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Thelen Cuts 26 Associates, 85 Staffers

Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner has confirmed it will lay off 26 associates and 85 members of its support staff. Co-chairman Stephen O’Neal told the Recorder and Above the Law that the associate layoffs are in response to the economic downturn, which has cut into its capital markets practice.…

Mar 20, 2008 11:15 AM CDT

Sonnenschein Partner Pay Policy Examined at Trial

A former partner who claims Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal owes him $8.5 million testified last week that the firm took him off a huge contingency case and didn’t compensate him properly when it resulted in a huge settlement. The case had sought damages from Libya on behalf of victims killed…

Mar 19, 2008 12:06 PM CDT

Law Firm Layoffs: ‘Fewer Than 10’ Let Go at Edwards Angell

Joining an elite group of law firms that have previously announced attorney layoffs in recent months is Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge. Chip DeWitt, who is managing partner of the Boston-based firm, confirmed late last week that “fewer than 10” associates throughout its offices and in a number of departments…

Mar 19, 2008 2:00 AM CDT

How Blackwell Sanders Cut Attrition in Half

Kansas City firm Husch Blackwell Sanders reports it has cut its attrition in half after it cut its lockstep evaluations of associates in 2001. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to compensate, bill for and advance associates based on how many years they’ve shown up for work,” partner Peter…

Mar 18, 2008 9:18 PM CDT

Bad Hair Day Creates Sleek New Style for McCartney’s Divorce Lawyer

Despite her post-courtroom claims of being pleased with the not quite $50 million divorce settlement she was awarded, Heather Mills doused lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who represents her estranged husband, Paul McCartney, with a glass of water immediately after the ruling was announced yesterday, the London Times reports. Yet the bad…

Mar 18, 2008 6:09 PM CDT

More Law Firms Boost Maternity Leave to 18 Weeks

About a dozen large law firms have boosted maternity leave from 12 to 18 weeks in one of the first significant changes to parental policies in several years. One of the first to change its policy was Sullivan & Cromwell, which made the decision in July, the National Law Journal…

Mar 18, 2008 11:58 AM CDT

Pace Law School to Meet Public Interest Lawyer Demand

Pace Law School has announced it is creating a Public Interest Law Center to help meet a growing national demand for lawyers who focus on public interest legal work. The center is meant to foster a culture of public service, act as a clearinghouse for requests for pro bono legal…

Mar 14, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Now in Demand, New Lawyers in India Get Higher Salary Offers

The marketplace may help boost the salaries of fledgling lawyers from India, who are increasingly in demand, to do routine legal work for American law firms and companies because of their low costs. About 100 legal process outsourcing companies employ Indian lawyers, offering their services abroad at bargain prices, the…

Mar 14, 2008 1:37 PM CDT

Justice Kennedy Warns of ‘Crisis’ Over Judicial Pay

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy told a House subcommittee yesterday that the failure to give federal judges a pay raise has reached the level of a “constitutional crisis.” A proposal to hike judicial pay has made some progress in both houses of Congress, but nothing is final, Legal Times reports. Kennedy…

Mar 14, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

What, Me Worry? Not These Law Firm Leaders

Associates appear to be more worried about the economy’s effects than the leaders of law firms interviewed by American Lawyer. “It’s a strange phenomenon: The level of fear that lawyers expressed was in inverse proportion to their level of seniority,” the magazine says. So far the evidence indicates the new…

Mar 14, 2008 11:09 AM CDT

Record $26M for Bullied U.K. Lawyer

A London lawyer who was harassed and bullied by her colleagues at an asset management firm has won a record judgment of a little over $26 million to cover her lost income and benefits, psychiatric care and damage to her future prospects. It is reportedly more than twice the previous…

Mar 13, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

McDermott Denies Slow Payouts to Departing Partners, With Two Exceptions

McDermott Will & Emery, hit with a wave of defections at its London office, is now responding to claims that it has been late in repaying capital contributions to outgoing partners. McDermott acknowledges a dispute with one former partner over the repayment of capital and says it was late in…

Mar 13, 2008 4:54 PM CDT

Clinton’s Corporate Lawyer Past Shapes Her Persona Today

Hillary Clinton spent most of her career in a corporate law firm, a fact that could account for the difficulties some people have warming up to her, according to a column in the American Lawyer. “The female corporate lawyer is a special breed,” all buttoned-up and trained to do business,…

Mar 13, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Emphasis on Money Can Be Source of Depression in Law School

Stress during law school can cause anxiety and depression, especially if students focus on the need to make money and land a big-firm job, according to an article published online as part of an ABA group’s effort to tackle the problem. Law schools need to acknowledge the problem of student…

Mar 13, 2008 1:47 PM CDT

Retire at 50? Many Firms Offer Early Option, But Few Match O’Melveny’s

Corrected: Many law firms offer early retirements to boost profits per partner, but few are setting the floor at age 50, as O’Melveny & Myers recently did. The law firm made a temporary buyout offer to partners over age 50, and Masood Sohaili is taking advantage of it to jump…

Mar 13, 2008 11:10 AM CDT