Flo is analyzing recruitment activity from 160 law firms, 101 law schools and consortiums, and more than 14,000 Class of 2028 law students using Flo Recruit Pipeline Building, Applicant Tracking, Interview Management, and the Flo Forward career platform.
We’re checking in on key insights ahead of our Law Student Recruiting Data: Mid-Season Insights webinar on February 5. Read the report below, with numbers up to date as of January 26, 2026.
For the first time since Flo began reporting on law student recruiting trends in 2022, 2L summer associate recruiting – which historically took place in the summer after 1L year – has moved into January of the 1L year. This means many 1Ls are now recruiting for 1L Summer 2026 and 2L Summer 2027 positions at the same time.
This timeline trend spans both law firm and law school activity on Flo Recruit. In response to law firms advancing their application and interview timelines in recent years, many top ranked law schools moved their interview programs earlier for Class of 2028 law firm recruitment, from late spring/early summer to January and February.
Timeline shifts also span the U.S. law firm market. Flo’s law firm clients include both midsize and BigLaw firms, 59% with fewer than 500 attorneys and 41% with more – though BigLaw’s high volume activity is by nature most prominent in data sets.
Job Posting Timelines
Over the last several summer associate hiring cycles, law firms have changed the way they recruit, along with the timing. According to NALP, almost 60% of 2L offers made in the spring 2025 season were outside of OCI programs. Job postings that once appeared in late winter or spring are now opening in the fall. January, historically a quieter month, has become a major inflection point, even for 2L recruiting.
In January 2026, direct application job postings on Flo Recruit were up 610% compared to January 2025.
According to Flo data, this acceleration isn’t limited to a single firm size or market segment. When looking at application open dates on the Flo Forward Law Student Recruiting Tracker, BigLaw firms appear prominently, but we see a notable mix of midsize firms opening both 1L and 2L positions between November and January, including firms outside of traditionally early markets like Texas. Large firms are posting earlier to secure talent sooner, hedge against competition, and maximize yield in an increasingly competitive hiring environment – and when the largest firms move earlier, much of the market responds.
Student Career Research
As firms pull recruiting activity forward, Career Services and students adapt by diving into market research and career exploration in their first semester of law school. The speed of that adaptation has increased dramatically with each incoming class.
The Classes of 2026 and 2027 showed gradual adoption of recruiting platforms like Flo Forward over the course of the academic year. The Class of 2028 behaved very differently, activating their Flo Forward accounts much more rapidly, often within weeks of starting law school.
Account activation in September, within students’ first month of 1L year, increased 414.6% from the Class of 2027 to the Class of 2028. While some of this can be attributed to the prevalence of Flo on campuses, there is a component that is related to the timelines.
This behavior reflects a growing awareness among students that waiting until spring to turn their focus towards career opportunities may not be a viable strategy for those who want to secure summer with a midsize or large law firm.
As firms post earlier and students activate accounts on career platforms like Flo Forward sooner, applications follow.
In the Class of 2026 and Class of 2027 cycles, January was a relatively low-volume month for job applications on Flo Forward compared to spring and fall. That pattern has changed dramatically.
Roughly halfway through January 2026, application volume on Flo Forward was already up 339.4% compared to the same point last year.
What’s notable is not only the increase in volume, which is partly due to increased awareness of the Flo Forward job board, but also the speed. Students are submitting applications earlier, likely because opportunities are appearing earlier as well.
The compression doesn’t stop at applications. Flo data shows law firm interviews shifting earlier and clustering into tighter timeframes.
In January 2026, the volume of interviews scheduled by law firms with students on Flo Recruit is already up 239.1% compared to January 2025. This trend spans firm sizes, although it is clearly higher among larger firms, which have led the shift toward earlier recruiting timelines.
Early Offer Indicators
The industry conversation around offer extensions and acceptances has begun anecdotally. For legal community members on Linkedin, student “offer accepted” posts are appearing this month; for example, students accepting offers from Morgan Lewis, Ice Miller, and Kirkland & Ellis all posted the week of January 19.
The legal recruiting season isn’t just starting earlier; it’s becoming denser. More decisions are being made before spring, with less time between steps and less information available at each stage.
Whether this model proves sustainable remains to be seen. What’s clear now is that the compression and timing is shaping behavior across firms, students, and schools alike.
How each group adapts to this new reality will define the next phase of legal recruiting, and Flo Recruit will continue to watch the data to see how this all plays out.
Join us on February 5 at 12 pm CT for our Mid-Season Insights Webinar for more data segmentation and the complete January review.