Lock In & Go Big (Law)

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, legal recruiters at Goodwin, are back with a must-listen episode for anyone heading into law school this fall. They cover how to get ahead of the recruiting process before orientation even starts, from building a resume shell to researching firms to knowing what not to stress about once applications open.

👀 In This Episode:

• How to build a resume and cover letter shell before school starts (and why it doesn't need to be perfect)
• Why you should get on your career services office's radar early - including new 0L programming some schools are rolling out
• Where to actually research firms and summer programs (Flo Recruit, Vault, Chambers, Am Law - and Reddit, with caveats)
• How to network sparingly and strategically before 1L, including market-specific timing like Texas's early pre-law receptions
• The application myths incoming students should ignore, including the pressure to apply on day one
• Why cleaning up your online presence (and Googling yourself) belongs on the prep list

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Build your resume and a shell cover letter now -no typos, degrees spelled correctly, ready to hand to career services on day one
• Get in front of your career services office early; some schools are already building 0L programming
• Use legitimate research tools (Flo Recruit, Vault, Chambers, Am Law) and treat Reddit as directional only, never gospel
• Network sparingly - quality of connection matters more than volume, and market timing varies (Texas moves fast, other markets less so)
• You do not need to apply the moment a portal opens. Most firms won't decide without first-semester grades, so put your energy into your grades, not application speed
• Clean up your online footprint - lock down old social accounts, make sure your LinkedIn is current, and know what comes up when you Google yourself

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, legal recruiters and hosts of Lock In and Go Big Law, break down how summer associate classes have changed across more than a decade - from the pre-COVID "ride or die" era to the boundary-setting, sober-curious classes of today. It's a candid, funny, and genuinely useful look at what it takes to make a great impression during your summer program, no matter what year you're doing it.

👀 In This Episode:

• A breakdown of summer associate culture across three eras: pre-COVID, COVID (2020–2021), and post-COVID
• The collapse of NALP recruiting rules and how it changed the recruiting landscape forever
• The 2021 summer class that literally unionized and boycotted virtual events, and why that reputation followed them into the lateral market
• Virtual summer program chaos: Zoom backgrounds gone wrong, unauthorized guests at firm events, and the infamous Sterno s'mores campfire disaster
• How Gen Z associates are shifting firm culture toward wellness, boundaries, and field days over happy hours

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Your reputation during your summer program follows you everywhere. Recruiters talk, move firms, and have long memories. The "union leader" from 2021 found that out firsthand in the lateral market.
• Know your worth, but don't confuse confidence with entitlement. The leverage pendulum swings - and it always swings back to the firm's side eventually.
• Boundaries are valid in Big Law, but they have to be realistic. Refusing to have email on your phone as a first-year or summer associate is not a boundary Big Law can accommodate.
• Showing up, networking, and engaging at firm events still matters. You don't have to stay for the after party, but you do have to show up.
• The 2020 summer class modeled the best attitude: humility, gratitude, and hard work. That combination, regardless of the era, is what gets you noticed and remembered positively.
• Summer programs are evolving - firms that listen to what their associates actually want (activities, wellness, inclusive events) will build stronger cohorts and better retention.

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, two Big Law legal recruiters and the hosts of Lock In and Go Big Law, are back with a piping-hot episode on 3L hiring. They break down why this once-niche recruiting path is poised for a major resurgence, and what 3L candidates need to know right now to navigate it successfully.

👀 In This Episode:

• Why the shift to 1L recruiting is creating a perfect storm for a 3L hiring boom
• The different buckets of 3L candidates, from practice-area misfits to no-offer situations, and how each should approach the market
• How to find 3L opportunities when most aren't publicly posted, including working your CSO and leveraging your network
• Why entering the wrong practice area early can haunt your entire career, and what "retooling" really costs you

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Own your narrative from the jump. Address why you're in the 3L market directly in your cover letter or outreach email. Don't leave recruiters to speculate - silence creates room for the wrong story.
• If you got a return offer, say so. Put it on your resume in parentheses next to your summer firm. Take the ambiguity completely off the table.
• Don't wait if you're no-offered. You'll likely find out end of July or early August. Hit the market shortly after. The longer you wait, the fewer opportunities remain and the more questions arise.
• Go to your CSO first. Many firms are quietly having conversations with career services offices about 3L availability before anything gets posted. Your CSO may know before the market does.
• Lean on your network, but go in for the coffee, not the ask. Reach out to associates or partners you know under the guise of picking their brain. People love giving advice, and if an opportunity exists, you'll be top of mind.
• If you've been placed in a practice area you hate, exit early. The longer you stay on a path you don't want, the harder the retool. And a full retool can cost you years of seniority and significantly limits your marketability.

