Associates

Sweeping Sonnenschein Pay Plan Eliminates Lockstep, Offers ‘Flexibility’

Joining a few other major firms that have recently made similar announcements—and perhaps going beyond their programs—Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has announced a sweeping plan to reconfigure the firm’s relationship with its associates. It includes but is not limited to across-the-board cuts, at least initially, in associate pay and a…

May 21, 2009 9:23 PM CDT

Fish Firm Defers 1/3 of Incoming Class, Tells 1/3 More to Look for Another Job

After layoffs earlier this month of 35 attorneys and 85 staff, a major intellectual property boutique is now extending the pain to its incoming class of new associates. About one third of its incoming first-years will start on time this fall, Fish & Richardson tells Above the Law in a…

May 21, 2009 6:46 PM CDT

Morris Manning Axes Fall Interviews—and 2010 Summer Program

It doesn’t look like the economy is likely to improve significantly anytime soon. So Morris Manning & Martin is eliminating on-campus law school interviews this fall, “which of course means that we do not plan to have a formal summer program next summer,” writes managing partner Robert Saudek in an…

May 21, 2009 5:23 PM CDT

Reed Smith Cuts Associate Pay 10%; New Hires Could Take Bigger Hit

Associates at Reed Smith will be seeing an across-the board 10 percent pay cut beginning July 1. The law firm says in an internal memo that global economic conditions, changing client demands “and the competitive landscape in the legal industry” have already forced reductions in partner pay. “Sound business operations”…

May 20, 2009 6:05 PM CDT

Law Firms Trim Summer Associate Parties, Could Make ‘Dramatically Fewer Offers’

Summer associates in years past were treated to high-priced lunches and lavish parties, and nearly all of them received job offers. No more, the Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports. “The lunch tables have turned,” the publication says. “There will be less travel, fewer restaurants and a limited number of swanky…

May 20, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

‘Reply All’ Was a Mistake, Peeved Partner Tells Quinn Emanuel Associate

Observers are openly wondering how long an unidentified first-year associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges will hold his job, after reading a jaw-dropping e-mail thread. It began with a partner’s standard-issue firmwide proclamation of victory on Friday in a federal court case involving the trademark rights of the…

May 19, 2009 8:53 PM CDT

How a Jones Day Associate Dealt with an ‘Ornery Senior Partner’

Sometimes you have to change your own mindset before you can deal with an office bully or a crabby boss. It worked for Chelsea Grayson, who was an associate at Jones Day in Los Angeles when she was assigned to work on a series of deals with “an ornery senior…

May 19, 2009 11:56 AM CDT

Pillsbury Defers 54 to 2010 and 2011, Offers $60K to Go Away

In yet another law firm response to the dismal economy, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is deferring 54 members of its incoming class of new associates. And the firm is also offering $60,000 to incoming associates who opt to take the money and find work elsewhere, reports the Shark blog published…

May 18, 2009 8:54 PM CDT

Vacation or Not, Lawyers Should Be Available via E-mail, Cleary Partner Says

Even when a lawyer is on vacation, he or she should still routinely be available by e-mail, a London partner of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton tells his partners in a recent e-mail. An “out of office” auto-reply saying that an attorney is unavailable is acceptable only in rare circumstances,…

May 18, 2009 7:04 PM CDT

5 Lawyers from Bryan Cave Start New Practice Group for Morris Manning

Morris Manning & Martin has hired a five-lawyer group from Bryan Cave. It will establish a new timberlands investment and forest products practice group for the southeastern regional law firm, which also has offices in Asia. Partner C. Glenn Dunaway will lead the corporate portion of the practice group and…

May 18, 2009 4:03 PM CDT

Shorter Summer Associate Programs Ramp Up the Pressure

Summer will be a time of increased pressure for law students hired on as summer associates at the many law firms that are reducing the lengths of their programs. Matt DeGrushe, dean of career services at the University of Southern California’s law school, told the National Law Journal that students…

May 18, 2009 2:10 PM CDT

‘Meganumbers’ Pay for Lawyers Is On the Wane, Recruiter Says

Even after the recession ends, lower pay for lawyers may continue to be the norm. Recruiter Jerome Kowalski of Kowalski & Associates tells the Legal Intelligencer that client pressures are among several factors depressing lawyer salaries, and the change is likely to be lasting. “These meganumbers in terms of compensation…

May 18, 2009 1:49 PM CDT

DLA Piper Cuts Starting Pay to $145K, Apparently May Eliminate Lockstep

A major BigLaw firm has joined a small but growing list of well-known law firms that have recently announced associate salary reductions. Plus, DLA Piper is also imposing salary cuts on more senior associates and moving away from a traditional lockstep compensation scheme in which all attorneys who graduated from…

May 15, 2009 9:12 PM CDT

Total of 91 People Laid off at UK Law Firm Simmons & Simmons

In all, 91 people have lost their jobs at Simmons & Simmons as the United Kingdom law firm finalizes a redundancy review. The firm originally announced that up to 69 employees could be laid off, but 73 ended up leaving under the redundancy consultation, including 18 associates, Legal Week reports.…

May 15, 2009 3:59 PM CDT

Hunton & Williams Lays Off 23 Lawyers and 64 Staffers

In its first round of job cuts, Hunton & Williams has laid off 23 associates and of counsel and 64 staff members. The layoffs are spread among most practice areas and offices, according to a statement by managing partner Wally Martinez that was provided to the ABA Journal. “We did…

May 14, 2009 2:43 PM CDT