Chicago... blah

OMFG, can you take that poor mongoloid kid off your front page, seriously?

165,000? Are they above market for Chicago, NY, etc.?

New York to 165!!!

If the 140 hours per month is accurate, the Chicago associates can cut off the second two columns on the salary chart, because 1680 hours won't get you in the bonus pool.

2:33. No, because of the subpar bonuses.

Man, that is ghetto that their new site only really point you to their legacy sites. If you can't even manage to integrate your website, how well can the rest of the integration be going?

At least they have a sweet logo.

Better send out your resume early and avoid the rush, especially because Lat just posted the layoff rumor.

LLB&L = Lots and Lots of Bullsh*t...I said LOTS!

LLB&L = "Big Lots" of BigLaw

things are awful here. I have billed 18 hrs and 21 hrs the last two weeks. im polishing my resume and desperately searching for a new job, and most of the associates are doing the same thing.

Why is Atlanta on the same pay scale as New Orleans? Atlanta's legal market while no Chicago or various Cali cities, is way above New Orleans. It's legal market are bigger than Boston.

pretty good. pretty, pretty, pretty good.

People that work in New Orleans are rewarded for choosing a better city, i.e. New Orleans is better than Atlanta. Trolley Car trumps the MARTA bus any day.

"It's legal market are bigger than Boston."

...haha, yep. And your edumacation are really strong.

Is "emory" an std?

Isn't the correct way to say it "a group of attorneys . . . HAS advised"?

Hey, Emory is the Harvard of Atlanta. One day it will challenge Savannah College of Art and Design for the title "Harvard of the 48th Smartest State in the Country"

The NOLA compensation scale doesn't really matter, simply because there is only one associate there.

Why would confidentiality concerns prevent firm management from discussing the pipeline with other attorneys in the firm?

Locke Liddell to.... Palm Vx's!!!!

welcome to the 1990s! (check their website graphics)

while 145k in new orleans is way above market (which is about 90-100k at the top firms), there is one associate in the new orleans office of LLBL according to their website. the question is not why is atlanta on the same pay scale as new orleans, but why is new orleans on the same scale as atlanta. i guess the answer is because they are only paying that to one guy in new orleans, so they might as well be consistent with the rest of the offices.

3:17 because it is a ridiculously paranoid firm.

What the hell happened to that place. I thought LB&B was a decent firm. I'm glad they didn't give me an offer...

Trust me, the New Orleans office won't be around long. It should have closed years ago when most of the office defected. The lone associate better start looking for better prospects because while he is getting paid WAY above market right now, that ship is sinking.

Are these litigation or corporate partners?

NY needs to move to at least 165. Bonuses are never guaranteed.

3:56
When is the last time bonuses weren't paid?

4pm. Only about 15% of LLB&L's associates will bill north of the 2000 hours that are required to receive the "guaranteed" bonuses. LLB&L is taking a VERY hard stance on the 2000 level. 1985hrs on Dec. 31? Tough, no soup for you.

3:17 wrote "Why would confidentiality concerns prevent firm management from discussing the pipeline with other attorneys in the firm?"

Probably for the same reasons LLS partners (like Jerry Clements) used to cite "antitrust concerns" as an excuse for refusing to tell associates what the lockstep compensation structure was.

I suppose it was too good to last

2:33, I think they are above market now for Chicago.

4:04--you're definitely an inside man/woman. What's the buzz over this? You're the one person that can make this blog interesting.

4:33 salaries promised do not equal salaries paid. If there is truth to what has been posted on this thread, I would not be at all surprised by the July 2008 Associate Compensation Memo where associate pay is cut dramatically.

FYI - It's a streetcar, not a "trolley car."

Yes, 4:04 (and I direct this at both 4:04s), what is the buzz over this? Especially since the text of the memo which accompanied the chart - but is not reproduced here - seems to contradict what you (4:04[1]) said. So far as the pipeline and the confidentiality surrounding it, I came away from the meeting thinking that they were talking about lateral hires that were on the way; there's no reason to keep something like that confidential, is there 4:04[2]? Also, if everything is going so badly for the merged firm why are they opening a Boston office?

And, before the cat-calls start, I am not a LLB&L partner, but I am a legacy LB&B associate who believes that the merger has been an overall positive to date. This whining and sniping is just embarassing and speaks more, I think, to individual insecurities than some instability in the merged firm.

4:55 - How's the Kool-Aid?

4:55--post the memo that goes along with the chart.

3:13... LOL

On the potential for lateral hires, why not just say that they expect to be bringing some people on board that will help drive revenue but they can't say who since it isn't final?

If this is what was communicated and the tipster just missed it, fine. If not, it sounds like the proverbial blown sunshine.

HAIRLIP. COMPRESSION. CAN THIS DAY GET ANY WORSE?

