Fashion Law Pre-OCI: How to Get a 2L Summer at a Fashion-Heavy Firm

If you are a first-year law student reading this in November 2026, recruiting for your 2L summer has already begun. Boston College Law’s magazine reports that some firms took 1L applications for summer 2028 from 1 October. Covington opens its 2028 portal on 1 December, and LSAC says several schools plan “virtual OCI” for those jobs in early January 2027. Fashion adds a second problem, because the firms with fashion practices that we checked do not hire summer associates into them. This guide covers the calendar, the firms, your CV and your odds.

Short answer: Pre-OCI means applying directly to firms before your school’s on-campus interview programme. For summer 2028 that window is open now, and most 2L offers are made before the end of May of first year. None of the firms we checked recruits a fashion stream, so apply through IP, litigation or corporate and use fashion as your differentiator.

Key takeaways

• NALP data shows 85% of offers for 2026 2L summer programmes were made before July 2025, up from 34% a year earlier.
• Around 80% of those offers came from employer-sponsored recruiting, such as direct applications, and only 20% from law school programmes.
• Fashion, retail and luxury groups exist at firms such as Katten, ArentFox Schiff and Loeb & Loeb, but their summer openings are set by office and practice group.
• There are no published odds for fashion work. The numbers that do exist show a tight general market: 47% of callbacks led to offers, and the median office made four.

What does pre-OCI mean in 2026?

OCI is the interview programme your law school runs for employers. Pre-OCI is everything that happens before it: direct applications, firm portals, early interview programmes and offers made while your school’s programme is still weeks or months away. NALP, the association for legal career professionals, tends to split this into “law school-sponsored” and “employer-sponsored” recruiting.

Its January 2026 report on the 2025 cycle is the latest full data. May 2025 was the top month for 2L summer offers at 36%, followed by June at 29% and April at 15%. LSAC’s analysis adds that about 93% of law offices accepted direct applications, while about 71% took part in any OCI programme. NALP’s survey on the 2027 summer cycle closed on 21 August 2026, and its results are not out yet, so the most recent cycle is partly a matter of inference. Every sign so far points earlier, not later.

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Do not expect NALP to set a date for you. The ABA Journal reports that NALP dropped its old guidelines keeping 1Ls away from employers until December in 2018. What remains in its Principles and Standards are rules on how long offers should stay open. The text, reproduced here by Cornell Law School and modified through 2018, generally gives 2L and 3L candidates who are new to the employer 28 days, or until 30 December if that comes first, and offers made before a school’s OCI should not expire until 28 days after the first day of that programme. Offers to 1Ls for their first summer stay open for at least two weeks. NALP urges employers and schools to follow these standards, but check with your careers office how they apply to you. In January 2026, 18 student groups asked the ABA’s legal education council to act on timing. The council said it welcomed a dialogue, and we found no rule resulting from it.

What is the calendar for a 2028 2L summer?

This is the calendar for the Class of 2029, built from dated sources. Each firm sets its own schedule, and other firms will differ.

The phrase to remember comes from Berkeley’s guide for the previous class: “Open does not mean due.” Deadlines are often rolling, and firms set their own, so apply as soon as your papers are ready. If your school has its own rules on applying early, check them first.

Which US firms have verifiable fashion, retail and luxury practices?

We read each firm’s own practice page and careers page on 5 November 2026. This is a sample, not a ranking, and the descriptions are the firms’ own. Being on this list tells you the work exists. It does not tell you a summer associate will touch it.

Some large retail groups matter too, even when they do not say “fashion”. Greenberg Traurig’s retail page, for example, says more than 130 retail lawyers cover supply chain, customs and advertising, though it does not mention fashion or luxury. Brand-focused IP boutiques are also worth a search of your own, but check that they hire 2Ls at all, as the Frankfurt Kurnit example shows.

How should you position your CV for a fashion-heavy firm?

Lead with what a hiring partner needs, not with your love of fashion. A firm is hiring a future IP litigator or corporate associate. At the application stage it is mostly judging your academic record, your writing and your reasons for choosing that firm. Fashion should support the case, not make it.

