A Pair of Pre-Holiday Plugs
It's very quiet around here today. We're guessing everyone is getting ready for Turkey Day and leaving early (or trying to get actual work done before leaving early, and therefore not visiting ATL).
But if you are looking for a way to kill time before your office closes for Thanksgiving, here's some procrastination material for you: our latest column for the New York Observer. It's about -- surprise surprise -- associate bonuses, and associate layoffs. The content of the column shouldn't come as news to regular readers of ATL, but it does offer an overview of where we are now, as well as some thoughts about the future.
Also, while we're in self-promotional mode (when aren't we?), we were just interviewed by Rob La Gatta of LexBlog. You can check out the interview -- in which we discuss future plans for ATL, unruly commenters, and the legal profession's uneasy relationship with the blogosphere -- by clicking here.
May It Please the Court? Massive Law-Firm Bonuses, Not So Much [New York Observer]
LexBlog Q & A: David Lat, Editor-in-Chief of Above The Law [LexBlog]
(15) Comments
first?
Lat in the Lex Blog interview:
"In the next couple of months, we’re probably going to be doing a redesign of the site. We haven’t figured this out definitively, but we are probably going to change the approach to commenters."
"We may require people to register before they comment, so that might change things; I think maybe people would feel a greater sense of accountability for their comments. But that is still sort of a work-in-progress."
ATL to registered comments!
On AboveTheLaw.com, the online legal tabloid I edit, reader reaction to the layoff news was swift and decisive. A representative comment: “I just want to say that Clifford Chance sucks donkey balls.” Thanks for sharing!
Why do law firms strain so mightily to avoid layoffs? Among other things, it’s a healthy aversion to being regarded by prospective recruits as treating donkey testicles like gobstoppers.
Nice, Lat.
On AboveTheLaw.com, the online legal tabloid I edit, reader reaction to the layoff news was swift and decisive. A representative comment: “I just want to say that Clifford Chance sucks donkey balls.” Thanks for sharing!
Why do law firms strain so mightily to avoid layoffs? Among other things, it’s a healthy aversion to being regarded by prospective recruits as treating donkey testicles like gobstoppers.
Lat, be honest...you wrote the article just to get the above excerpt published.
why so much focus on first-year salaries? why no articles on ever-expanding partner profits? why are debt-ridden, hard-driven junior lawyers made the scapegoats for clients' discomfort with increasing rates? the partners are the ones raising salaries and billable rates. they're the ones taking home skyrocketing profits...but for some reason, the associates are the ones made out to be the problem.
11:53, that is because associates are EASILY replaceable while partners are not. Any grad for a first tier law school can do what you are doing, but there are very few persons that make capable partners. Partners are the ones bringing in the clients, and consequently deserve much, much more in compensation than associates - so it really is a simple case of supply and demand. Not to mention that the partners have already gone through the drudgery that is being an associate...Take your 160K+bonus and GET BACK TO WORK.
Lat,
Please think long(er) and hard(er) before you require registration for commenters. Overall, the commenters on this website are pretty good, and everyone is, by and large, cordial. Plenty of people who don't regularly comment-- but have something insightful to say when they do-- will not take the time to register, and everyone will lose out. I really think it will hurt your blog (and decrease the number of readers). Furthermore, commenters can really flesh things out-- and even fix a mistake. A good example: the commenter that noticed your misnumbering of the Articles of the Constitution yesterday wouldn't have bothered to register to point out that flaw-- but since it's simple to comment, he did so.
My two cents.
I'm all for registering for comments if you stop saying "we." And can you get somebody funny to replace Billy?
12:03: point taken, but again, associates don't set their compensation. the partners are the ones who have chosen to increase salaries again (not that i'm complaining). however, it seems like the associates are the ones who are "faulted" for it.
and i'm "working from home" today, so no worries. happy thanksgiving!
i agree with 12:09. registering to comment would suck, and you'd got far fewer comments. i pretty much read this blog for the comments, and they would be way less funny under the new system.
i also wish you would describe what you find offensive. is it when people curse? insult each other? insult you? comment off topic?
Biglaw associates are fungible billing units. Don't believe it? See for yourself at borntobill.com.
No new associate bonus news released before the holiday? But I won't have anything to be thankful for . . .
Yeah, a more explicit policy of what you do and don't find offensive would help. (And really, please stop saying "we".)
Count me as another vote against commenter registration. I provide specific information because my posts are not linked together. If they were, anyone with too much time on his hands could figure out who I am, and I don't want that to happen. I feel certain I am not alone in this.
Thanks for allowing us to do the interview David. As you know you're a bit of a blog celebrity on the law blogosphere. ;)