Recruiting Policies
January 2024
II. YALE UNIVERSITY SEXUAL MISCONDUCT POLICIES
III. NALP PRINCIPLES FOR A FAIR AND ETHICAL RECRUITMENT PROCESS
VII. NO INTERVIEWS DURING CLASS OR EXAM TIMES
VIII. POLICIES FOR OFFERS AND DECISIONS
In order to ensure the highest standards of professionalism, fairness, transparency, and nondiscrimination, Yale Law students and all employers using the services of Yale Law School’s Career Development Office, including interview programs and online job postings, shall adhere to Yale Law School’s Recruiting Policies set forth below.
I. NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
Yale Law School is committed to a policy against discrimination in employment. An employer using the services of Yale Law School’s Career Development Office or hiring a Yale Law School student or graduate participating in any of the funding programs described below is required to abide by this policy with regard to its use of those services and programs. The policy prohibits discrimination in employment based upon age; handicap or disability; ethnic or national origin; race; color; religion; religious creed; sex and gender (including pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment); marital, parental, or veteran status; sexual orientation; gender identity; and gender expression. Discrimination in employment refers to the use of these criteria in arranging or conducting interviews, in offering or continuing employment, and in establishing the terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to salary scales, working conditions, types of work available, and promotion and retention policies. The prejudice of clients does not provide a basis on which an employer may engage in discrimination in employment prohibited by this policy.
Application.
The nondiscrimination policy applies to the Career Development Office services, post-graduate fellowships funded by the Law School, Summer Public Interest Fellowship (SPIF) funding, and the Career Options Assistance Program (COAP).
Diversity and Inclusion Efforts.
The nondiscrimination policy permits and the Law School encourages lawful diversity and inclusion efforts in employment.
Inapplicability to Religious Organizations with Respect to Discrimination Based on Religion and Religious Creed.
The elements of the nondiscrimination policy that prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion and religious creed do not apply to a religious organization, including a religious or religiously-affiliated educational institution, that certifies that it qualifies for a religious exemption under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A religious organization may prefer employees of a particular religion within the meaning of Title VII.
Ministerial Exception.
The nondiscrimination policy does not apply to a religious organization’s employment of ministers.
Inapplicability to the U.S. Military.
Under threat of loss of funding to Yale University resulting from the Solomon Amendment, United States military employers are exempt from the nondiscrimination policy’s application to on-campus recruiting and job-posting services offered by the Career Development Office.
Inapplicability to Employers Prohibited by Law from Complying.
To the extent an employer is prohibited by law from complying with the nondiscrimination policy, the employer is exempt from the policy.
Implementation and Waiver Process
Yale Law School has a longstanding tradition of encouraging its students and graduates to pursue the career opportunities they choose. The Yale Law School nondiscrimination policy will be implemented by administrators as designated by the dean. If a student or graduate seeks funding in connection with work for an employer that fails to certify compliance with the policy, the student or graduate may request a waiver of the policy from the relevant administrator. In the event that an administrator encounters a substantial question about the policy or its application to a particular employer, student, or graduate, including a request for a waiver, the administrator will refer the question to a faculty committee appointed by the dean, which will recommend a resolution to the dean. Upon receipt of the faculty committee’s recommendation, the dean may decide the matter or refer it to the Expanded Governing Board.
II. YALE UNIVERSITY SEXUAL MISCONDUCT POLICIES
Yale’s Sexual Misconduct Policies, which prohibit all forms of sexual misconduct, apply to all members of the Yale community as well as to conduct by third parties directed toward students. Conduct that occurs in the process of selection for employment is covered.
III. NALP PRINCIPLES FOR A FAIR AND ETHICAL RECRUITMENT PROCESS
All recruiting activity shall be guided by NALP’s Principles for a Fair and Ethical Recruitment Process.
IV. YLS GRADING SYSTEM
Please review the Law School’s Explanation of Grading System. Note that the grading system does not allow the computation of grade point averages. Individual class rank is not computed. There is no required curve for grades in Yale Law School classes.
V. 1L HIRING TIMELINE
In recognition of the importance of the first semester of law school in providing a strong academic foundation, prospective summer employers shall not consider applications from first-year students before December 1.
Exceptions:
- Federal entities that require candidates to undergo extended background checks (commonly entities involved in national security) and need to conduct summer hiring prior to December 1 to accommodate their unique hiring procedures, may receive and review applications prior to December 1.
- Employers hiring for non-legal positions and foreign entities that need to conduct summer hiring prior to December 1 to accommodate their unique hiring procedures, may receive and review applications prior to December 1.
