More About Kirkland's New Mandatory Arbitration Policy

Here’s some interesting follow-up to yesterday’s post about the new mandatory arbitration policy that Kirkland & Ellis has imposed upon its associates. From Karen Donovan, over at Portfolio.com:

There have been many stories about how the big law firms coddle associates with lush perks and big bonuses. Now there is some tough love. Kirkland & Ellis has sent a memo to its associates informing that should there be a dispute with their employer that cannot be resolved internally, they will have to go arbitration, rather than court.

The new policy, first reported by David Lat of the AboveTheLaw.com blog, asks employees to hit the “acknowledge” tab on this e-mail by March 3.

If you’re a K&E associate hoping to escape the clutches of the new policy, good luck (unless you’re in California):

“Continued employment in most states is adequate compensation for an arbitration procedure,” says Michael Casey III, a Miami partner with Epstein Becker & Green, a law firm that specializes in employment and labor issues. Casey has advised a number of firms to put mandatory arbitration policies in to place. He says a number of big law firms have them, but he declined to name names.

There’s still hope for those Kirkland associates who toil in the firm’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. A decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down a mandatory arbitration policy at O’Melveny & Myers. The Ninth Circuit has generally found “these are contracts of adhesion or unconscionable,” says Gary Friedman, an employment partner with Weil, Gotshal & Manges. But Friedman says arbitration agreements are “still relative rarities” in the world of law firms.

K&E itself stayed mum on the subject: “‘We don’t comment about employment matters,’ says Jay Lefkowitz, a New York partner on the firm’s global management committee.”
No Court for These Lawyers [Portfolio]
Earlier: Kirkland & Ellis: We Love Minorities! (But don’t dare take us to court if you are one. Instead, please sign our mandatory arbitration policy. Thanks!)

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