{"podcast":{"title":"On The Merits","slug":"on-the-merits-2557762","podcast_index_feed_id":2557762,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BL7273559964","website_url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/podcasts/on-the-merits","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/fb729090-1169-11ea-afa5-0f57b538bde2/image/352e95e75f9eb334924def3e6665b9ca.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Bloomberg Industry Group","episode_count":318,"summary":"On The Merits takes you behind the scenes of the legal world and the inner workings of law firms. This podcast offers in-depth analysis on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the business of law and the legal industry overall. You'll gain insights into how the latest government actions, policies, and business developments are impacting the industry and hear from leading attorneys, legal scholars, industry experts, and our own team of journalists as they share their perspectives on the forces driving change.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T06:17:34.164714+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762"},"episode":{"title":"Everyone Hates Early Law School Recruiting, But Everyone Does It","slug":"everyone-hates-early-law-school-recruiting-but-everyone-does-it","published_at":"2025-12-19T00:31:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762/everyone-hates-early-law-school-recruiting-but-everyone-does-it","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/BL3979702176.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/BL3979702176.mp3","summary":"It's become common now for firms to recruit elite law students even before the end of their first semester of their first year of law school, something that would have been unheard of before the pandemic. That's a far cry from the days when firms waited until the summer before the 2L year to start recruiting students through on campus interviews. It's a trend that hurts everyone involved, according to the guests on today's episode of our podcast, On The Merits: columnist David Lat and Nikia Gray, the head of the National Association for Law Placement. Law schools have lost the control over this process they once had; law firms now have to make recruiting decision with far less information about the candidates; and, worst of all, law students now must make important career decisions in some cases just months after they arrive on campus. \"I have not heard from a single student yet that thinks this is a good process,\" Gray said, \"nor a single school that feels that way.\" \"I've talked to the firms,\" Lat added. \"They say 'Look, we don't like this process either. But our rivals are recruiting this early and so we can't sit on the sidelines.'\" Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.","meta_description":"It's become common now for firms to recruit elite law students even before the end of their first semester of their first year of law school, something th…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1467,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-the-merits-2557762/episodes/everyone-hates-early-law-school-recruiting-but-everyone-does-it/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762/everyone-hates-early-law-school-recruiting-but-everyone-does-it.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}