I think Texas is a lost cause for at least the next little while. Perhaps over the summer before the next recruiting push we will see some action. If not, as a 2l splitting between a Texas firm and another firm, my decision may be easier.

3:55- You need to get all of your 2L friends to start asking the firms about it before starting their summer clerkships and throw us junior associates a bone.

Us compressed senior associates could use a bone also.

STFU Texas! You live in 3rd rate legal market where the cost of living is close to nothing. Bunch of greedy bastards!

Does anything between the coasts really matter?

Psst, East Coast folks... you CHOOSE TO LIVE THERE. You pay for what you get.

Seyfarth will be doing some focus groups over the next few weeks about compensation issues. Looks like we are staying on the List of Shame for the long haul.

Texas firms will recruit lawyers like the University of Texas recruits football players. Like the Horns, they will get the top prospects from the state because Texans love Texas. However, without the financial incentive, and just like the Horns, 24 out of 25 prospects will be from Texas. With its diminished financial advantage, Texas firms will have difficulty convincing non-Texans to go there, and will be "Horn"-strung in recruitment.

Sorry Big Tex associates. I hope you love Texas for reasons other than the money.

Now, bring back the LIST OF SHAME!

Anons who posted at 4:34 and 4:47, this is for you:

You are clearly arrogant, ignorant, and offensive, which means you must be from D.C. or L.A. Texas has three of the top 10 largest cities in the US -which means a whole lot of lawyers and a whole lot of legal business. To say that its legal market is not influential is clearly incorrect. If it weren't for Texas's central role in the last round of raises, my friends, you would still be sitting at 145k roundabouts. My "unsophisticated" Texas firm happens to be working on the largest private equity deal EVER, but then again, I guess that's not big enough for some people. Why don't you two go back to your mid-market firm sandboxes -wherever you are- and leave the real lawyering to those who know how to do it right.

Anons who posted at 4:34 and 4:47, this is for you:

You are clearly arrogant, ignorant, and offensive, which means you must be from D.C. or L.A. Texas has three of the top 10 largest cities in the US -which means a whole lot of lawyers and a whole lot of legal business. To say that its legal market is not influential is clearly incorrect. If it weren't for Texas's central role in the last round of raises, my friends, you would still be sitting at 145k roundabouts. My "unsophisticated" Texas firm happens to be working on the largest private equity deal EVER, but then again, I guess that's not big enough for some people. Why don't you two go back to your mid-market firm sandboxes -wherever you are- and leave the real lawyering to those who know how to do it right.

5:02 PM:

I'm from D.C. and completely agree with the arguments raised by Texas Associates. But I think I would rank your post as the most "arrogant, ignorant, and offensive" of those that I have read on this site.

I don't know that I'd say San Antonio has a thriving legal market. Houston and DFW, yes.

Really, this bickering about what legal market is more presigious or a better place to live is seriously impeding our complaints about not getting paid enough. So STOP.

Here's what we can all agree on:
(1) We don't get paid enough
(2) We work too many hours
(3) We chose to work in the market we are in
(4) With respect to the market we are in, repeat (1) and (2)

I heartily concur with 5:15. Everyone just keep singing the theme song to the Apprentice to yourselves and your partners. "Money, money, money, money, money...MONEY!"

"Texas has three of the top 10 largest cities in the US"

A city like San Antonio is in the top ten only because its grew by annexing all the sorrounding towns. When you measure cities based upon the actual size of the metropolitan area, it falls to 29th.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_areas

Besides, who's to say population size necessarily correlates to legal business?

Here's a possibility for the Texas firms who have not yet raised: Texas firms raise to match the market in their New York offices, but don't raise for the rest of their offices. Discuss.

An open note to Loyola2L:

I am sorry to say that your relentless posts are a pathetic, non-stop presentation of self-pity and show your utter lack of self-esteem. You present, what you think is a service to the legal community, but rather you are doing a disservice to the “lower” ranked schools by acting as if everyone who isn’t Tier 1 is doomed. That is utterly false.

As a 3L at a Tier 3 school, I too faced stiff competition for those coveted Big law spots. I was not in the top 10% of my class (although now, in my 3rd year, I am) nor was I a member of law review or any other journal. Rather, through hard work, networking, and the like, I have obtained a first-year associate position in a VTop 20 firm.

Your sentiments and “crying” about your inability to get a job shows your weak character. Perhaps, as mentioned in numerous posts, if you were to spend as much type looking for a job and finding ways to better yourself as opposed to posting foolhardy messages, you would get a job (however, at this point I hope you do the legal community a favor and drop out of law school).

It is people like you who give the lower tier graduates a bad name.

