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Law360 (May 13, 2020, 6:07 PM EDT ) Linklaters LLP, WilmerHale, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, DLA Piper and Perkins Coie LLP confirmed Wednesday that they have decided to make this year's summer associate programs completely virtual, becoming the latest law firms to modify their offerings as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the legal industry.
Instead of its usual 10-week offering, Linklaters will run a six-week virtual summer associate program from June 15 through July 24, according to a spokesperson for the firm.
Later in the summer and during the school year, the firm plans to invite back the participants on a part-time basis, whether in-person or virtually, for another four weeks, the spokesperson said. Work for that period will include a continuation of the matters started during the summer, as well as pro bono and community service projects, according to the spokesperson.
Between the two offerings, the summer associates will be eligible to receive up to 10 weeks of pay, the spokesperson said.
Also on Wednesday, WilmerHale said it has shortened its summer session to a four-week virtual program set to run from July 6 through July 31, Molly Nunes, director of public relations, confirmed. All participants will be fully paid for the typical 10-week period.
Debevoise will also hold a remote summer program this year, which will start July 6 and last for four weeks, the firm said Wednesday.
DLA Piper is also going fully virtual with its summer program, the firm said Wednesday. The update follows its earlier decision to alter its summer offering to run from June 29 through July 31.
And Perkins Coie, too, confirmed its program will be virtual and has been reduced to six weeks starting in June and ending in late July.
In recent weeks, many other firms have also chosen to modify their summer program offerings in the wake of the novel coronavirus. Earlier this week, Jones Day, Allen & Overy LLP, K&L Gates LLP, Ballard Spahr LLP and Thompson Hine LLP confirmed that they've opted to amend their summer programs.
Other firms have decided to cut their programs entirely. Nixon Peabody LLP earlier this month confirmed that it has canceled its 2020 summer associate program. Dechert LLP during the last week of April confirmed it would cancel its offering, saying its leaders didn't think a remote program would allow the firm to deliver on the substantive training, mentoring and personalized social interactions it views as the hallmarks of its summer program.
--Additional reporting by Hailey Konnath, Kevin Penton and Xiumei Dong. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
Update: This story has been updated to include information on Perkins Coie's summer program.
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