Careers

Pre-Law Program Aims to Be National Model

Illinois’ Bradley University announced this week that it is opening a pre-law center to improve law school prospects for undergrads who aspire to join the legal profession. The university intends to hire a full-time director in September, preferably a lawyer looking for a career change, and have the center fully…

Aug 7, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Poll: Will You Welcome or Dread Wireless in Flight?

With news from Delta Airlines this week that it will begin offering Wi-Fi access on some flights beginning this fall and the prospect that other airlines will soon follow suit, we wondered whether you welcome the chance to text, e-mail and surf the Net as you fly.

Aug 7, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

Female GCs at Fortune 500 Cos. Double in Last Decade

The number of top women lawyers at Fortune 500 companies has risen to 92 from 44 when the Minority Corporate Counsel Association first started counting nearly 10 years ago. The state with the largest number of female GCs is New York, which has 14, followed by 11 in California, eight…

Aug 7, 2008 11:07 AM CDT

Ex-ABA Prez Mathis Takes Break to Become CEELI Institute Exec

Former ABA President Karen Mathis is taking a one-year sabbatical from her law firm partnership in order to serve as CEO and executive director of the CEELI Institute in Prague. Starting Sept. 1, she will be in the Czech Republic, working in her new role. Her clients at McElroy, Deutsch,…

Aug 6, 2008 6:38 PM CDT

Kaplan Offers ‘Full-Service Bar Review’ in Three States

A company that provides bar review courses for the multistate exam will offer state-specific bar review courses in three states. Kaplan PMBR announced it will offer “full-service bar review” courses in New York, New Jersey and Florida, according to a press release. The Florida program will be available for the…

Aug 6, 2008 6:01 PM CDT

Workload Is the Same or Higher for Most Associates Surveyed

Despite the reports of a downturn in work at some big law firms, most midlevel associates surveyed are not seeing reductions in their workloads. In an American Lawyer survey of more than 7,500 associates, only 23.5 percent said their workload was lighter this year than last, the Am Law Daily…

Aug 6, 2008 2:05 PM CDT

Ohio AG’s Husband Resigns from Vorys Amid Conflicts Issues

The husband of a law school dean who was named Ohio’s attorney general has retired from his law firm after questions about potential conflicts of interest. Douglas Rogers is retiring from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, which does more than $1 million in business with the state of Ohio, the…

Aug 6, 2008 1:36 PM CDT

Associates Happiest With Wachtell Pay, Which is on the Hefty Side

Midlevel associates are most satisfied with their compensation at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which paid huge bonuses last winter ranging from $175,000 to $215,000. That compares to median New York bonuses of $55,000 to $80,000. Midlevel associates at the firm, asked to rate their satisfaction with compensation on a…

Aug 6, 2008 12:59 PM CDT

Judge Limits Ex-Associate’s Suit Over Orrick Partnership Promise

Updated: A New York judge has tossed several counts of a lawsuit filed by a former associate who claimed Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe reneged on a promise to make him a partner. Associate Patrick Hoeffner is entitled to collect only nominal damages under the ruling (PDF posted by the New…

Aug 6, 2008 12:13 PM CDT

Cadawalader Chair Has No Regrets About Riding Securitization Bubble

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft may face recruiting problems after the combined layoffs of 131 lawyers, but chairman W. Christopher White has no regrets about beefing up the law firm’s real-estate securitization practice during years of high demand. In the most recent round of dismissals last month, Cadwalader laid of 96…

Aug 6, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

Psychotherapist’s Lawyer Diagnosis: Preparing to Live Syndrome

Professional coach and psychotherapist James Dolan says he has seen too many lawyers living for retirement as they sacrificed happiness and their real passions. Dolan has coined a term to describe this lawyer affliction: preparing to live syndrome. He writes in Texas Lawyer that too many people fail to grasp…

Aug 5, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Credit Crunch is Limiting Partner Draws

Worried about a projected decrease in income at major law firms that one expert says could go down by 15 percent from last year, as well as slow payments from clients dealing with a difficult economy, administrators are limiting partners’ take-home pay as a belt-tightening measure. As a result, some…

Aug 5, 2008 4:26 PM CDT

UK’s Worst Sleepers Are Divorced Male Lawyers, Age 55, in London

The most sleep-deprived people in the United Kingdom are lawyers—not just any kind of lawyers, but divorced male lawyers, aged 55, who live in London. That finding was part of a 2,000-person survey by market research group GFK NOP, the Telegraph reports. It found that divorced London male lawyers in…

Aug 5, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Says She Was Chastised for Not Being Sweet Is Allowed to Sue

A federal judge in Manhattan says a managing partner’s remark that a female lawyer wasn’t sweet enough could be construed as discriminatory animus supporting the woman’s bias and retaliation suit. The ruling allows fired lawyer Catriona Collins to proceed with her suit against intellectual property law firm Cohen Pontani Lieberman…

Aug 5, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

Egalitarian and Inclusive Cultures Propel Firms to Top of Associate Rankings

An egalitarian culture helps explain why Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner is so well-liked by its associates—if you dare call them that. The law firm has job titles of lawyers, staff attorneys and patent specialists, but it prefers not to use the term “associate,” the Am Law Daily reports.…

Aug 5, 2008 12:54 PM CDT