Recruiting & Student Outreach

Recruiting & Student Outreach

At Cravath, we aim to hire and retain law students who will grow to become exceptional lawyers, which means accessing the widest possible talent pool. We achieve this by recruiting outstanding law students who have a wide variety of lived experiences. 

We are committed to cultivating an inclusive environment where all our attorneys can thrive. To ensure that our lawyers receive the most rewarding professional experience possible, we provide unparalleled legal training, along with mentors and role models to offer support and encouragement. We want students to be able to see themselves here, as practicing attorneys who have fulfilling careers. The key to this is providing opportunities for our attorneys and students to get to know each other. 

We are always seeking avenues to partner with student groups. As such, we sponsor and participate in diversity‑related events with many student organizations, including Asian Pacific American Law Students Associations, Black Law Students Associations, First Generation Professionals, Jewish Law Sudents Associations, Latino Law Students Associations, OutLaws, South Asian Law Students Associations, Veterans associations and women student groups.

Our outreach efforts include:

• 1L Gatherings with law school affinity group members
• Hosting Joint Affinity Group 1L Receptions
• Attending the Lavender Law and Northeast BLSA job fairs

We also participate in student organized programs including:

• Panels
• Mentoring Programs
• Mock Interviews 
• Annual Conferences 

Leadership Council on Legal Diversity

Cravath is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), which includes over 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to creating a more diverse legal profession. LCLD programs provide both practicing attorneys and law students from diverse backgrounds with leadership training, career‑development strategies, peer networking, mentorship and more. Each of our 1L summer associates has the opportunity to participate in the 1L LCLD Scholars Program, which includes networking opportunities and attending a professional development summit.

Pipeline Initiatives

At Cravath, we are committed to “pipeline” efforts that cultivate the next generation of great lawyers. To that end, the Firm has participated in the SEO Corporate Law Program for over 20 years. Each summer, we provide underrepresented pre-law students with internships, enabling them to experience firm life for eight weeks before starting law school. We also co-host a panel and reception for SEO fellows throughout New York City.

We are especially pleased that two of our more recently elected partners are SEO alumnae, including one who spent her SEO summer at Cravath. We are also proud that several other Cravath SEO Fellows have returned to the Firm as associates.

We also sponsor the Afro Scholars program and PracticePro 1L Diversity Scholar program, actively engaging in their events and opportunities to connect with 1L members.

Cravath helped launch, and continues to work in partnership with, the Brooklyn School for Law & Justice (SLJ). We provide mentoring and funding to the school and its students, 99% of whom are students of color. Cravath helped form the Adams Street Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation that uses funding from foundations and other sources to provide enrichment programs, summer internships and educational activities for SLJ students. Through our efforts, our hope is not only to help ensure that students maximize their academic achievements, but also to take steps to increase students’ exposure to the law and thereby increase the diversity of the legal profession.

For over two decades, we have been active in the Prep for Prep program, which identifies exceptionally talented students of color from low-income backgrounds and prepares them for placement in leading independent schools and, as part of that process, provides a sense of community, peer support, post-placement services and a range of leadership development opportunities. In addition to providing financial and volunteer support to the program, we hire Prep for Prep alumni and students for the summer, giving them the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and gain exposure to the law.

For more information about the summer program and how to apply, please visit us here.