Recruiting Policies and EIP Dates (Message to Employers)

To: Employers
From: The Office of Career Services
Subject: Harvard Law School – Recruiting Policies and EIP Dates

—

Dear Employer;

I am writing both to introduce myself and to update you with information about the 2024 recruiting season. I am serving as the Interim Assistant Dean for the Office of Career Services, where I have been working with both our J.D. students and our alumni for many years. I am excited to have taken on this new role and look forward to meeting with you as we approach recruiting season.

This year, Harvard’s EIP Week will take place over 3 days: Tuesday, July 30; Wednesday, July 31; and Thursday, August 1. Additionally, we will send you Preview applications on Thursday, June 20.

Last year, Preview and EIP were highly successful for our students. While much remains the same, we are modifying our policy on holding offers. Students will now have 14 days to respond to offers, regardless of summer class size. 

Our other policies remain the same and include:

• For Preview, students will continue to select up to five firms for early consideration.
• Students can hold no more than three offers open at any time throughout the recruiting process.
• Students will still be able to request and receive an extension of up to two weeks after the last day of EIP Week for two Preview offers. This year, that day falls on August 15.
• Students can get one extension until April 1 to pursue non-EIP opportunities.
• We expect employers to offer interview times that do not conflict with 1L summer internships.

I would like to address the extensions up front, since the two-week-post-EIP extension was a significant pressure point for some employers last year. One of our goals as a career services office is to ensure that students have time in the middle of their 1L summer job to get the information they need to make a thoughtful decision. For employers who struggled with the deadline issue last year, we suggest that you institute an offer launch date or delay your HLS interviews so that your deadlines and Harvard’s extensions align. Alternatively, you may consider participating only in EIP Week. I believe we all agree that the ideal outcome of this process is for students and employers alike to find a good match in terms of interests, fit, and long-term potential. We believe that our extension policies facilitate that outcome.

Finally, we are excited to announce that this year we will be launching our first Employer Fair for employers participating in EIP. This in-person event will take place at the Law School in late March 2024, and we will be following up with more details.

I am happy to have conversations with you about any aspect of EIP and your firm’s recruiting strategy at Harvard. Please feel free to contact me or Jesse Ohrenberger, our Director of Recruitment and Operations. We deeply appreciate your support and look forward to working together.    

I wish you a healthy and happy 2024. 

Sincerely, 

Margie Boone

Interim Assistant Dean for Career Services 
Harvard Law School 
617-495-9678
mboone@law.harvard.edu