Associates

Scalia’s BigLaw stint was ‘like asking Michelangelo to work for a company that paints fences’

When Justice Antonin Scalia dispensed career advice to his law clerks, he would suggest joining a law firm to understand how law is practiced and to build ties with others. But BigLaw work was probably too mundane for Scalia, according to Scalia’s former Supreme Court clerks and a partner who…

Feb 18, 2016 9:22 AM CST

Job-offer rate for summer associates is at a 10-year high

Law firms are increasingly offering jobs to law students they had as summer associates, with 95 percent of those students getting job offers in 2015—compared to just 69 percent in 2009, when the economy was through the floor, the National Law Journal reports, using hiring data from the National Association…

Jan 28, 2016 5:05 PM CST

Latham associates refinance $13M in student debt, thanks to firm’s efforts

More than 100 associates at Latham & Watkins have refinanced $13 million in student debt at lower rates as a result of the firm’s efforts. Latham & Watkins contacted banks in 2014 after new associate Sharon Casola spoke with the firm’s chief operating officer, LeeAnn Black, about student debt, the…

Jan 26, 2016 10:05 AM CST

Jennifer Lawrence movie ‘Joy’ is about mom of former Cravath lawyer

The woman chronicled in the Jennifer Lawrence movie Joy is the mother of a former associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. The lawyer, Robert “Bobby” Miranne, told the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) he became a lawyer because he saw how his mother’s lawyer helped advise her as she built…

Jan 14, 2016 6:00 AM CST

Associates got bonuses of up to $350K at Boies Schiller this year, law firm leader says

Once again, hefty year-end bonuses of $15,000 to $100,000 being paid to associates of major corporate law firms are being eclipsed by the largesse of a well-known business litigation boutique. At Boies Schiller & Flexner, those working in California, New York and Washington, D.C., who have been at the firm…

Dec 11, 2015 9:00 AM CST

Cravath to pay $15K to $100K in annual associate bonuses

Traditional BigLaw bonus market leader Cravath Swaine & Moore announced on Monday that it will be adding $15,000 to $100,000 to the paychecks of “virtually all” partnership-track associates this month, setting the table for other major corporate law firms to follow suit. Bonuses will be paid Dec. 18 based on…

Dec 7, 2015 3:50 PM CST

BigLaw associate who co-wrote ‘Notorious RBG’ rap song dies at age 25

A Duane Morris associate who co-wrote a viral “Notorious RBG” rap song honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at the age of 25. Kelly Cosby died on Sunday from an aggressive form of melanoma, the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. She was diagnosed with the cancer soon…

Nov 20, 2015 7:28 AM CST

BigLaw associate is among those killed in Paris attacks

A 26-year-old associate at Hogan Lovells in Paris is among the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday. Valentin Ribet died in the attacks at the rock concert at the Bataclan concert hall, report Above the Law, the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) and the Guardian. Eighty-nine people…

Nov 16, 2015 7:00 AM CST

Jones Day hires 10 US Supreme Court clerks, ‘a stunningly large number,’ law prof says

Ten individuals who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court justices in the court’s last term have joined Jones Day. They represent nearly one-quarter of the clerks who worked for current and former justices during that period, and are expected to be paid hiring bonuses of at least $300,000 each, the National…

Nov 2, 2015 3:00 PM CST

Will newbie associates be replaced by Watson? 35% of law firm leaders can envision it

An increasing number of law firm leaders believe first-year associates and paralegals could be replaced by a “Watson”-type computer with artificial intelligence in the next five to 10 years. Watson is an IBM product described as a “cognitive computing” system. Thirty-five percent of surveyed law firm leaders say they can…

Oct 26, 2015 7:42 AM CDT

Starting associate pay of $160K is common—but not as common as in 2009

Graphics by Stephen Ravenscraft This article originally appeared in the October 2015 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Salary cap? Starting associate pay of $160K is common–but not as common as in 2009.”

Oct 1, 2015 7:25 AM CDT

Male lawyers help blaze trail toward increased parental leave

Male lawyers seeking to play a more active role in the lives of their very young children have been helping to blaze a trail toward expanded parental leave policies. Reflecting a sea change in the traditional assumption that such leave should be focused on women, men also are taking time…

Sep 16, 2015 9:15 AM CDT

Midlevel associates give high rankings to their firms; is technology key?

Midlevel associates at the nation’s top law firms are even happier with their workplaces this year than in 2014, when surveyed associates reported the highest levels of satisfaction in a decade. The associates are likely giving their firms high grades in the American Lawyer survey because of supply and demand,…

Aug 31, 2015 8:02 AM CDT

Paul Hastings to put junior lawyers in cubicles in NYC office, but they will at least have windows

In an unusual move for a major law firm, Paul Hastings is planning to put first- and second-year associates in cubicles when it moves to a new midtown Manhattan office in New York City next year. The 12-cubicle pods in which the junior associates will work will be placed in…

Aug 27, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Former Ropes associate loses bias and retaliation appeal that cited information passed to blog

A former Ropes & Gray associate who claimed the law firm discriminated and retaliated against him has lost his federal appeal. In a decision (PDF) on Tuesday, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against John Ray III, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The court upheld…

Aug 27, 2015 9:19 AM CDT