Law Students Building a yada yada is a Stanford-based student group. They recently published a post I'm rather fond of. It's sort of a manifesto on the group's goals. Here's an excerpt:
Law students at the nation’s top schools are valuable assets for firms. Ask
managing partners what their top priorities are for ensuring the continued
success of the firm, and almost all will tell you that recruitment of the very
best young associates is absolutely critical. Top schools are producing far
fewer graduates than firms need to fill their ranks. This is why large firms
have massive budgets for finding, wooing, hiring and retaining law students. And
this is why it will matter to firms if some of their best candidates decline
offers out of concern about the environment they are about to enter.. . .
[T]he group aims to incentivize the managers of leading firms to make workable choices about billing, hiring, and community involvement.
. . .
Law Students Building a Better Legal Profession understands that law is a demanding profession. It is this, in part, that has attracted many of us to the field. But this is not the only demand we recognize. We choose not to simply set aside the demands of other aspects of our lives. We choose not to work in environments that lack diversity, openness, and a commitment to professionalism and respect.
