Ew. I have heard terrible things about the quarter system. What do you anticipate will be the effects of this switch at SLS?
I actually think it'll be a great change. Dean Kramer is pushing for more cross-disciplinary education, and the quarter system is supposed to put us in line with the rest of Stanford, making it more convenient to take classes in the b-school, the college, etc. SLS is also expanding its joint degree programs; it will become a lot easier to get a joint degree under the new quarter system. I have a number of friends who are getting their JD/master's in three years.
The first year will be probably be modeled much like 1L at UChicago, where Kramer used to teach. Some first-year classes will span two quarters, others will last just one. There will be more "finals periods" but I don't think you'll actually take more finals. SLS is also planning making clinical rotations-- i.e., you would be able to spend an entire quarter in an international human rights clinic, externing in NY or DC, etc. I think that's actually better, because you can focus 100% of your energy on the clinic, rather than trying to juggle a clinic and 2-3 classes at the same time. 3Ls would end classes a few weeks earlier than everyone else so that they still have the same amount of time to study for the bar.
I don't think that it will cause a problem for summer employers. All the top firms are already used to Chicago's quarter calendar. And apparently, SLS has already talked to many firms, and it won't impact how they approach recruitment of Stanford students.