An open note to Loyola2L:

I am sorry to say that your relentless posts are a pathetic, non-stop presentation of self-pity and show your utter lack of self-esteem. You present, what you think is a service to the legal community, but rather you are doing a disservice to the “lower” ranked schools by acting as if everyone who isn’t Tier 1 is doomed. That is utterly false.

As a 3L at a Tier 3 school, I too faced stiff competition for those coveted Big law spots. I was not in the top 10% of my class (although now, in my 3rd year, I am) nor was I a member of law review or any other journal. Rather, through hard work, networking, and the like, I have obtained a first-year associate position in a VTop 20 firm.

Your sentiments and “crying” about your inability to get a job shows your weak character. Perhaps, as mentioned in numerous posts, if you were to spend as much type looking for a job and finding ways to better yourself as opposed to posting foolhardy messages, you would get a job (however, at this point I hope you do the legal community a favor and drop out of law school).

It is people like you who give the lower tier graduates a bad name.

An open note to Loyola2L:

I am sorry to say that your relentless posts are a pathetic, non-stop presentation of self-pity and show your utter lack of self-esteem. You present, what you think is a service to the legal community, but rather you are doing a disservice to the “lower” ranked schools by acting as if everyone who isn’t Tier 1 is doomed. That is utterly false.

As a 3L at a Tier 3 school, I too faced stiff competition for those coveted Big law spots. I was not in the top 10% of my class (although now, in my 3rd year, I am) nor was I a member of law review or any other journal. Rather, through hard work, networking, and the like, I have obtained a first-year associate position in a VTop 20 firm.

Your sentiments and “crying” about your inability to get a job shows your weak character. Perhaps, as mentioned in numerous posts, if you were to spend as much type looking for a job and finding ways to better yourself as opposed to posting foolhardy messages, you would get a job (however, at this point I hope you do the legal community a favor and drop out of law school).

It is people like you who give the lower tier graduates a bad name.

An open note to Loyola2L:

I am sorry to say that your relentless posts are a pathetic, non-stop presentation of self-pity and show your utter lack of self-esteem. You present, what you think is a service to the legal community, but rather you are doing a disservice to the “lower” ranked schools by acting as if everyone who isn’t Tier 1 is doomed. That is utterly false.

As a 3L at a Tier 3 school, I too faced stiff competition for those coveted Big law spots. I was not in the top 10% of my class (although now, in my 3rd year, I am) nor was I a member of law review or any other journal. Rather, through hard work, networking, and the like, I have obtained a first-year associate position in a VTop 20 firm.

Your sentiments and “crying” about your inability to get a job shows your weak character. Perhaps, as mentioned in numerous posts, if you were to spend as much type looking for a job and finding ways to better yourself as opposed to posting foolhardy messages, you would get a job (however, at this point I hope you do the legal community a favor and drop out of law school).

It is people like you who give the lower tier graduates a bad name.

Can someone explain why every K&L office located in a large legal market raised to 145K exception Boston?

NYJD, keep in mind that L2L's predicament represents the vast bulk of TTT law students. Your own story, while heartwarming, is all but irrelevant for those considering whether to sink ~$100k into a J.D. from a second-class school.

And in case you are wondering...Yes, I did post my note multiple times on purpose.

An open note to NYJD.

Repetition does not make your arguments more persuasive. Just more tiresome.

Your luck in finding a job has blinded you to the tier 2 reality I live every day. You have mistaken luck for pluck, likely because it is a story you can tell yourself in which you are the hero. As a result you come to the mistaken conclusion that getting a Big Law job from a tier 2 school is a matter of "character"

Right. Big Law spits on tier 2. Everything else you mention as a factor in this game is dwarfed by this one unavoidable fact.

Stop your sanctimonious self-deluding ranting and enjoy your BigLaw job. I sadly can only dream of being there.

L2L is probably another Lat alter ego.

Loyola,

May you please post a copy of your resume, with personal info redacted, for us to see and possibly critique?

From the perspective of BigLaw it reads like this:

EDUCATION

Tier 2 Crapola Law School
Bottom 76%

Who cares college

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

None

Get with it 6:16. I am not Lat.

Loyola,

What did you do first year summer?

No Big Law summer for Loyola 1L. I am tier 2, we don't get those kind of jobs.

Tell us all NYJD, what sort of impressive 1L summer job did you get. That might give us some insight into you.

L2L

CAN YOU PLEASE SHUT UP? YOU ARE AN OBNOXIOUS TWIT. LIFE IS PAIN. SUCK IT UP.

First year summer? The L2L persona has posted non-stop about being unemployed during 2L summer! What would make you think he has a first year summer job?

L2Ls, Rally time! NY JD posted his unrealistic garbage on the WSJ blog. Let's respond appropriately.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/02/27/a-report-on-a-business-of-law-report/

I worked for the GC of a major fortune 500 co.