• Have your papers ready: Covington asks for a cover letter, CV, undergraduate transcript, writing sample and references, with a law school transcript when available. Katten asks for a CV, transcript and a brief statement.
• Plan for missing grades: Berkeley tells 1Ls to send first-semester grades in January and a legal writing sample after using a professor’s feedback. Applying before grades is normal in this market, but some firms will wait.
• Name a practice group: ArentFox Schiff allows one application to one group and one office, so “fashion” is not an option. Pick IP, litigation or corporate, and explain why in a sentence.
• Translate the fashion: your retail job becomes consumer or supply chain knowledge. A note on a design rights case becomes IP writing. A published comment on a fashion law case is better evidence than the word “passionate”.
• Show a commitment you can defend: an IP course, a journal note, or a pro bono placement. The Fashion Law Institute’s FAQ says students who have finished their first year may volunteer to be paired with experienced attorneys, so ask whether that extends beyond Fordham.
• Read the group’s work: say something specific in your cover letter, such as a matter or an article by one of its lawyers, and check that it is accurate.

A short course can help, but only a little. The Fashion Law Bootcamp in New York is listed for 1 to 5 June 2027 at $2,450 and accepts law students, though its page also shows older dates, so confirm them. FLJ’s guide to fashion law courses and our LLM comparison explain what each level is worth. We would not pay for one simply to get a line on a 1L CV.

What are your honest odds?

We can give you the general market, not the fashion market. No firm we read publishes how many summer associates do fashion work, and we found no data on it. So the figures below are for US 2L recruiting as a whole, from NALP’s 2025 cycle.

Our reading: a fashion-specific summer at a large firm is a long shot, because few offices run these groups and fewer can promise you the work. A summer at a firm that has a fashion group, doing IP or commercial work, and asking for fashion matters once you arrive, is a realistic target for a strong candidate. The best way to get that work is usually to ask. Tell the recruiting team and a partner in the group, early, what you want to see. If it matters to you, ask directly whether summer associates have worked with the group recently.

Be clear with yourself about why you want this. Many fashion lawyers reach the field as qualified IP or commercial lawyers, not straight from a summer job, as our guide to becoming a fashion lawyer explains. And fashion lawyer pay at brands is a different conversation from the annualised $235,000 Katten quotes for its summer programme.

What if you have missed the pre-OCI window?

You have not missed everything. ArentFox Schiff was still accepting 2Ls for summer 2027 on a rolling basis when we checked, so current 2Ls have at least some late options. Above the Law reported in February 2026, citing Bloomberg Law, that Cooley planned to fill only about half of its Class of 2028 through the 1L cycle, leaving seats for later. About 15% of offers last cycle came in July or later, and midsize and boutique firms tend to recruit later than large firms. A 1L or early summer in an in-house team or at an IP boutique also gives you something real to write about, and our internship guide sets out where to look.

Frequently asked questions

What is pre-OCI recruiting?

It is recruiting that happens before your law school’s on-campus interview programme, mainly through direct applications to firms. NALP’s data shows about 80% of offers for 2026 2L summer programmes came through employer-sponsored recruiting of this kind, against about 20% through law school programmes.

When should a 1L start applying for a 2L summer?

If you are in the Class of 2029, the window is open now. Covington opens on 1 December 2026, Katten in late autumn or early winter, and some firms opened on 1 October. Prepare your CV, undergraduate transcript and writing sample now, then add grades in January.

Do law firms hire summer associates into fashion law?

Not among the firms we checked. Summer openings are set by office and practice group, such as litigation, corporate or IP litigation. Fashion clients sit inside those groups, so you apply for the underlying practice and then ask for fashion matters when you arrive.

Does NALP set the recruiting timeline?

No. The ABA Journal reports that NALP dropped its guidelines on 1L contact in 2018. Its Principles and Standards still deal with how long offers should stay open, generally 28 days for new 2L and 3L candidates, but firms now choose their own application dates.

Which firms have a fashion law practice?

Among those with pages we could read are Katten, ArentFox Schiff, Loeb & Loeb, Frankfurt Kurnit, Greenspoon Marder and Curtis Mallet-Prevost. This is not a full list or a ranking. Each firm’s page describes the group in its own words, so ask how much of that work reaches junior lawyers.

Can I get a 2L summer job without good grades?

It is harder at the largest firms, where the market is tight and 47% of callbacks led to offers last cycle. Midsize firms, boutiques and later recruiting rounds can be more open. Specialist experience, strong writing and a clear reason for choosing a firm can help, but we found no data on how much.

This article is general information, not career or legal advice. Dates and terms were read from each source on 5 November 2026 and can change, and your school may have its own rules. Confirm them with the firm and your careers office before applying.