Shape Up or Ship Out: An Open Thread on Gym Memberships
As we mentioned yesterday, over the next week or two we'll be doing a series of posts on fringe benefits at law firms. Each day we'll have a post dedicated to discussion of a specific type of perk.
Today's fringe benefit: gym memberships. Although you might never have guessed, based on the proliferation of pasty and portly associates, many top law firms offer free or discounted gym memberships for their lawyers.
Some firms even have on-site gyms. The market leader here may be Skadden, which has gyms in some of its larger offices, like New York and Washington. We've visited the gym of Skadden DC, and it's impressive. Personal trainers are available, and they'll even furnish you with freshly laundered workout clothes, emblazoned with the Skadden logo (down to jockstraps -- although we don't think those have the logo).
An in-house gym is great. You can head down for an afternoon pick-me-up, before settling in for the evening session of work. Or you can squeeze in a quick work-out while waiting for word processing to turn around some document.
But exercising with co-workers has its downsides. When we were at a firm, a former colleague who worked out at the super-high-end gym frequented by partners once returned in a shellshocked state. She declared: "I just saw [partner X] on the elliptical. In a tank top and short-shorts. I didn't need to see that."
Please discuss free or discounted gym memberships, in-house exercise rooms, and similar law firm perks, in the comments. Thanks.
Earlier: An Open Thread on Tech Allowances
(67) Comments
first
my firm offers free membership in the swanky spa type gym next door for summers. the spa provides incredibly nice showers stocked with amenities including hair products for women and clothes to work out in as well as two kinds of plush robes.
Who's the asshole on this site who keeps on writing "First"?
Seeing partners in the locker room is not cool.
Cooley NYC offers gym membership reimbursement (half of the price, up to $500), and their health plan gave a rebate of about 50% if you went something like 3x a week.
My old firm didn't have an in-house gym, but everyone went to the gym directly next door. There were rows of machines, but the partners seemed to always work out directly BEHIND me when I would run on the treadmill...and I could see them looking at me in the mirror. It sucked.
We get subsidized membership to the no-name gym in our building - ends up costing us $30 per quarter, if you elect to use it. It has some limited equipment, but is clean and has good shower facilities which come in handy.
Simpson Thacher provides reimbursement for 2/3rds of any annual gym membership dues.
Sidley DC has an on site gym. Can't say I've ever been there since the tour on the first day.
To all the idiots who don't understand the basic premise behind this thread:
"my firm" or "we" is a fucking worthless comment.
For what its worth, my firm just announced it is raising first year salaries to $185K in NY effective Sept 1.
Cleary pays for most gym memberships (including Equinox), but you're taxed on it as income.
W&C has a decent in-house gym; not sure about whether you can get discounts at outside gyms.
I agree with others in the prior thread that insurance might be vastly different from firm to firm. Our firm has associate contributions at 2% of pre-tax income for individuals and 4.5% of pre-tax income for families.
1:31 If I wanted to identify myself or my firm, I wouldnt leave it Anonymous. . .
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http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1183712786622
Is the locker room cruisy?
My firm offers a free membership to the swankiest club in town, which happens to be across the street from the office. This place normally charges $2K/year. It also has tennis/squash courts, which are charged on an hourly basis, but the firm picks up the tab.
embarrassed to see a naked partner in the locker room? what are we in high school? get over it, be mature and go boost your endorphins!
Skadden has a nice gym in their building from what I hear. I believe Weil pays $750 a year for your membership.
Sigh... 1:31, they really don't get it.
For what it's worth, my firm just raised to 190K, offers a 50K per anum housing subsidy, and provides Akin Gump style "personal assistants" (ehem!) for all attorneys who so wish.
Weil does pay $750 and Equinox gives Weil associates a decent discount on monthly rates and no enrollment fee.
MY FIRM, Sidley Chi., has an onsite gym.
Legally Chocolate said, "...but the partners seemed to always work out directly BEHIND me when I would run on the treadmill....It Sucked"
It sucked? I'm sure that watching your big behind gettin' busy on the treadmill helped their own aerobics time pass more quickly and pleasurably.
Nothing wrong with that, is there?
Thanks 2:10! You understand the point.
I'm sorry, how does providing an on-site gym actually qualify as a "perk?" Don't you realize this is just the firm's attempt to get you to NEVER LEAVE?
I know that Baker Daniels in Indianapolis has its own gym, which is actually pretty nice.
Downside - you're in Indianapolis.
CWT has a super expensive gym where associates can subsidize certain big ticket $3mm a year partners' squash habit.
Upside - my firm has a gym
Downside - I only use it to shower since I pretty much live here billing 2600 hours and making 130k w/o a bonus as a fourth year associate.
Reality - shoulda studied a bit harder.
Akin Gump-style "personal assistants"? Details, please. Does anyone else offer this?
My firm offers subsidized memberships at NYSC, NYH&RC, Equinox, and the swanky athletic club in the basement of our building (I forget the name).
How about Latham DC? Thanks!
Ropes & Gray subsidizes membership for all employees and spouses (except partners) to the swanky Sports Club LA for all offices, but it isn't too close in Boston (10 minute walk). So they also subsidize the no-name gym in the Boston building (too many partners in short shorts for my taste, though).
