According to Flo Recruit data, law student recruiting activity for the 1L Summer 2026 and 2L Summer 2027 cycle is unfolding differently than it has in any past season. To understand what’s changing at mid-season, we analyzed job application submission timelines, law firm interviews, “Offer” statuses, and “Hired” statuses with data pulled February 4, 2026 from 35,000+ law students, 165+ law firms, and 100+ law schools using Flo Recruit solutions.
We shared these findings and more during our Law Student Recruiting Data: Mid-Season Insights webinar and paired the data with live polls to capture how recruiting professionals are experiencing this season in real time. The poll responses from 180+ webinar participants add important context to the trends in the data, highlighting where firm strategies are already shifting and where uncertainty remains as timelines continue to shift.
Below, we break down the key mid-season trends we’re seeing across the market, alongside anonymized poll results from the webinar, to show how recruiting activity is tracking so far this cycle.
Please note that poll participation during the webinar likely contains duplicate responses from recruitment team members responding on behalf of the same law firm office. Data should be read as indicators; not comprehensive market representation.
Out of 189 respondents, 113 (60%) said their office has extended “jumbo” offers combining 1L and 2L summer opportunities this season, while 76 (40%) said they have not.
Out of 185 respondents, 123 (67%) said their office’s offer response deadline this season is two weeks, 53 (29%) said one week, 6 (3%) said less than one week, and 3 (2%) said three weeks.
Out of 136 respondents, 54 (40%) said their office is about 25% full for 2L Summer 2027 seats, 37 (27%) said 0% full (no hires), 22 (16%) said about 50% full, 17 (13%) said about 75% full, and 6 (4%) said 100% full.
Out of 115 respondents, 89 (77%) said they’re not sure yet whether their office is hiring 3Ls and/or judicial clerks as part of the Fall Associate 2026 class, 17 (15%) said judicial clerks only, 3 (3%) said 3Ls only, 3 (3%) said both 3Ls and judicial clerks, 2 (2%) selected judicial clerks + not sure, and 1 (1%) selected 3Ls + not sure.
Application submissions through Flo Forward largely kept pace with when openings went live, with a notably large surge in January. The January volume stands out relative to the rest of the cycle.
Student interview activity by law firms using Flo Recruit shifted earlier, clustering in November through January. Interview volume was up 585% in November, 351% in December, and 284% in January.
Law firms using Flo Recruit Applicant Tracking moved law student candidates to “Offer” stages at an unprecedented volume in January 2026; in past years, “Offer” statuses picked up in spring through summer months. In January 2026 data, 43% of offer moves included 1L Summer and 83% included 2L Summer.
Law firms using Flo Recruit Applicant Tracking moved law student candidates to “Offer” stages at an unprecedented volume in January 2026; in past years, “Offer” statuses picked up in spring through summer months. In January 2026 data, 43% of offer moves included 1L Summer and 83% included 2L Summer.
Taken together, the data and poll responses point to a summer associate recruiting season that diverges drastically from past timelines recorded on Flo. The 1L and 2L seasons are converging for many Flo clients, interview and offer activity is arriving earlier in the year, and jumbo offers seem to be more common. At the same time, the poll results show that many recruiting teams are still adjusting their strategy mid-stream. While they have opened roles earlier and are interviewing quickly to capture early momentum, they continue to evaluate offers in the context of their full summer and incoming classes, which may include judicial clerks and/or 3Ls.
Flo Recruit will continue tracking how the rest of the season unfolds and will share a more developed picture in our upcoming Season Wrap webinar (save your spot here - date to be decided). In the meantime, you can explore the full slide deck from the webinar, review the Firm Leadership Summary, and stay tuned as we keep unpacking what this data reveals about the future of law student recruiting.