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, legal recruiters and hosts of Lock In and Go Big Law, are back with a brand-new segment, debunking myths and dropping real talk on grades, networking, OCI, reneging, and everything in between. This episode features Goodwin's Managing Director of Legal Recruiting, Ashley Nelson, as a special guest, playing a rapid-fire round of Hot Take or Hard Pass on the biggest rumors floating around Big Law recruiting.

👀 In This Episode:

• Whether grades, networking, or "knowing your practice area early" actually matter as much as students think
• Why OCI is effectively dead at Goodwin, and what's replaced it
• The truth about accepting offers, reneging, and how much pressure (or lack of it) is real
• What actually happens behind the scenes once you get the summer offer
• Ashley's biggest pet peeve about anonymous recruiting rumors online

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Grades matter, but they're one piece of the puzzle
• OCI is dead for Goodwin; direct applications are the new front door, so track firm timelines through career services
• You don't need to know your exact practice area as a 1L - but if you do, say so
• Reneging is a hard pass, always - take the time you need before you accept
• The summer offer is the start, not the finish line: relationships, feedback, and face time all still count
• Don't believe everything you read on Reddit or Fishbowl - trust but verify, and go to the source

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, legal recruiters and co-hosts of Lock In and Go Big Law, tackle one of the most anxiety-inducing situations in law school recruiting: accepting a summer associate offer and then having second thoughts. With real stories from the recruiting trenches, they break down when backing out is (barely) acceptable, when it's a career-damaging disaster, and what you should actually do if you're having regrets.

👀 In This Episode:

• The pressure driving 1L students to accept offers early - and why FOMO leads to rash decisions
• Real rescission stories: one Jen approved, one she absolutely did not, and one that ended with a hiring partner threatening to call the dean
• The candidate who sent a "crazy email" demanding a deadline extension, just to rescind anyway
• Why rescinding an offer hurts your classmates just as much as it hurts your relationship with the firm
• The right move if you're unsure: summer there, get your full-time offer, then enter the 3L market

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Almost never rescind your acceptance - the only legitimate exceptions are genuine emergencies that make summering impossible.
• Recruiting is a small world: firms talk to your school, hiring partners call deans, and your name stays in recruiters' heads
• When everyone accepts your offer, the entire interview team and hiring committee is notified; when you rescind, they're all notified too.
• If you're having doubts, go summer at the firm anyway. You don't actually know if it's the wrong fit until you've been there.
• Declining a full-time offer after a summer is completely acceptable and does not burn a bridge; rescinding a summer offer before you even show up does.
• If you had a great recruiting process with another firm, keep in touch!

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, legal recruiters and hosts of Lock In and Go Big Law, pull back the curtain on what actually goes into planning a Big Law summer program - and more importantly, how to make the most of yours when you get there. If you have a summer associate offer or you're gunning for one, this episode is your inside playbook.

👀 In This Episode:

• Why summer program events aren't just for fun - and the networking strategy behind every single one
• How to get in front of partners during the summer and what to actually say when you do
• The real reason recruiting plans events months in advance (and what that means for how seriously you should take them)
• What happens to your relationship with recruiting after the summer ends - and why it matters more than you think
• The unwritten etiquette of the summer program that no one tells you before you show up

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Summer events are networking masked as fun. Treat every single one like the career opportunity it is.
• Partners are busy people who carved out time to be at that event. Walk up, introduce yourself, and ask about their practice.
• This is how work gets assigned and how you figure out what you actually want to do. The events are the mechanism use them.
• You only have 10 weeks. Show up prepared and engage!
• Don't ghost your recruiters at the end of the summer. That relationship doesn't end. They're still your point of contact when you come back full time.

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, legal recruiters at Goodwin, break down one of the hottest (and most chaotic) developments in Big Law recruiting: fellowship stipends. From how they started at $25K to ballooning to $50K in a single cycle, they unpack what stipends actually are, what went wrong, and where the market is likely headed next.

👀 In This Episode:

• How fellowship stipends emerged and rapidly escalated from $25K to $50K in one recruiting cycle
• Why firms introduced stipends as a recruiting tool to lock in 2L summers - and how it snowballed into an arms race
• The real impact stipends had on offer acceptance rates, including declines and withdrawals at Goodwin before they matched $50K
• The compliance and ethics pitfalls students need to watch out for - from judicial internship restrictions to double-dipping with public interest pay
• Predictions for the next cycle: will stipends stick around, get more creative, or evolve back into structured fellowship programs?

