We're Super: Thanks For Asking
Last week we told you that Jenner & Block held a firm-wide pep talk to assure associates that everything was going great.
Apparently, this is the new trend. Terrified associates are being told that they have nothing to fear, for now.
Last week Ropes & Gray's chairman Brad Malt sent out this email:
We're living in extraordinary times, and I know many of you are concerned about what the current turmoil in the financial markets might mean to us here at Ropes & Gray. I'd like to offer some thoughts on why we are well positioned to weather the turbulence in the marketplace.Our firm is over 140 years old, in no small part because we always build for the long term. We have weathered many recessions, starting with the Panic of 1873, and we have always emerged stronger. Today, we possess many competitive advantages, including diversified practice offerings and a diverse client base. Thankfully, we do not depend for our bread and butter on the kinds of companies or markets that are most troubled right now. While recent events have felt unsettling for many people, nothing that is happening should distract us from continuing to execute our strategic plan and deliver excellent client service.
The recent turmoil in the financial markets has also presented the firm with important opportunities to advise clients, including some of the companies affected by recent events. Among the many examples, we obtained a temporary restraining order for our broker-dealer client, Ameriprise Financial Services, in the first case involving a money market fund to “break the buck.†An extraordinary cross-disciplinary and cross-office team reached a multi-billion dollar agreement to purchase Neuberger Berman’s investment management business and Lehman Brother’s fixed income and alternative asset businesses. We are representing various senior officers of major financial institutions in investigations of sub-prime lending activities and related class action lawsuits. And we have advised numerous hedge funds, CDO funds, mutual funds and other clients on other aspects of the market situation, including analysis of distressed securities, advice about credit default swap counterparties, advice about the new short-sale restrictions, and bankruptcy rules.
In the longer term, we are very well positioned to take advantage of opportunities that will arise from the changing market environment, and we continue to invest in lawyers and staff to help us do so. We were delighted recently to welcome our associate Class of 2008, and we actively continue to hire for summer 2009 and beyond.
To be clear, we are not immune to what's happening in the wider world. However, I believe the strengths we have built in our firm, our proven agility in addressing changing market landscapes, and the dedication and high caliber of you, our people, will enable us to withstand the short-term market challenges. As always, we are grateful for your continuing hard work and commitment.
This letter reads somewhat like DPW and Debevoise emails where those firms touted their post-meltdown successes.
O'Melveny & Myers shows firms how to send a spooky reassurance email after the jump.
O'Melveny chairman Arthur B. Culvahouse sent around a letter of his own on Friday. The first part of the email reads like other reassurance emails we've seen:
All of us are watching the unfolding international financial crisis and have questions about what it means for us, our families, and our Firm. It's a good question because as a professional services firm, we are dependent upon our existing and new clients for new work and revenue, and our clients and our work flows have been, and will continue to be, impacted by the distress in the credit and financial markets.
What we do know is that the Firm continues to perform well in the face of this "perfect economic storm" and that the Firm's leadership continues to watch unfolding developments very closely and to manage the Firm so that we are well-positioned to weather the storm. We have made substantial strides in attracting new business; we are relying less on temporary lawyers to do work that can be made available to associates and legal assistants, and we are moving underutilized personnel to where there is available work. We also have been fortunate that none of our major clients have failed, that some clients have expanded the work we do as they address their challenges and opportunities, and that our practice and geographic diversity have mitigated the effects of the disappearance of specialized transactions work upon which other law firms were far more reliant.
But then there is a change in tone:
That said, there is more that each of us can do to ensure that we remain economically and competitively strong. Our leading practitioners must be in the marketplaces where new business is awarded, engage in effective, focused, and coordinated client development efforts, and delegate more of their workload to others. We must continue to deliver our very best work at fair value, which means putting our best teams on the field in terms of both quality and cost. We need to be the very best at client service and at being user friendly, which requires the active participation of lawyers and staff. We must continue to manage expenses, while not giving up ground on our talent development, diversity, pro bono, and infrastructure priorities. Above all, we should have confidence in ourselves, adhere to our values and work together to ensure that our Firm is well positioned to endure and to gain competitive ground in these uncertain times, much as our Firm has in other uncertain times in its 123-year history.
