Balls. I assume this means MoFo is taking the OMM route. Thanks a lot, Keith.

"Wetmore" isn't as appropriate a name as "Spendlove," but it's still funny in this context.

Fwiw, "Wetmore" is openly gay.

Isn't that a requirement to work at MoFo?

As long as he doesn't ask anyone to "bend over" to pick up documents...

Who cares whether the man is gay or not?

curb the homophobia, a$$holes.

the gay assocs love money as much as the rest of (and, more often than not, we bend over backward, not forward, to get it)

I didn't interpret it as homophobic. I read it as an Aaron Charney / Eric Krautheimer reference?

yeah - we gay assocs like money as much as the rest of you (and, more often than not, bend over backward, not forward, to get it)

Not a good sign for LA/SF greedy associates. If MOFO would have matched, this would have been the perfect time to do so.

If AtL is calling it Skaddenfreude, where the hell is Skadden? can they ignore this? would they even want to?

soon to be summer anon: do your research, don't they teach you that in law school? Skadden matched hours ago.

so it's 160k for nyc and $135 for most biglaw outfits in chicago, l.a., boston, d.c., et al.? last i checked my rates were the same as a similarly situated associate in our nyc office. this is going to cause some major backlash and morale problems.

Skadden has matched - they sent individual emails that only told the individual what their pay will be (e.g., an email to a class of 2003 associate says "your salary will be 210") - this is why there is no memo with a full scale to be posted.

Why, exactly, do NY associates get so much more? They don't bill more. They don't work more hours. It costs more to run their offices. And the whole cost of living thing is just silly - if you don't like it, don't work in NYC. Aren't lawyers supposed to be smart problem solvers? I'm feeling my moreale leak as I type.

Why, exactly, do NY associates get so much more? They don't bill more. They don't work more hours. It costs more to run their offices. And the whole cost of living thing is just silly - if you don't like it, don't work in NYC. Aren't lawyers supposed to be smart problem solvers? I'm feeling my morale leak as I type.

Has Skadden gone to 160k in DC?

Does anyone have MOFO info for the California offices

i *think* ny lawyers at some firms get billed out at higher rates... which would explain alot.

um . . . because NYC is the legal capital of the country and if you want associates to work there, you have to pay them more? the market works both ways, you know. if the smart, problem-solving lawyers who run the firms thought they could attract associates to NYC with less money, they would.

also -- lawyers in NYC do bill more, and work more hours.

most of the big firms in NYC that have raised in other offices do not in fact have very big other offices, right?

The big Boston and DC firms will follow once the dust settles in NYC - a $25k disparity would not sit well. The Boston and DC based firms would have to match their NYC offices' with the market to remain competitive, and the associates in Boston and DC would be pi$$ed and flee to NYC.

elite NY firms tend to bill flat across the country. other firms, like white and case that bill X in NYC and like 0.85X in their cali office - just bite the loss.

Skadden has other big offices and matched everywhere

anyone heard anything about Baker & McKenzie? I wonder if they will be slower being based in Chicago.

MoFo has a big DC office, which does not bode well.

And, where I work, NYC associates bill the same as DC associates and, on average, bill slightly less hours than the associates in DC (in the two largest departments, anyway - can't count the regulatory groups in DC because they have lower billables).

waiting in dc: the local market in NYC has a lot more opportunities for lawyers to work at funds, I-banks and other companies where compensation is greater, where there are better benefits and equity plans and not just some crappy self-funded 401k, so they have to pay more in order to retain. Most other markets don't have as many positions offering that kind of compensation. Also, if you don't like making less in DC why don't you ditch that muggy shithole on the potomac and come to NYC?

anonboston - why would I flee to NYC when I could just flee to a DC office of an NYC firm?

Seriously considering moving to NYC, except that the $25K bump (or whatever it is for later years) isn't enough to get me there. But I'm thinking I should really start looking for a fund or I-bank job.

anyone from SKADDEN LA can confirm that the LA office matched the increases across the board?

Thanks.

If large DC-based firms don't match the salary increases of their non-DC counterparts who have already announced the 160k base in their DC offices, there are a couple of pretty strong signals being sent. First, these firms can't really play with the big boys and should, therefore, stop billing themselves as preeminent global firms. Second, it sends a strong signal that NY-based firms can enter the DC legal market and poach the best talent without much of a fight. Lastly, it sends a very poor message to current associates that their friends and colleagues down the street in DC are getting paid substantially more money to do the same work. Hell may break loose.

