for time to decide, I don't think you can assume your firm would ignore the NALP guidelines just for the marginal benefit of having acceptances 28 days earlier. It's perfectly reasonable to take time to decide, obviously most firms would prefer you didn't, but I don't think it's that big of a deal that they would hold it against you.

Depends on the office man. It woulda looked real weird at the one that asked me

ballouttacontrol wrote:

Avian wrote:

ballouttacontrol wrote:

Avian wrote:If it's a NALP firm, the guidelines require full-time offers to be help open for 28 days with a 14 day reaffirm requirement if requested. It's worth thinking about it ahead of time though if you think you need to think it over for a vague reason like your own peace of mind. If you have a concrete reason for thinking you might turn them down, you should of course take your time.

Maybe but this isn't reality. I was asked by one of my summer firms whether i would commit on the spot. Other did not. Both nalp

Did they tell you they would retract the offer if you didn't accept on the spot? Nothing stops them from asking you to accept on the spot.

Common sense dude of course not but it would not have been a good look at that firm to say no.

Firms don't give a fuck about nalps artificial rules and nalp can't do dick anyways

This is very dumb. Nobody cares if you don't accept on the spot.

NALP probably doesn't have much sway for post-2L offers. With OCI, not being NALP-compliant could get firms treated unfavorably by OCS (at least for higher up T14s) and students might shy away from them if they're forced to accept early, but what are they gonna do about a firm that makes you accept on the spot *after* an SA? It probably wouldn't change anyone's minds about bidding for a firm if they hear about this either, since the conventional wisdom would be to go to a firm that you want to work in after.

I've had several, "If we make you an offer would you still go to OCI" sort of questions at call backs this summer

Is there some kind of downside to accepting an offer? It's not like they can force you to come work for them if you change you're mind.

MarkinKansasCity wrote:Is there some kind of downside to accepting an offer? It's not like they can force you to come work for them if you change you're mind.

I remember my CS saying it's a bad look and could blackball you but in my experience nobody cares. I think schools are just worried about getting bad reps for their other jobless future applicants.

So long and thanks for all the fish. If you decide you've had enough of the post-apocalyptic wasteland, feel free to join me over at TLS - with 100% fewer Lawcrossing articles.