Careers

Telecommuting Option for Professionals

Working at home has long been seen as an attractive option by a significant number of the nation’s professionals. However, that view isn’t shared by the vast majority of employers. Now, though, some major corporations are starting to see the at-home work option more favorably. In particular, some are hiring…

Nov 15, 2007 7:44 PM CST

July NY Bar Answers Lost for 47; Officials Estimate Scores

When answers to the New York bar exam written on laptop computers this past summer turned up missing, officials said they expected to be able to get the answers from backup data. But in fact a fraction of those answers apparently could not be retrieved from test-takers’ hard drives, so…

Nov 15, 2007 3:45 PM CST

Lawyer Job-Seekers Should Consider Work Assignment System

Work assignments can be a big source of unhappiness for associates, but too often job-seekers fail to ask how assignments will be doled out. Recruiter Stephen Engle of Major Lindsey & Africa told the Recorder the assignment system can have a “profound effect” on associate satisfaction. “I think most associates…

Nov 15, 2007 2:29 PM CST

New Child Care Option: Bring Baby to Work?

Although it obviously doesn’t work for everyone, a small but growing number of employers reportedly have found an unusual solution to the problem of losing a valued employee to parenthood. They allow the worker to bring the baby to the office, not just occasionally but on a regular basis. Babies,…

Nov 15, 2007 2:34 AM CST

Unrealistic Expectations, Poor Hiring, Bad Management = High Associate Attrition

A lawyer career consultant puts part of the blame for high associate attrition rates on lawyers who have little clue about the realities of law practice and law firms that hire based on little more than law school grades. In a column for Legal Times, Kate Neville acknowledges that many…

Nov 14, 2007 1:43 PM CST

Key Attorney Interview Skill: Mental Editing

Once you’ve done a few, associate job interviews often involve some of the same stock questions and answers. But an anonymous young solicitor puts a fresh spin on the subject by recounting what she was really thinking at a recent job interview, in a British newspaper column today. Asked why…

Nov 13, 2007 7:07 PM CST

Ginsburg: If Male, I’d Be a Retired Partner

It wasn’t only former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor who, famously, had trouble finding work as a lawyer after graduating at the top of her class from a renowned law school back in the day when law practice was almost exclusively a male domain. Her female colleague on the U.S. Supreme…

Nov 12, 2007 10:59 PM CST

‘Dismal’ Diversity at Big Dallas Firms

More than a decade ago, the men at the helm of the biggest and best-known law firms in Dallas pledged to a major effort to recruit more minorities. But attorneys of color still represent only a small fraction of those who work there–less than five percent of equity partners, reports…

Nov 12, 2007 7:39 PM CST

Justices Help Federalist Society Celebrate 25 Years

At least four Supreme Court justices are expected to attend the 25th anniversary meeting of the conservative Federalist Society this week. Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito Jr. are expected to attend Thursday’s dinner at which President Bush will speak, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile Chief Justice…

Nov 12, 2007 5:49 PM CST

Ace Private Equity Attorney: Super-Smarts Aren’t a Job Requirement

Charlie Geffen readily admits he’s something of a workaholic. But, the British lawyer says, it doesn’t take an academic whiz to be one of the world’s most successful private equity practitioners. Instead, diligently learning the rules is what it takes to get through law school, and, especially in his practice…

Nov 9, 2007 4:58 PM CST

Survey Reveals the Unhappiest Associates

The most unhappy people in the nation’s top law firms are minority female midlevel associates, according to an American Lawyer survey. Women of color express less satisfaction and encounter more obstacles, according to an article on the Minority Experience Survey in the Minority Law Journal. More minority female midlevels were…

Nov 7, 2007 11:45 AM CST

What Associates Want (It Isn’t Partnership)

What associates want varies, so it can be difficult to pinpoint all of their concerns. But, by overlooking the issues they consider important, law firms are losing out on opportunities to increase associate satisfaction and retain valued attorneys, a legal consultant says. For starters, law firm administrators need to realize…

Nov 2, 2007 9:20 PM CDT

One To Watch

In April, 25-year-old Casey A. Fry became associate director of the Institute for Trade in the Americas at Michigan State University College of Law in East Lansing. A graduate of the school, she’s played an instrumental role in the institute since its founding three years ago. Among her responsibilities are…

Nov 1, 2007 7:59 PM CDT

McDermott’s Assoc. Tiers Twist: The B Team

Another major law firm is planning to institute a two-tiered system for associate attorneys. But it is taking a different approach from what some other avant-garde law shops are doing. Instead of giving current partnership-track associates a choice between working more hours for more pay or taking a kinder, gentler…

Nov 1, 2007 6:35 PM CDT

Former Gonzales Chief of Staff Takes on Food & Drug Practice

The former chief of staff to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has landed in the private sector. D. Kyle Sampson, a Utah native who resigned amid growing controversy over the firing of at least eight U.S. attorneys, will join the food and drug practice at Hunton & Williams, the Salt…

Oct 31, 2007 6:45 PM CDT