A tipster expresses why this letter might scare the hell out of OMM associates:
Except for some action in our finance group, the rest of NY transactions is DEAD. We've been hearing that other firms have had "pep talks" and the like, but until now OMM has been totally silent. This ... definitely doesn't go as far as other firms in that it lacks a "there won't be layoffs" statment. We'll see what happens.
The knives may be out, but nobody has drawn blood yet.
Earlier: Davis Polk: Making Bank
Debevoise & Plimpton: Doing Well in the Downturn
From the Department of Anticlimax: Jenner & Block
(92) Comments
First
We're fucked.
do you think stable firms will still be hiring 1L's or will almost all firms ax their 1L sa program?
-nervous T-10 1L
Way to be over-dramatic. What do you want, someone to hold your hand, tuck you in at night and tell you everything is right with the world?
Why is this spooky? Why, 2, are we "fucked?" Why does every law school student and summer associate feel they are entitled to a job? Why can't you all just buckle down, do your work, and shut the fuck up?
If you do get fired, go find another job. If you can't, it's probably because you aren't worthy of the job you have now.
In sum, why are you all (I'm including you in this Elie) a bunch of retards?
3,
Both. They'll still be hiring 1Ls, but they'll ax any hiring of you.
and 2: we're fucked only if "we're" not defined as, well, just about any decent firm.
"strategic plan"? is that like a "planny plan"? I feel reassured
Way to be over-dramatic. What do you want, someone to hold your hand, tuck you in at night and tell you everything is right with the world?
Why is this spooky? Why, 2, are we "fucked?" Why does every law school student and summer associate feel they are entitled to a job? Why can't you all just buckle down, do your work, and shut the fuck up?
If you do get fired, go find another job. If you can't, it's probably because you aren't worthy of the job you have now.
In sum, why are you all (I'm including you in this Elie) a bunch of retards?
has corporate work at ropes been slow?
my sense is that ropes is mostly corporate
they've also opened a bunch of new offices recently and hired way too many summer associates
Ropes has alot of corporate but also has a huge IP practice.
I thought this would be a post on gay rights per the Sout Park reference... waste of a great headline MysTTTical.
5 - so you mean i have a chance at a summer job and then i'll get no offered? i guess it's better than nothing.
-nervous T-10 1L
ps dow is down 700 :(
Boston is a much safer market to practice in these times, obviously.
Boston is a much safer market to practice in these times, obviously.
*buys super premium resume paper instead of premium paper, prays that it makes a difference*
-nervous T-10 1L
NY to 125...rollin' back prices to 2002!
Manage expenses while not giving up on diversity? Are minorities paid more or are they just less efficient?
13,
No, it means you have no chance at a summer job.
I agree, in principle but not spirit, with 7.
Those who are young in this game but didn't have the foresight to gain experience in areas broader than those that will be suffering for the immediate future don't deserve biglaw jobs in the first place.
See, investing in yourself is like investing in the stock market, diversify as much as possible. This, of course, means bucking the trend of over-specialization. However, even if you buckle down and hit two or three specialty areas (preferably, those areas would be only marginally related), your own prospects should be alright.
If you didn't diversify yourself enough, then you'll be playing catch up.
It means you should only worry about layoffs if you're a white male.
Clean post. Good work, Elie.
To summarize:
Elie: Here's a bunch of non-news.
CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/06/scotus.ap/index.html
Clean post. Good work, Elie.
So, I was looking up Culvahouse's bio on OMM's website when I came across the name Brooke Cucinella three names before his. She's really hot:
http://www.omm.com/brookecucinella/
Does anyone know what firms are involved in the Wachovia/Citi/Wells Fargo case?
ATL
Take down 25's link -- she didn't ask for it. Have integrity
R&G is "super" because of all the GULC grads working there.
27, what's the problem? She's every bit as hot as Culvahouse himself:
http://www.omm.com/arthurbculvahousejr/
25: OMG! A picture of a pretty girl's face! I'm going to file that image along side those of the 20+ pretty girls I see every day while going to work, eating lunch, getting coffee, running errands, or going home. Thanks! I really needed that. I would be lost without you.
I'm naturally a pretty lazy person - can I slack off during an sa job?