As a best practice, we encourage employers to refrain from hiring first-year law students until after the first semester of law school is completed. Later application deadlines provide students with more time to acclimate to the law school environment; to develop meaningful relationships with faculty who will be better equipped to serve as references; and to assess their career goals and research employment opportunities with the support of the Career Development Office. Early hiring disadvantages students who arrive at law school with less knowledge of the legal landscape and fewer relationships in the legal community, and thus disproportionately impacts first-generation professional students and students of color.
VI. 2L HIRING TIMELINE FOR LAW FIRM OFFICES AND STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN YALE’S JUNE VIRTUAL INTERVIEW PROGRAM (“JUNE VIP”)
a. To ensure an efficient, fair, and open hiring process, law firm offices and rising 2Ls participating in June VIP shall not conduct initial or callback interviews with each other prior to June VIP.
b. A law firm office participating in June VIP that offers a fellowship/scholarship program which provides a benefit or compensation separate from, or in addition to, an offer of 2L summer employment may receive applications from rising 2Ls participating in June VIP prior to the firm’s assigned June VIP interview date. However, the firm shall not conduct initial or callback interviews for the fellowship/scholarship program prior to their assigned June VIP interview date. As a best practice, we urge law firms with fellowship/scholarship programs to hire for those programs contemporaneously with the June VIP process.
c. Callback interviews cannot be scheduled during June VIP.
VII. NO INTERVIEWS DURING CLASS OR EXAM TIMES
Students are strongly discouraged from interviewing during their scheduled class and exam times. Employers scheduling interviews directly with students are asked to keep this in mind and schedule interviews at times that do not conflict with classes or exams.
VIII. POLICIES FOR OFFERS AND DECISIONS
a. General
i. Offers should be made in writing with all material terms and conditions of employment clearly expressed including the offer expiration date and any reaffirmation requirements.
ii. Employers should refrain from any activity that may adversely affect the ability of students to make independent and considered decisions. In this regard, employers should not make exploding offers or offer special inducements to persuade students to accept offers of employment earlier than is prescribed.
iii. It is in the best interest of students and employers for students to have the time they need to conduct due diligence and make informed job decisions. In this regard, beyond the specific offer policies set forth below, employers should be as generous as possible in setting offer deadlines and granting reasonable requests for extensions.
iv. Students should expeditiously release offers they have no expectation of accepting and should not hold open more than five offers of employment at any one time. For each offer received that places a student over the offer limit, the student should, within one week of receipt of the excess offer, release an offer.
b. Summer Employment Offers to First-Year Students
i. All summer employment offers to first-year students should remain open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
ii. Summer employment offers to first-year students that obligate students to work for the same employers during their second summer (as compared to providing students the option to return for part of their second summer) are strongly discouraged.
c. Law Firm Summer Employment Offers to Upperclass Students
Law firm summer offers and law firm fellowship/scholarship offers to upperclass students should remain open for at least 21 days following either the date of the offer letter or the last day of June VIP, whichever is later. This provision applies to new and return offers and regardless of whether the offers were made through June VIP.
Exceptions:
i. Small Summer Program
Law firm summer offers to upperclass students from firm offices with fewer than 10 summer associates in the prior summer should remain open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
ii. Return Summer Offers Requiring Fewer than Four Weeks of Work
Return summer offers requiring fewer than four weeks of work should remain open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
iii. September Virtual Interview Program (“September VIP”) Extension
A law firm making a summer offer to an upperclass student prior to September VIP should extend the deadline to accept the offer for at least 21 days following the last day of September VIP on the condition that the student is participating in September VIP and is holding open only one offer under this provision.
iv. April 1 Public Interest/Business Extension
A law firm should extend the deadline to accept a summer offer until April 1 for an upperclass student pursuing positions in public interest, government, or business on the condition that the student is holding open only one offer under this provision.
d. Public Interest and Nonlegal Employer Summer Offers to Upperclass Students
Summer offers to upperclass students from public interest and nonlegal employers should remain open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
e. Full-Time Employment Offers to Third-Year Students
i. Law firm full-time offers from firm offices with 10 or more summer associates in the prior summer should remain open for at least 21 days following the date of the offer letter or October 1, whichever is later.
ii. Law firm full-time offers from firm offices with fewer than 10 summer associates in the prior summer should remain open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
iii. Law firms should extend the deadline to accept a full-time offer until April 1 for third-year students pursuing positions in public interest, government or business on the condition that the student is holding open only one offer under this provision.
iv. Full-time offers from public interest and nonlegal employers should remain open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
v. All employers should provide flexibility with respect to offer deadlines for third-year students committed to a judicial clerkship immediately after graduation and both the employer and student should be guided by the judge’s practices relating to post-clerkship employment.