Recruiting Policies for Employers
Wake Forest University School of Law greatly values our relationships with organizations that support, recruit, and hire Wake Forest Law students. The following policies have been established to ensure the highest levels of professionalism, fairness, and opportunity for all members of the Wake Forest Law community. The policies also incorporate the National Association for Law Placement’s (NALP) Principles for a Fair & Ethical Recruitment Process.
The Law School’s facilities and support are available only to organizations whose practices are consistent with these policies and guidelines.
We encourage our first-year students to focus on academics and developing essential critical analysis and writing abilities, as well as establishing meaningful relationships with classmates and professors at the beginning of their studies. These policies are designed to preserve this foundational period in students’ intellectual development. In addition, the first semester provides time for students to start to develop baseline professional development skills and to learn about the legal profession, allowing for a more equitable landscape and better informed students when they do pursue opportunities. Our 1L Professional Development class is specifically designed to provide space for students to consider their professional path as they begin to learn about the practice of law.
Wake Forest Law School’s policies with respect to interaction with 1Ls are:
- Applications: Employers may not solicit nor accept application materials from first-year students before October 15. We ask employers not to solicit applications from first-year students before December 15 if they plan to take first semester grades into account in interview and offer decisions. Employers should refrain from interviewing students between the end of 1L classes and the conclusion of first semester final exams.
- Events: Recruiting events for 1Ls should not be held prior to October 15, or between the end of 1L classes and the conclusion of first semester final exams. We welcome employer participation in educational programs focused on professional development in the 1L year and throughout students’ law school experience.
- Communication: If your organization sponsors or participates in an educational program in collaboration with a Wake Forest Law student organization, please notify the Office of Career & Professional Development in advance by emailing lawcareeroffice@wfu.edu with details including the date, time, and nature of the program.
As an office, our goal is to provide support to students in making thoughtful, informed decisions about their professional future. We ask employers to follow these guidelines for timing of offers and decisions:
- OCI Interviews: For offers of employment (summer or permanent) resulting from interviews conducted as part of spring or fall on-campus recruiting programs, we ask that you provide the student a decision period of 14 calendar days from the date of the offer to accept or decline.
- Resume Collects: For offers of employment (summer or permanent) resulting from interviews conducted as part of a resume collect, we ask that you provide the student a decision period of 14 calendar days from the date of the offer to accept or decline.
- If your timeline or circumstances cannot allow for a decision period of 14 calendar days, we ask that you notify the Office of Career & Professional Development by email at lawcareeroffice@wfu.edu, so that our office can advise the student appropriately.
- This policy does not apply to offers resulting from interviews conducted for positions posted in Symplicity, or conducted as part of an off-campus interview program.
- Extensions: We ask that employers who have reasonable assurance that a student is seriously considering their offer to grant requests for extensions of time liberally. Our experience has shown that students who are afforded the time to reach an informed, thoughtful decision are far more likely to be confident in that decision. We will encourage students who have been granted extensions to remain in active contact with the employer.
Our goal is to make the recruiting process beneficial to our students and smooth for employers. To that end, we encourage you to maintain open lines of communication with the Office of Career & Professional Development. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact Assistant Dean Francie Scott at scottfs@wfu.edu.