Akin Gump-style "personal assistants" = Escort service.
The gym at Skadden NYC is very nice - free workout clothes, lessons, personal trainers, the whole nine yards. You have to get a bunch of testing done before you can use it, but that's okay, because I already knew I was fat.
Latham NY has a pretty decent gym in the basement, which is free
My firm offers free sensual massage by the finest Ukrainian illegal immigrant girls, with optional manual release upon request.
The Northern District of Illinois has a gym in the basement, complete with millions of cameras and machine-gun laden security guards.
If you want to be shell-shocked, try using the federal courthouse gym while a law clerk and seeing circuit judges sans clothing in the locker room!
Skadden has the onsite gym, free personal trainers, free classes, free juice and fruit in the gym, great shower facilities with good toiletries, gym clothes that they wash for you, etc. Top notch. Also, if you don't want to work out with the partners at the gym (who rarely use it), they give significant discounts to all the mainstream/high end gyms.
Arent Fox DC has an on-site gym
2:38, a bunch of testing before you can use the Skadden gym? What kind of testing is this? At first I thought testing for crabs, and TB so you wouldn't infect the equipment with communicable diseases. But are you saying you have to do a bunch of body fat anlysis and physical fitness tests before you're able to use the equipment? Are there certain benchmarks you have to meet or is it just more for you own benefit?
2:45 - so does my district. But even worse, Fox News is always on the tv whenever I go down there.
Cadwalader has a very nice gym on the premises, including a squash court, and a golf simulator. There's also private stocked bathrooms...It's solely Cadwalader, and only attorneys, I think
It's not free, but pretty cheap
Come on, folks, no more "my firm" or "we." If you're worried about being identified by the powers-that-be, wait to post until after you get home from work.
We need specific firm names for when we go to our managing partners to ask for increased benefits (they don't care what anonymous firms are doing -- they care what firms in their peer group are doing) or for when we start recruiting ourselves.
Does anyone's firm offer bonuses if the associates put out for senior partners in the locker rooms?
Covington D.C. has a decent gym in its basement. The only time I ever saw it, it was pretty empty. I think some people jog on the mall instead of using the gym.
Morrison & Foerster SF has some discounted gym memberships . . . but the discounts comes from the gyms themselves (Club One and Sports Club LA among others), not any firm subsidy.
I think a firm subsidy would be great -- and a nearby (or in-office) gym even better. When it takes 20 minutes to get to and from the gym, it makes it difficult to fit in an hour's workout over lunch.
At my firm, the partners let associates walk their dogs.
At my firm, the associates give the partners massages
Skadden LA has a decent on-site gym as well.
Any word on whether summers share the gym benefits? So far only one has mentioned summers
Paul Hastings provides memberships at Sports Club LA, although I don't remember if the memberships are free or just heavily subsidized. The catch is that the locations are not super close to the office (like 10-15 minutes walking).
S&C NY has a nice gym on-site with a serviceable locker room. Laundry service is a few bucks extra but well worth it. Summers can join as well - they are always down there from 4-6pm it seems.
S&C NY has a nice gym on-site with a serviceable locker room. Laundry service is a few bucks extra but well worth it. Summers can join as well - they are always down there from 4-6pm it seems.
Milbank Los Angeles has nothing and gives nothing (despite their claims to the contrary, their is no unique discount offered at local gyms). Typical treatment for NY's ugly step-sister office.
Why does Skadden have a gym if pretty much ALL of its associates are fat asses?
To the commenter about Ropes & Gray's gym membership - what $$$ or % of subsidy?
Please be more specific.
Orrick SF has a great in-building gym.
In response to 4:47, PHJW charges $50 for the Sports Club LA bi-coastal membership giving access to each club in the US including Reebok on the Upper West. They also fully cover the initiation fee. It's a sweet deal.
sidley DC and chicago have gyms onsite? I work at Sidley LA and we only have gyms about four blocks away, and they're crappy, and you have to get shot at because we work in downtown la. wtf? I know what's going in our suggestion box.
Paul Hastings gym membership through sports club LA is amazing.
that PHJW deal sounds great.
At my firm white girls are all over asian guys at the gym.
3:33 -- the Cadwalader gym (NY office) is open to all employees, but I don't think many non-attorneys (except for a number of paralegals) join, because the fees are pretty high. The CWT gym, you see, is not free. Indeed, I think they charge attorneys a bit more than non-attorneys. Still, it's great to have an on-premise gym. Definitely one of the nicest fringes the firm offers.
Summers have gotten free memberships, incidentally.
in Response to July 10, 2007 11:44 PM
"At my firm white girls are all over asian guys at the gym."
In your Dreams...
At DOJ we have 3 gyms and it is $17 a pay period.
Dewey NY subsidizes gym memberships at a couple of the NY chains. NYSC takes out about $30 per paycheck pre-tax. They also now offer NYSC classes on-site for those employees who can't make time to exercise outside of the building and/or want to do yoga with their colleagues.
Looking forward to the 401(k) thread...