Associates

Five-Lawyer Greenberg Group Leaves BigLaw to Join Ariz.-Based Firm

Five lawyers have leapt from the Phoenix office of Greenberg Traurig to a 100-attorney Arizona-based law firm. Those headed to Gallagher and Kennedy include John Clemency, the only Greenberg Traurig partner in Phoenix a bankruptcy practice, reports the National Law Journal in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg.…

Aug 21, 2009 9:20 PM CDT

For One Law Firm, Canceled Summer Associate Program Is Old News

Check out the website for Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, and you’ll see this cryptic post on a page for summer associate recruiting: “The firm is not actively recruiting law students at this time.” Several law firms have announced cuts to their summer associate programs this year as they scramble…

Aug 21, 2009 6:49 PM CDT

Howard Rice Sees Business Uptick, But Cancels 2010 Summer Program

Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin has canceled its 2010 summer associate program, despite an uptick in business. In a statement released to the ABA Journal, Howard Rice says it has seen a “substantial increase” in business over the last quarter. “However, the future is never certain, and we…

Aug 21, 2009 6:13 PM CDT

K&L Gates Chairman Says Fordham Dean Needs to Join the 21st Century

The chairman of K&L Gates is blasting Fordham’s law dean for his decision to ban Reed Smith from campus interviews for five years. “Someone should welcome the dean of Fordham Law School to the 21st century,” K&L Gates chairman and global managing partner Peter Kalis wrote the Pittsburgh Business Journal…

Aug 21, 2009 2:06 PM CDT

Midlevel Associates Rank Wachtell Tops in Compensation, Benefits

Midlevel associates are most satisfied with their compensation and benefits at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and least satisfied at Thompson Hine, according to a recent survey. The Am Law Daily highlighted the finding from its survey of 6,100 associates at America’s 200 largest law firms. Wachtell recently nabbed the…

Aug 21, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

Federal Judge Boots Law Firm from Case for Hiring the Wrong Associate

Applying what some might consider an unduly strict interpretation of conflict-of-interest standards, a federal magistrate judge in Massachusetts has disqualified Lichten & Liss-Riordan from continuing to represent the plaintiff in a five-year-old Fair Labor Standards Act case. Although associate Sarah Getchell, who was recently hired by the firm, says she…

Aug 20, 2009 9:22 PM CDT

2 Lawyers Convicted in Witness-Tampering Case, Could Face Life in Prison

After nearly a week of deliberation, a federal jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., today convicted two lawyers in a witness-tampering case that reportedly could put them in prison for life. Robert Simels sat back in his chair at the defense table and looked furious as his associate, Arienne Irving, put her…

Aug 20, 2009 5:11 PM CDT

Weil Seeks $100M in Lehman Case, Identifies Hardest Working Associate

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is seeking more than $100 million in legal fees and expenses for its work in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case. The law firm’s second fee application would put it over the $100 million mark in total billings, when hold back payments are included, the Am Law…

Aug 20, 2009 12:44 PM CDT

Some Deferred Associates at Brown Rudnick Told to Report for Work

Boston-based law firm Brown Rudnick has told 11 first-year associates that their start dates won’t be pushed back after all. The law firm said it needed the associates to start work sooner because of an upswing in bankruptcy work and related litigation, according to the National Law Journal. The firm…

Aug 20, 2009 11:30 AM CDT

One-Quarter of Paul Hastings’ Summer Associates Won’t Get an Offer

Early reports said only about half of Paul Hastings’ summer associates got job offers, but a firm spokeswoman says the news is better than that. About 70 percent to 75 percent of the summer associates will get offers, a spokeswoman told Above the Law. Last year, the firm extended offers…

Aug 19, 2009 2:54 PM CDT

Wachtell Nabs Top Spot—Again—in Prestige Rankings

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is No. 1 in Vault’s prestige rankings by law firm associates, keeping its top spot for the seventh straight year. The rankings are based on overall prestige, departmental prestige, regional prestige, diversity and quality of life, according to Legal Blog Watch. The top five are…

Aug 19, 2009 1:48 PM CDT

Forget St. Barts and Be Grateful You’re Working, Columnist Tells ‘Exhausted’

“Exhausted” from overwork and thinking that layoffs might be imminent, an attorney has written to the Dear Abby of the legal profession, asking whether this might be a good time to quit a law firm job and take a vacation. The answer to that question, says New York Law Journal…

Aug 18, 2009 5:54 PM CDT

No Layoffs at Major Law Firms Last Week, But Are Doldrums Ending?

No news is good news for associates at large law firms. For the first time this year, a week passed without a report of any layoffs at large law firms. Law Shucks reported the news in a blog post that began with just one word: “Hallelujah!” Layoffs slowed in June,…

Aug 17, 2009 1:36 PM CDT

Marathon No Problem for Laid-Off Lawyer, But Finding New Job Is Harder

Lynne Zagami has never been afraid of a challenge. As her resumé notes, she wrestled for four years on her high school’s boys varsity team. Last year, she completed the Boston Marathon. And, after being laid off from a $170,000-a-year job as a corporate associate in the Boston office of…

Aug 14, 2009 8:46 PM CDT

McCarter & English Cancels 2010 Summer Program

One of New Jersey’s biggest law firm names has confirmed that it will be canceling its 2010 summer program. And McCarter & English will also be bumping back the start date for incoming first-year associates to Dec. 1, 2009, Eric Wiechmann tells Above the Law. He is the managing partner…

Aug 14, 2009 7:12 PM CDT