The LLBL merger has had a net positive effect on the LBB side of the firm. LBB legacy associates, to my knowledge, have received more work and an unexpected pay raise. Allow me to offer a few public comments to my colleagues who feel otherwise:

1. 2000 Hours

If you are not close to 2000 every year, you have no business at a firm paying close to market. If you don’t like the hour requirement, go work for the government.
If you feel that you do not have enough work, you must understand it is a privilege to be asked to work for a partner and his or her client. It is their way of saying they trust you enough to risk a portion of their livelihood on you. It is not their responsibility to see that you have a constant supply of work. Assignments must usually be earned, just as a partner must earn work from his or her clients, so must you earn work from the partner.
There is plenty of work to be had throughout the LLBL offices. I frequently do work for partners from other offices—including Chicago. If you don't have enough work at LLBL, you probably aren't doing good work in the first place. Stop complaining, get off this blog and clean up your work product.

2. Salary Memos and Confidentiality

I agree with most here that memos on compensation should not be isolated to one legacy firm or the other. Transparency is best. But guess what, despite everything that the employment flyers and friendly web sites tell you, LLBL and every other firm on earth is not a democracy for the associates—you don’t get a say. Get over it.
Regardless, pay is now relatively consistent (adjusted for location) throughout the entire firm and all is well. Not to mention—you just got a pay raise in the middle of a slump in the economy. Complain about that to your friends who were victims of lay-offs at other firms.
Now you can even afford to replace your old tabbed and highlighted copy of Atlas Shrugged with a shinny new edition ready for citation in your next ill-informed blog posting!

3. Partners Departing

I knew a few of the partners that just left and think highly of them as lawyers and individuals. But, come on, it’s not like we just lost David Boise here. It’s quite Bush League to even be concerned about this. If this is what makes news on this site, I can’t wait to read next week’s front page expose on the remodeling of Cravath’s new associate lunch room.

4. Firm Outlook

The firm is doing as well as can be expected a few months after a merger. The kinks will work out and the flakes will drop out. If the whiners above are “polishing” their resumes, I think it is already happening.

I didn’t drink the kool-aid, I just work here and am happy to earn a good living. I’m sure all the soft-skinned trust-fund kiddies who don’t know what it is like to work for a living can find the exit on their own.

Sincerely,
An LBB Legacy Associate with 2000+ hours in 2007.

HOO-RAH! I want to work for you mister! Do you get a new puck with the shinny edition of Atlas Shrugged, eh?

6:02 you are an idiot. Wake up, we’re on the same team a**hole. Think about it . . . you’re not the only associate who made hours.

1. I agree that every attorney at LLBL should bill 2000 hours per year. I also agree that every attorney ultimately is responsible for his or her own professional and business development. The problem (that you seem to have missed) is that the firm is run by a bunch of idiots and moochers. There is no platform to on which to develop sophisticated high stakes (high paying) business.

2. Don’t know of what raise you speak. LLBL associates are paid below market. This deferred compensation makes good associates (i.e. associates who meet hours) want to leave because they can walk out the door and make 10-15% more for hitting 2000 hours with a bonus to boot. Sheriff Clements is trying to hoodwink you with her deferred compensation. As for Atlas Shrugged my copy is as I prefer it -- well worn with dog-eared pages. Send me a copy of Ian McEwan’s new novel via inter-office mail. I hear its good and have wanted to read it.

3. Don’t mock LAT’s coverage. He provides a free market of information. While I don’t care about Cravath’s lunch room perhaps a lateral or SA candidate for Cravath does. Hope a few candidates (and gasp possibly clients) are reading LAT’s coverage of LLBL and learn what former LB&B associates are learning the hard way – stay away from here.

4. The Chicago office’s outlook stinks. It is no secret that there long has been two LB&B’s – the business litigation group (high rates, people meeting hours) and a dying insurance and corporate practice (low rates and/or no work). The ten recent partner departures are alarming because the attorney’s that left were the real deal. They produced. Good luck making market salary with your Lloyd’s coverage opinions.

Sincerely,

John Galt

P.S. We should call you Dagny Taggart because you are a little b**ch who can’t seem to figure this out. Remember in the end of Atlas Shrugged who’s enjoying her affections?

3:17 - Maybe they are concerned because their associates are sending out internal memos and discussing firm meetings via e-mail with Above the Law.

Gee whiz, people. You're "on the same team"? Given the bombast and sharp invective of your comments, I gather the environment at LLBL must feel like Kirkland, without all the money and prestige.

(Note: For the record, I've always, as do most in the Chicago market, thought very highly of LBB. What has this merger wrought?)

Wow, John Galt, name calling, profanity and a comparison to some fictional character's sexual prowess definitely prove you have the better of the argument. Is this the way you litigate?

1) From where I sit, I see that LLS clearly brings just as many, if not more, sophisticated clients and just as much, if not more, high quality work to the table than LBB.

1a) Your charge of mismanagement on LLS's part deserves to be dealt with separately. You are aware that LBB's revenue slipped slightly this year, i.e., before LLS was involved?

2) No matter your disappointment, the fact is that raises were given. Do you believe those same raises would have been given without the merger?

3) Chicago's supposed outlook (and your outlook) is probably the result, mostly, of the fact that their (and your) position is no longer preeminent in the merged firm. It is hard to go from being number one to simply an equal. It is hard and stressful to have to prove yourself, and some will but some will not.

