Amid a slowdown in funding for public interest legal work and a downturn in business at private law firms, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is sending some of its associates to year-long stints at nonprofit organizations.

The New York-based firm has extended the duration of its public interest fellowships from three months to one year, with the expectation that the associates will return to the firm after their service.

Simpson Thacher partner William T. Russell said that the move was not a result of a decrease in work for the associates, but he also said that it "would not surprise" him if the usual associate attrition at his law firm, like others, has declined during the recession. Russell co-chairs the law firm's pro bono committee.

"It's really about furthering our public interest initiatives," Russell said. He added, "We've got associates looking to do more."

The law firm is offering fellowships to 15 associates with one to three years of experience and paying them $60,000 up front. They will not remain employees of the firm while they work for the nonprofit, although they can keep their insurance benefits, Russell said.

The starting salary for Simpson Thacher associates is $160,000. No layoffs have been reported at the 869-attorney firm during the recession, although legal blogs have reported rumors of associate cutbacks there.

Public interest entities - from indigent client services groups and constitutional rights organizations to children's services programs - have experienced funding declines due to belt-tightening among donors. At the same time, many report that the need for their services has grown because of layoffs and repercussions from the economy's nosedive.

Meanwhile, law firms have experienced sharp drops in the usual associate departures that they have come to expect from young lawyers, who now are staying put at their firms because of decreased associate demand industrywide.