Associates

Median Starting Pay for Associates Is No Longer in the Six Figures; Figure Drops 35% in Two Years

Updated: New law grads in private practice are no longer taking home median paychecks in the six figures. The erosion in BigLaw jobs is depressing the salaries for all class of 2011 law graduates, according to new statistics from NALP–The Association for Legal Career Professionals. Law grads from the class…

Jul 12, 2012 11:56 AM CDT

‘Entry’ Fee: Surprise–Inexperienced Associates Cost More

“Since the recession, in-house counsel have been increasingly reluctant to pay fees for entry-level associates,” The 2012 Real Rate Report notes. “General counsel often feel that they end up paying for entry-level lawyers’ on-the-job training.” And the report uses actual billing data from 2007 to 2011 to show an increased…

Jul 1, 2012 6:49 AM CDT

Law Firm Settles Feds’ Civil Rights Suit re Client’s Service Dog; Will Pay $25K, Post Welcome Sign

Without admitting wrongdoing, an upstate New York law firm has settled a civil rights lawsuit brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York over claimed discrimination against a disabled client. Larkin Axelrod Ingrassia & Tetenbaum will pay $20,000 to the personal injury client, Lauren Klejmont, who…

Jun 28, 2012 11:10 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Crowdsourcing Performance Evaluations? Pros and Cons of ‘Client Contact’

Perfecting Performance Reviews At The Delaware Employment Law Blog, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor associate Molly DiBianca noted an HBR Blog Network post by Globoforce CEO Eric Mosley suggesting that employees’ annual performance reviews be “crowdsourced” by staff, not just managers. “In other words, solicit regular feedback from everyone who…

Jun 22, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Suspended Attorney Faces 10 Malpractice Claims; Ex-Clients Say He Said He Filed Suit, But Didn’t

Ten malpractice suits have been filed against a suspended Alabama attorney and the law firm for which he formerly worked. Byron House is accused by multiple clients of claiming to have filed litigation on their behalf when he in fact had not done so, the Tuscaloosa News reported. As a…

Jun 11, 2012 7:59 PM CDT

More Than 50 Would-Be Associates Have Now Applied for $10,000-a-Year Boston Law Firm Job

Partner Larry O’Bryan understands that the $10,000 a year his small Boston law firm wants to pay a new associate isn’t a big enough salary for most new law graduates to live on, since many have hefty student loans. In fact, he may well understand that better than most, since…

Jun 11, 2012 5:35 PM CDT

Illinois Attorney Is Accused of Overbilling Client for Document Review

An Illinois attorney is facing disciplinary action for allegedly overbilling a client for document review. Ronald Jay McDermott is accused of submitting billing materials to his law firm for up to 250 or more hours of document review that he claimed to have done in July and August of 2011…

Jun 8, 2012 7:51 PM CDT

Former BigLaw Associate Gets Record Sentence in Insider Trading Case

A former associate who admitted giving confidential deal information to a stock trader has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, the longest-ever sentence in an insider trading case. Matthew Kluger, 51, was sentenced Monday, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the Am Law Daily and the Associated Press.…

Jun 5, 2012 11:33 AM CDT

Small Associate Classes Partly Account for Smaller Growth in Partner Profits at Second Hundred Firms

The nation’s “second hundred” law firms weren’t as successful as their top 100 counterparts at translating revenue growth into partner profits last year. Second hundred law firms had a 5.3 percent growth in revenue per lawyer, compared to just 1.9 percent for top 100 firms, according to the American Lawyer…

May 31, 2012 1:47 PM CDT

BigLaw Associate Wrote Novel in Early Mornings Before Law Practice

A lawyer’s BigLaw workload can be daunting, but it didn’t stop Cristina Alger from tackling a second project. When she was an associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Alger worked on a novel at the same time, the Careerist reports. She tells the blog she woke up early…

May 16, 2012 1:24 PM CDT

433 New York Layoffs and Three Lawsuits in Dewey Saga

Tuesday was the last day for associates at the rapidly shrinking law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. Associates learned in a termination letter last week that they would receive health benefits through the end of May and malpractice coverage through the end of the year, New York Law Journal reports. Their…

May 16, 2012 12:36 PM CDT

Dewey’s Demise Is Bad News for Job-Hunting Lawyers

As lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf flood the job market, there are fewer positions available for others in the job hunt. The New York Law Journal interviewed recruiters about the impact. One spoke of a “massive disruption” in the lawyer job market in New York. Firms sorting through Dewey lawyers…

May 15, 2012 11:59 AM CDT

Corporate Finance Team Exits Dewey & LeBoeuf Offices in UK and Moscow for Orrick

A group of corporate finance attorneys from the London and Moscow offices of Dewey & LeBoeuf is headed to Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Led by Moscow partners Leo Batalov and Dmitry Gubarev, the group also includes associates from both offices, Legal Week reports. London associates of Dewey were informed earlier…

May 10, 2012 10:05 PM CDT

From ‘Drip Torture’ to Closure: Dewey Begins Laying Off Associates, Gives 1 Week Notice, WSJ Reports

Even as a once-mighty law firm was disintegrating around them, many associates of Dewey & LeBoeuf heard nothing official about their own fate. But that changed Tuesday as the law firm began laying off associates with one week of notice in a conference room meeting, reports the Wall Street Journal…

May 8, 2012 10:27 PM CDT

La. Attorney Accused by Former Firm of Misusing Client Assets Has Given Up Law License

A prominent Louisiana attorney has given up his law license after being accused in a civil suit by his former law firm of misusing or misappropriating a seven-figure sum of client assets, including tax credits. James M. “Tres” Bernhard III, who formerly served as an associate of Crawford Lewis, agreed…

May 7, 2012 4:37 PM CDT