2024 Fordham Law Guidelines for the Timing of Offers and Decisions

Fordham Law School has adopted its own Fordham Law Recruiting Guidelines, which include the Fordham Law Guidelines for the Timing of Offers and Decisions (the “Fordham Timing Guidelines) below and the Fordham Law School Professionalism Standards.

The overarching goal of the Fordham Law Recruiting Guidelines, including the Timing Guidelines below, is to foster and encourage communication between students and employers over the course of the recruiting process. In addition to following the specific provisions set forth below, students should keep employers informed, in a timely manner, about the status of their consideration of their offers, and employers should keep students informed in a timely manner as to the status of their candidacies.

The time periods set forth below are intended to be minimums, not maximums, and so we encourage employers to grant reasonable requests for extensions of the respective time periods.

I. Special Provisions Applicable to Recruiting Students During their 1st Year of Law School:

  1. Employers should not accept applications from first-year students until October 15 of the student’s first year of law school
  2. First-year students are advised to apply for jobs after October 15 of the student’s first year of law school.

II. Offers Extended To First Year Day or First Year Evening Students for the Summer Following Their 1st Year of Law School, or to Second Year Evenng Students for the Summer Following Their 2nd Year of Law School:

  1. Offers should remain open for at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter. 

III. Offers Extended to Day Students tor the Summer Following Their 2nd Year Of Law School, or to Evening Students tor the Summer Following Their 3rd Year Of Law School:

A. For students not previously employed by that employer:

  1. Offers should remain open for at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter, except that offers made prior to June 1 of the year preceding the summer in question should remain open for at least 21 days from the date of the offer letter. 
  2. Candidates may request that an employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1 immediately preceding the summer in question if the candidate is actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations. Candidates may hold open only one (1) offer in such circumstances. Employers are encouraged to grant such requests.
  3. If the offer letter provides that the offer will remain open for more than 14 days, then the employer may request in the offer letter that the student reaffirm their interest in the offer within 14 days of the date of the offer letter.
  4. Employers may retract the offer if the offer letter requested reaffirmation in accordance with III.A.3 above and the student failed to reaffirm interest in the offer within the 14-day period.

B. For students previously employed by that employer:

  1. Offers should remain open until at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter. 

IV. Offers Extended to Students for Post-Graduate Positions:

A. For students not previously employed by that employer:

  1. Offers should remain open for at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter, except that offers made prior to June 1 immediately preceding the student’s graduation date should remain open for 21 days
  2. If the offer letter provides that the offer will remain open for more than 14 days, then the employer may request in the offer letter that the student reaffirm their interest in the offer within 14 days of the date of the offer letter.
  3. Employers may retract the offer if the offer letter requested reaffirmation in accordance with IV.A.3 above and the student failed to reaffirm interest in the offer within the 14-day period.

B. For students previously employed by that employer:

  1. Offers made prior to or on September 2 should remain open until at least October 1.
  2. Offers made after September 2 should remain open for at least 14 days from the date of the offer letter.
  3. If the offer letter provides that the offer will remain open for more than 14 days, then the employer may request in the offer letter that the student reaffirm their interest in the offer within 14 days of the date of the offer letter.
  4. Employers may retract the offer if the offer letter requested reaffirmation in accordance with IV.B.3 above and the student failed to reaffirm interest in the offer within the 14-day period.
  5. Candidates may request that an employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1 of the student’s final year of law school if the candidate is actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organization. Candidates may hold open only one (1) offer in such circumstances. Employers are encouraged to grant such requests.

V. Number of Open Offers:

  1. Student shall not hold open more than five (5) offers of employment at any one time.
  2. Students shall not hold open more than three (3) offers at any one time in any one geographic market.
  3. For each offer received that places students over the offer limit, students should, within one (1) week of receipt of the excess offer, release an offer.