Guidelines for the Timing of Offers and Acceptance
Summer Employment Provisions
- Employers offering positions for the following summer to candidates not previously employed by them as part of our on-campus interview program(s) should leave those offers open for at least 14 days following the date of the offer letter.
- If an employer makes an offer to a law student candidate not previously employed by that employer before the beginning of the law school’s on-campus interview program(s), that offer should not expire until at least 14 days following the first day of our on-campus interview program(s). Employers should contact the UNC School of Law Career Development Office to determine these dates.
- Employers offering positions for the following summer to candidates previously employed by them should leave those offers open until at least 14 days following the first day of our on-campus interview program(s). Employers should contact the UNC School of Law Career Development Office to determine these dates.
- Candidates may request that an employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1 if the candidate is actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations. Candidates may hold open only one offer in such circumstances. Employers are encouraged to grant such requests.
- The above policy does not apply to offers resulting from interviews conducted as part of an off-campus interview program.
Full-Time Employment Provisions
- Employers offering full-time positions to commence following graduation to candidates not previously employed by them should leave those offers open for at least 28 days following the date of the offer letter or until December 30, whichever comes first. Candidates should reaffirm these offers within 14 days from the date of the offer letter, if an employer requests such reaffirmation in its offer letter. Employers that have requested this reaffirmation may retract any offer that is not reaffirmed within the 14-day period.
- Offers made after December 15 for full-time positions to commence following graduation should remain open for at least two weeks after the date of the offer letter. Candidates may request that an employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1 if the candidate is actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations. Candidates may hold open only one offer in such circumstances. Employers are encouraged to grant such requests.
- Employers offering full-time positions to commence following graduation to candidates previously employed by them should leave those offers open until at least October 1 of the candidate’s final year of law school, provided that such offers are made prior to or on September 2. Candidates should reaffirm these offers within thirty days from the date of the offer letter, if an employer requests such reaffirmation in its offer letter. Employers that have requested this reaffirmation may retract any offer that is not reaffirmed within the 30-day period. After September 2 of a candidate’s final year of law school, employers offering full-time positions to commence following graduation to candidates previously employed by them should leave those offers open for at least 28 days following the date of the offer letter.
- If an employer makes an offer to a law student candidate not previously employed by that employer before the beginning of the law school’s on-campus interview program, that offer should not expire until at least 28 days following the first day of the law school’s on-campus interview program. Employers should contact the appropriate law school(s) to determine these dates.
- Employers offering candidates full-time positions to commence following graduation and having a total of 40 attorneys or fewer in all offices are exempted from Paragraphs 1-4 of this Section. Instead, offers made on or before December 15 should remain open for at least three weeks following the date of the offer letter or until December 30, whichever comes first, and offers made after December 15 should remain open for at least two weeks
Non-Discrimination Policy
UNC School of Law complies with the anti-discrimination requirements of state and federal law, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, and other accrediting agencies. Therefore, it is the policy of the University of North Carolina School of Law Career Development Office to provide its students and graduates with equal opportunity to obtain employment, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including discrimination taking the form of sexual harassment), gender (including identity and expression), sexual orientation, age, disability, or military status. The Career Development Office (CDO) is committed to supporting an equal and fair evaluation of its law student and graduate job applicants on the basis of their individual merits. Therefore, the CDO is available only to employers whose employment practices are in compliance with these laws and policies.