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Don't let a stipend blind you. Evaluate firms on fit, culture, and practice area, not just the money. $50K won't make a bad fit a good one.
• Read the fine print. Every firm has different stipend parameters: eligible job types, hour requirements, and clawback provisions if you don't join after 2L summer.
• If your 1L job comes with its own pay (e.g., a nonprofit or public interest org), disclose the stipend to that employer. Don't double-dip - it's a character and judgment issue.
• Judicial internships in New York and New Jersey may be legally incompatible with stipend conditions. Flag this to recruiting immediately so your offer letter can be adjusted.
• Stipends are likely here to stay in some form next cycle, but expect them to become more structured, possibly tied to specific industries or client secondments, closer to the pre-COVID fellowship model.

Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau, two Big Law legal recruiters, are back with a full debrief of the 2025–2026 hiring season. In this episode, they break down what actually happened, market by market, from August campus panels to February offer letters. If you went through this cycle or are about to, this one's required listening.

👀 In This Episode:

• How early campus engagement kicked off in August - and why law schools were the ones pushing it
• The wild reality of firms opening 2L summer associate portals in October and November while 1Ls were in the middle of their first semester
• Regional market breakdowns: why Texas and California hire earliest, how East Coast timelines differ, and why Philadelphia is its own niche universe
• The post-grades sprint: how transcript release triggered a race to the finish line, and a surge in candidate withdrawals
• Predictions for the 2026–2027 cycle: will portals open even earlier, or is there a chance they push back?

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Tailor your application timing to your target market. California and Texas move fast - don't wait until grades come out to apply. East Coast, especially New York, is more grade-dependent and moved later.
• Grades are still the ultimate differentiator. No matter how early you engage or network, firms are not making offers without your transcript. Keep them high - it's the one metric every firm is quietly (or not so quietly) using.
• Early engagement matters, but don't panic. Firms held networking dinners within days of portal opening in California - but decisions weren't being made until grades dropped. Engage early, but don't sacrifice your finals prep.
• Be strategic about where you apply. New York and Philadelphia are very different markets in terms of class size, competition, and firm culture. Know what you're signing up for before you cast your net.
• Withdrawals increased this cycle. Once grades came out, candidates reassessed their options and withdrew. This means competition for the best spots intensified quickly - be ready to move the moment your transcript is available.
• Schools are adapting, too. Law schools are shifting timelines for journals, student groups, and engagement activities. Get involved early - it may matter more than you think on your application.

New to Big Law? The summer program is unlike any internship you've had before, and the social dynamics can make or break your offer. In this episode of Lock In & Go Big Law, legal recruiters Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau get into the unwritten rules of navigating relationships during your ten-week job interview: with other summers, with associates, and with partners.

👀 In This Episode:

• Why you don't have to be best friends with your co-summers, but you do have to be collegial
• How to handle a junior associate who wants to take you to lunch every single day
• Real talk on after-parties, open bars, and knowing when to go home
• What to do when you have a yacht, a welcome reception, and a summer who just... doesn't show up

💡 Key Takeaways:

• You're on a ten-week job interview (even when it feels like happy hour)
• Be the glue of your class: include people, share opportunities, build bridges
• When an attorney invites you to lunch, "whoever" does not mean your entire class
• When in doubt, don't say it. The professional default is always the right one

Did not get an offer? In this episode of Lock In & Go Big Law, legal recruiters Genevieve Riccardelli and Jennifer Soltau break down exactly how to diagnose what went wrong and set yourself up for the June recruiting cycle. From grades and application materials to interview performance and outreach strategy, this is the honest reset you need.

👀 In This Episode:

• How to figure out at what stage things went wrong
• Why you should wait for second semester grades before reapplying
• The resume and cover letter mistakes that get you cut before anyone reads your application
• What to do if you got an interview but still didn't get the offer
• Why your CSO might know about opportunities that never hit the portal

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Own your narrative, especially if your grades took a hit first semester
• Nearly 1,800 applications. Under 20 spots. Flawless materials are non-negotiable
• Tailor your targets - boutique and mid-size firms are a valid path to Big Law
• Send your resume and transcript when you cold outreach - don't make them ask
• This go-around, have a point of view: which market, which practice, and why