Law Pub Ponders the ‘Associate Apocalypse’

Is an “associate apocalypse” drawing nigh?

That’s the question asked by the Am Law Daily. It notes “an early October onset of stories about the demise of the traditional law firm structure and compensation system for young lawyers.”

Among the evidence, as foreboding as the four horsemen:

• A Boston Business Journal story that has Nixon Peabody’s hiring partner proclaiming the law student recruitment model is “antiquated.”

• A Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) story on deferred associates scrambling for interim jobs.

• A Recorder story on the end of associate salary wars that has some wondering how low associate salaries will go.

• An American Lawyer story that says the recession has “permanently changed the way business is done in the legal industry,” resulting in fewer jobs and lower pay for associates.