Things have gotten simpler for Atlanta’s large firms when it comes to hiring first-year associates. No more deferrals. No more new law school graduates starting in January — or June.

Big firms are back to predictable planning after the upheaval caused by the 2008 financial meltdown. First-year class sizes this fall are about the same size as last year for the city’s largest general practice firms — a sign that entry-level hiring has gotten back to normal, albeit a smaller normal.