4) We are not on the same team. You are looking backwards and trying to be destructive. You face the future fearfully with your insecurities plain for all to see. Others, 6:02 for example, are moving forward hopefully confident in their abilities. These people do what needs to be done to grow the merged firm successfully. I ride with 6:02 and LLB&L, not the reactionary remnants of LBB that hope to destroy the future in some misguided homage to a past that probably never existed. It is clear that you have seized on ATL as a bully pulpit - I believe you are the one who leaked parts of the memo to LAT and made the statements highlighted in blue above - to press an agenda and magnify grievances that are probably more personal than you would like to admit.

P.S. - On Chesil Beach was a deeply dissatisfying book. Saturday was better but might be too complicated and subtle for someone who seems to enjoys Ayn Rand's heavy-handed and simple-minded symbolism.

pwn3d soNNN!

After the doubters like Galt depart, perhaps the true believers like S.O.G. and 6:02 will be happy. It may be significant that the true believers are not in Chicago, it seems like the Chicago office is pretty vulnerable right now. How strong would this firm be with a drastically reduced Chicago office?

How much of that basically brand new office (2yrs old) in Chicago is vacant right now?

10:10 - what raise? chicago was already making 160, the fact that is is now 165 just means that there is no year end bonus. i would rather take 160 and get a "real" bonus. you know you are drinking too much kool aid when you think a 5K increase in base is a raise when it comes at the expense of a year end bonus.

1:35 - if only everyone were a first year.

The size of some of these comments from those inside the ship, two days after this blog posted, is a pretty strong indicator that (1) only LLB&L associates are reading this and (2) those same associates have so little billable work to do that they can spend a good part of their Friday morning drafting witty responses to each other. What sucks, is that I'm in the same firm and getting paid the the same amount as the slackers that are spending hours trying to defend a firm that they would never have joined straight out of law school.

What's sad is that there is no prestige in LLB&L. Each firm before the merger had some limited respect within their sphere, but now it will take forever before I can jump ship without it simply looking like I've been spooked by the merger (or cut as dead weight). The way I see it, I am stuck on the inside praying that the merger works and that I can leave from a "notable" firm.

Amen 4:20, you hit the nail on the head.

The firm is only four months old. The comments above reflect the reality that there are optimists around here and there are cynics. The lawyers who left last week were cynical about the merger and the future of the firm. It is better for all parties that they moved on. Haters posting here ought to do the same.

This is 4:20 here. I can't let 9:35's crappy post be the last thing that summers see when they stumble across this blog. To you summer associates who have found this thread researching LLB&L, ask any legacy Locke Liddell new partner how well the 1999 merger went.

Nice one 9:35 with the "four months old" comment. LLS had 8 years to try and make the LLS merger work. I'm sure, somehow, this merger will be magically different, since management is so vastly different from what we had in 1999. Oh, wait . . .

4:20, take a bong hit and relax. Legacy LBB had a strong reputation in Chicago for having sharp litigators with good personalities, and those people are still here and attracting young attorneys. Summers know that that they will encounter some chronically miserable people like you wherever they land in this profession. It’s no secret that every law firm has its own internal issues.

12:45, if you are inside LBB Chicago, you probably have a higher opinion of the firm than the general consensus outside the firm. Many people equate LBB with insurance defense work. While this reputation ignores the nuance of LBB's insurance practice, it is nonetheless what outsiders think of when they hear the firm's name.

Anyone looking to work at LL - the list above is not actual associate compensation. Many are asking HR when they will see their raises and HR has been told that there will not be any raises in the near future. The associates feel that they are continually being lied to, because they are. There is no trust and it will just get worse.

I'm looking at LL this summer. If the memo is a lie, what's true associate compensation? Also, the complaints on the thread appear to be from Chicago. Is this a local problem or is this firm-wide?

Can anyone shed some light on how the Texas LLBL offices are doing? As a law student, I'd like to know if I should start looking elsewhere.

This is 4:20pm, Feb 22 and 7pm, Feb 25, here. I am in the Houston office, so read my posts in that light.

The memo #'s above are actual current compensation. What's missing is that you MUST hit 2000hrs to get your "guaranteed bonus" portion. Don't think for a second that you'll get it if you're 5 hrs. short (which means only one thing--you're mercilessly tempted to sell your integrity for the guaranteed bonus by padding your hours if your anywhere close to 2000 hrs).

BTW, I am a pretty miserable person. I don't disagree.

12:45pm, Feb. 27, is clearly a partner trying to sound hip by using words like "bong hit." Are we stuck in 1992? Summers, don't be fooled. The only legitimate posts on this board are those complaining.

3:51 (and 4:20 above)-- thank you for confirming that you know jack shit about the Chicago office of legacy Lord, Bissell & Brook.

2:39--no one cares about the "Chicago office of legacy Lord, Bissell & Brook". All decisions are now made out of Austin. You were clearly acquired by Locke Liddell & Sapp. Comments about legacy LLS are the only ones that are relevant on this thread. You can lash out all you want, but all legacy LLS associates openly discuss, and treat as fact, what I've shared here.

Can't we all just get along?!?