Can anyone from Skadden Chicago confirm $160K for 1st years?

Sorry - I can only confirm Skadden Boston.

Can anyone from Skadden Chicago confirm $160K for 1st years?

Can anyone from Skadden Chicago confirm $160K for 1st years?

Dude, just chill, go home, get a beer. Sorry, I forget, I meant 20 sq. ft. studio...

sorry for the multiple posting...must need a new cpu mouse [my studio already has plenty real ones]

wonder if this is the year that a large chasm develops between the haves and the have nots of the Amlaw 100 ...

have nots: Troutman Sanders, McGuire Woods, Holland & Knight, Kilpatrick, ...

DC mid-level:

Do you mind calling my managing partner - or even some other senior person and letting them know your thoughts? I just want to make sure they are aware.

Anyone here anything about Latham?

Sure, give me their cell phone numbers.

Latham, o Latham, what will you do?? If LW wants to continue to attract talent (and SC law clerks) they need to signal to the market (the entire legal market, not just the NY market), that it is in the same game as the NY firms that have raised. Otherwise, it seems to be conceding that it is only a decent CA firm, not a prestigious global firm that it touts itself as.

On that note LW, one should expect to see the Chicago crew (i.e. Sidley, K&E, MBR&M and Winston) have to follow suit at some point if they want to compete in NY and DC, and lord knows the associates at the mothership of those firms aren't going to be too thrilled if the smaller offices get raises but they don't.

Does anyone at Mofo know whether the firm has decided not to implement smaller (or even identical) increases elsewhere, or is simply taking longer to decide with respect to other officers?

Sidley has always paid its NY associates more (the old Brown & Wood office), so I don't they will raise nationwide.

looks like mofo ca is waiting til the end of the week to make an announcement re ca offices

Not that $135 is bad in DC, but I sure could use that extra 25K in DC. Do you know how far that would go this side of the Mason Dixon?

If Mofo hasn't made a decision on California, that is better than then definitely deciding on 145. Can anyone from Mofo in CA confirm that you have not heard anything yet?

word is that they expect to make an announcement about ca offices by end of the week... no indication on what the announcement will be. morale and hopes are definitely not high out here now though.

Isn't it funny how O'Melveny & Myers single handedly killed the morale of every associate on the west coast, only ours after Quinn Emmanuel gave them some hope.

I'm still having trouble understanding the bonus schedule, all I need now is to worry about how NY firms are making at lest 25K more.

Other DC firms went to 160 as well, Cadwalader for example. If DC tops at 150, I would be happy

no it's not funny, since i'll be att the office until who knows when and my law school classmates in NY will be making at least 15K if not 25K more and now i have zero morale...

MoFo DC:

In talking to several of my friends at other large DC firms, the general consensus is that DC firms must go to atleast 150k to hold off an associate revolt. Within many firms, it is not uncommon to pay a premium to NY associates. However, the gap has only been 10k and not many people I know would sit idly by while the gap widened inexplicably. OMM's preemptive strike to hold DC salaries down was either really smart, or will proven to be really cheap when other DC offices move closer to 160k. Of course, I'm hoping the latter is true, but despite ever increasing revenues, I suspect that most DC firms will only go to 145k. I guess we'll have to see if that decision comes back to bite them.

correction: the sentence should read "would NOT sit idly by..."

DC mid-level: i think it was right the first time.

You're right...I'm tired and seeing things.

Most of the othr big firms are already at 145, MoFo DC is behind the power curve. If they want to compete then they have to at LEAST match. Granted the MoFo experience is great and is arguably one of the most pleasurable places to work, I am nto sure if future candidates will be willing to take a 20 or 10K cut in pay for atmosphere.

What other DC firms were at or above 145k before this week? I don't think there were that many. Nonetheless, I agree that any firm that fails to match will be behind the curve and will suffer in recruitment and retention. I know there are "culture" arguments that might be compelling when the salary differential is small, but when it grows to 10 or 15k in the same city, that can't be justified. I hope the powers that be in DC firms are listening to their associates and that they do what's right.

Ditto

Ditto

Wow. While I am a DC mid-level and I love money as much as the next guy, if I step back a bit I have to admit that it's comical to listen to lawyers with no experience other than gunning in Con Law complain about equal work, equal pay because their not making $160 and some other guys are.

Viva market economics is all I have to say, since I beneift, but still, wow.