But I will no longer batle with you. The truth is i am still looking for a job, im just tired of your complaining.

6:29 is not me, but has it right.

Hint: anybody referring to the "L2L persona" isn't the real thing.

I worked for the GC of a major fortune 500 co.

But I will no longer battle with you. The truth is i am still looking for a job, im just tired of your complaining.

GUYS, please dont respond to anything Loyola guy says, he's been posting for a week now.

If you dont respond to him, he'll stop talking.

Mr. Lat-

Would it be possible to get a discussion specifically focused on bonuses? My biglaw firm has announced it is reconsidering its purely hours based bonus, and has mentioned the NY-style flat bonus as a possibility. Since the greedy associates charts haven't been updated since the dot.com boom, there isn't any good source of information out there. ATL seems to be the best possibility (not to mention the GA boards are impossible to navigate). Thanks.

You "will no longer battle with" me! Ha. Don't flatter yourself.

Your original self-aggrandizing statement that through your "character" you "obtained a first-year associate position in a VTop 20 firm" was a lie. As you now concede you are still looking for a job.

Good luck in your continuing job search. I don't give you much chance though, fellow tier2'er.

Tier 3!

Loyola students should
1. Figure out how many lawyers read these blogs (kind of a lot, actually), and then
2. Swiftly dispose of their classmates who continue to sully and stigmatize their school's name, or what's left of it.

What the heck was that crap about a V25 firm?

I concur on the bonus discussion. Salary discussion is now old news, lets provide more transparency around bonuses for V100.

6:48 Dishonesty sullies the world.

Anyone have news on Irell compensation? Someone told me there was a meeting earlier today...

All this talk of salaries and bonuses without any regrets...very sad. Must be a whole lot of young lawyers out there who have no expectation of a life outside of bigfirm.

Sutherland to 130K in ATL starting Mar 1. Payscale unknown...

ATTN: Life Passing My By

Not necessarily. Didn't you ever hear why it's bad to assume things? I've got a job that emphasizes attorney life outside the office and practices what is preaches. It also rewards me handsomely for my hardwork. I understand that because you may be disgruntled that you're doing insurance defense or personal injury work, you might have a more than a little animus for BigLaw folks, but it doesn't necessarily give any weight to your self-righteous indignation.

Can anyone confirm that Pepper Hamilton raised in philly?

Irell gave a $15k supplemental bonus (in addition to its year end bonus) to anyone who qualified for a bonus in 2006 and raised its salaries to be in line with OMM / LW/ GDC.

Irell gave a $15k supplemental bonus (in addition to its year end bonus) to anyone who qualified for a bonus in 2006 and raised its salaries to be in line with OMM / LW/ GDC. This means that its comp for 2006 = NYC comp.

Reed Smith has really disappointed so far.

P.S.

Foley & Lardner has updated it's salary charts:

http://apps.foley.com/students/culturebenefits/compensation/

Can we do a list of shame for NY firms not raising to $3077/wk or higher for Summer Associates? The information-forcing effect would be great. Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty please?

Is it true that Mayer Brown sent out a memo to its associates telling them they had to be in everyday by 10 a.m. unless serious circumstances prevented them?

So you've received your raise, and now salary discussions are tiresome? There are 9 firms remaining on the LIST OF SHAME, and many more respectable firms in big cities that have not matched or moved. In cities outside of NY, LA and DC, the market has not settled. So no, we will not stop talking about salaries and move on to a subject that interests you.

We keep talking about salaries until there are NO firms on the LIST OF SHAME or we can insure that any firms remaining on the LIST have no prospect of recruiting good lateral or law school candidates.

Here is the current LIST OF SHAME:
43. Baker & McKenzie (3)
50. Fulbright & Jaworski (36)
77. Bryan Cave (56)
82. Reed Smith (33)
83. Dorsey & Whitney (68)
86. McGuireWoods (65)
90. Baker & Hostetler (73)
92. Mintz Levin (91)
100. Seyfarth Shaw (66)

What is the deal with these 9?

the last 9 are clearly ok with mediocrity. or they would have raised already. i feel geniunely bad for associates at those firms.

here's an interesting question: has any firm not on the list of shame (i.e. past the top 100) raised to 160?

In answer to 11.14: Yes, at least 7. See http://www.lawfirmdiscussion.com/compensation/newyork07salary.php

Seward & Kissel raised to 160 on Friday

Any truth to the report on GA that V&E Houston has lost 8 associates due to pay issues?

Wow. If they really lost 8 associates it'll be cool

Wolf Block in Philly raised to $135k

I can't confirm 8 (I am not at V&E), but I know some have left this week. Here's hoping for more!