Lawyer Pay

Civil legal aid lawyers are often the last line of defense. Why are there so few of them?

As the 2023 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession reveals, civil legal aid lawyers are in short supply across the United States. According to the 142-page report, even though there are 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S., nationwide there are still only 10,000 paid civil legal aid lawyers, or about three for every 10,000 people in poverty.

Apr 1, 2024 3:00 AM CDT

Bonuses structured as forgivable loans are being used for partner retention

Some law firms are using forgivable loans to retain valuable partners and keep newly promoted partners happy.

Mar 28, 2024 1:23 PM CDT

New Reed Smith pay structure sorts associates into ‘the A squad and the B squad,’ blog says

Updated: Reed Smith has confirmed that it is changing the compensation structure for associates, but it’s not getting into specifics after a leaked memo said the law firm was creating two tiers of associate pay based on billable hours.

Mar 26, 2024 9:53 AM CDT

Lawyers seek over $288K per hour in attorney fees, payable in Tesla stock, for suit toppling Elon Musk’s compensation

The three law firms that successfully sued to overturn SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's $55.8 billion Tesla compensation package are seeking attorney fees payable in company stock worth more than $5.6 billion.

Mar 4, 2024 1:28 PM CST

How lawyers can use Substack to generate business

Founded in 2017, Substack, which is a publishing platform open to anyone and everyone who has something to write, has recently attracted a slew of lawyers and attorney-adjacent writers who realized how much it could help their careers.

Mar 1, 2024 1:18 PM CST

Use of ChatGPT to support fee bid is ‘utterly and unusually unpersuasive,’ federal judge says

A federal judge in New York City has reduced a law firm’s fee request by about half after criticizing its use of the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT-4 as a “cross-check” to determine prevailing market rates for attorneys.

Feb 27, 2024 8:20 AM CST

A few partners leave Cravath despite changes that generate more money for superstars

Updated: Cravath, Swaine & Moore lost three partners to competitor law firms in January, illustrating that “Cravath is now in the ranks of other New York firms that routinely see partnership shuffles,” according to an article from Law.com.

Feb 8, 2024 10:53 AM CST

BigLaw associates ‘have never had it better;’ they are working fewer hours, survey says, and making more money

Lawyer head count is growing, while productivity is declining, according to a year-end survey of more than 130 larger law firms released this week by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group.

Feb 1, 2024 12:56 PM CST

Quinn Emanuel disclosure order highlights relatively new product: judgment preservation insurance

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan must disclose terms of judgment preservation insurance that it allegedly bought before distributing a $185 million fee award to partners, according to a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge.

Jan 31, 2024 3:39 PM CST

This BigLaw firm charges nearly $2,500 per hour for top billers’ bankruptcy work

Kirkland & Ellis is raising its top billing rate for bankruptcy work to $2,465 per hour by Jan. 1, according to court filings cited by Reuters.

Dec 19, 2023 9:39 AM CST

Most law firms announcing pay hikes are in this select high-profit club

More than 50 law firms have announced increases in associate pay since Cravath, Swaine & Moore set the standard by increasing salaries by $10,000 to $20,000.

Dec 14, 2023 8:43 AM CST

Shearman partners approved pension cuts before merger; unfunded obligation said to be cut by 50%

Shearman & Sterling has approved cuts to its pension program before the successful vote to merge with Allen & Overy, according to reporting by Law.com.

Dec 11, 2023 10:21 AM CST

Not to be outdone, first-mover Milbank increases its raises for some associates

Milbank, the first BigLaw firm to announce associate pay hikes this year, is making some adjustments after BigLaw embraced a more generous pay scale.

Dec 6, 2023 11:20 AM CST

Associate pay hikes gather steam after Cravath announcement; which law firms have matched?

Associates at several BigLaw firms are getting pay hikes, thanks to an announcement Tuesday by Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Nov 30, 2023 2:23 PM CST

Cravath finally announces associate raises, and they partly surpass Milbank scale

It took three weeks of waiting after Milbank announced bonuses and raises for associates. But now, Cravath, Swaine & Moore has stepped into the BigLaw breach with its announcement.

Nov 28, 2023 4:09 PM CST