-Nervous T10 1L
In my experience, summer associates bring some of the greatest insights and innovations to ongoing projects.
29 -- My eyes! The goggles do nothing!
30, no problem! Check back in a little while, after I've assembled and posted more links to celebrate the women of O'Melveny & Myers.
--25
not to be smart but these meetings used to be called "Annual/bi-annual/quarter Associate Meetings" and connotated nothing more than telling associates whatever the firm's leadership felt like providing to the associates. the head of my firm tries to get to each office at least once every 6 months including the international branches.
If we need to get a running entry on weekely meetings at firms this is going to get to be one boring blog.... oh wait, nevermind
35: obviously, being smart has not been required on this blog for quite some time. Though, wit (rarely) comes around.
My firm is still targeting 1Ls. It used to be because we could get higher quality 1Ls than 2Ls (this is often unspoken, but common), but now the reasoning has shifted to the reason that we won't need to hire them for an additional year.
33: A truly glorious Simpsons reference. Holla.
I had the worst interview experience at Ropes. Ivy undergrad, t5 law school. Ropes had the nerve to ask me my undergraduate GPA and LSAT score. One litigation partner interviewing me yelled at her assistant when she came in to tell her that her daughter was on the phone (from elementary school). Total turn off right there.
The moment of redemption came when they tried to show off their tech prowess by having a video conference interview with a partner in NY. It didn't work at all! I was happy to turn down that offer for a V10 firm...
#4 are you a guy? If so, will you marry me?
anyone know who this is / which office she's in?
http://www.omm.com/files/ImageControl/53e015b5-6c3a-4c80-9bdb-5082f85c1a13/7483b893-e478-44a4-8fed-f49aa917d8cf/Presentation/Image/lawyers3.jpg
37 -- For the most part, 1L firm hiring is a scam to boost firms' minority numbers and hand out favors to people with connections. And most of the 1Ls who summer at firms just use the position as a stepping stone to a higher ranked firm their 2L summer. Without having taken any upper level core-type courses (Corp, Tax, Evidence, Admin, etc.), you're completely useless as a 1L summer too (as opposed to mostly useless, like most normal summers are). If there's one good thing about the economic downturn, it might be the scaling back of 1L summer positions.
30, where do you live that you see "20+ pretty girls"every day? I want to move there. I'm sick of Philadelphia.
We got all kinds of reassurances at Brobeck, right up until they started walking people out.
39, that entire post sounds like a lie. Either Ropes rejected you for the summer or you didn't even get to the call-back stage. No one in real life yells at people who tell them their elementary school age daughter is on the phone. Next you'll tell us that one partner used some racial epithets during the interview lunch...
43: Manhattan. And that's a pretty conservative estimate.
-30
40 -- got a pic and a phone #?
4/7
39, that entire post sounds like a lie. Either Ropes rejected you for the summer or you didn't even get to the call-back stage. No one in real life yells at people who tell them their elementary school age daughter is on the phone. Next you'll tell us that one partner used some racial epithets during the interview lunch...
At Brobeck, they kept giving us assurances, right up until they started walking people out.
45 - I'm not kidding, it happened. I think she yelled because she had told her assitant, who showed me in, that she didn't want to be disturbed for any reason. The woman was a raging bitch. She probably had a huge complex from her days at a TTT law school...
Assurances lately have meant bad things . . . .
50 -- Did this partner go to BU?
51, like Elie's assurance from his first post that he wouldn't let us down?
can anyone actually comment on ropes?
54, sure. Ropes & Gray is a leading global law firm with offices in Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Washington, DC and a conference center in London. Built on a foundation of over 140 years of dedication to forging strong client relationships, they represent interests across a broad spectrum of industries in corporate law and litigation matters. In addition, they offer counsel on labor and employment issues, tax and benefits, creditors' rights, and private client services. Their clients range in size from large to small companies and include financial institutions, government agencies, hospitals and health care organizations, colleges and universities, and families and individuals.
More than 1,000 lawyers and professionals strive to provide the highest-quality legal advice available. Their firm combines superior talent with a supportive environment where nothing gets in the way of solving their clients' problems.
Client by client, they have built a reputation for high-quality work, a positive outlook, and the highest standards of service and ethics. Year after year, they continue to attract excellent clients, challenging assignments — and outstanding lawyers. All this translates to a team of legal counsel solely focused on providing the best advice possible for their clients without compromise.
Oh darn. More latent Brobeck syndrome. Nobody cares, dude. Those of you who got the shaft at Brobeck need your own therapy sessions. Get over it.
#39: I had a similar experience (but without the partner yelling). They also asked me if I got into any "better" law schools, and which ones they were.
Ropes has had large summer classes recently (and is hiring a large summer class for next year as well), but they're generally pretty careful/conservative about their hiring and long term plans. If they hire that many people for the summer, that's how many people they expect to give offers to at the end of the summer. I don't know the exact numbers, but I think Ropes didn't no-offer anyone this summer and hasn't pushed back start dates, unlike some other places.
I worked at Lehman last summer and we frequently received emails similar to this....
59 - awesome post.
59 & 60 - R&G won't go down. It's >100 years old.
LA Big Three viewed by most lawyers: Latham, Gibson, and now Paul Hastings (as much as it sucks over there, it's currently in a better position than OMM).
61 - Heller.
Rumor is that Ropes is doubling their summer class for next year. They gave offers to everyone this year, as far as I know. I think they got hit very hard after the last recession, when they didn't have enough people to do the work after the pickup. My impression is that they're willing to take a PPP hit in order to come out ahead when the market picks up. This, of course, could go wrong if the market doesn't actually pick up--which is looking more and more possible. However, they just got on the Lehman deal and several others, and they are running Bankruptcy and litigation pretty hard, so they will be fine for awhile.
64 - interesting. do they remain busy in corporate even with all the new arrivals?
Ropes is also interviewing and hiring 3Ls for entry level positions.
This sounds a lot like the speech the managing partner gave last fall when I was an associate at Thacher Proffitt.
lehman gave the same assurances before it went down
obv corp is a little slow like at other places. but Ropes does not have the plain vanilla banking clients, whose work has been hit the most. and Ropes' private equity clients, Bain and middle market firms, have actually been doing deals this year (unlike Blackstone, etc.). IP is a huge component of the firm, and that's been crazy busy.
39, I agree that a partner yelling at their assistant in front of an interviewee is in poor taste, and asking for an interviewees LSAT score is also pointless. However asking for an UGPA can be relevant. In some areas of law the undergrad education is important - such as tax or IP. Were you looking for a specific practice group?
70 - I was looking at general litigation, and my undergraduate degree had no relevance. I tried to explain that the college didn't compute GPAs for undergrads, and she then asked me to make my best guess. Out of all of the callbacks I did, that was the only one which had so much of a focus on grades and pedigree!
70 - I was looking at general litigation, and my undergraduate degree had no relevance. I tried to explain that the college didn't compute GPAs for undergrads, and she then asked me to make my best guess. Out of all of the callbacks I did, that was the only one which had so much of a focus on grades and pedigree!
71/72: I guess Ropes wasn't impressed with the "P"s you got in Kum Bah Yah and Playing with Blocks.
"Out of all of the callbacks I did, that was the only one which had so much of a focus on grades and pedigree!"
same here and I wound up working at a better firm. Ropes is inordinately obsessed with pedigree.
61 - you're an idiot, the age of the firm doesn't mean shit... look at the investment banks. Lehman is well over 100 years old, how about Goldman, Bear Sterns is almost that old...
Assurances from your firm can only mean one thing, lay offs are eminent. Take it from me KS laid a bunch of us off after the same assurances. Get out while you can, take the don't panic speech as a time to get the hell out.
The diversity reference means that women, brown people and gays won't get fired as long as they bill over 1500 hours per year. For whiTTTe sTTTraight males, the number is around 2200.
I don't think Ropes is really that concerned with pedigree. They have many, many people from lower ranked schools and modest backgrounds (including myself). Interviewers fill out a form in which they consider 1/3 credentials; 1/3 drive; and 1/3 personality. I think they live up to that pretty well.
75, you’re the idiot- it was pretty good sarcasm
Ropes seems to be doing well. IP is crazy busy and the corporate associates still seem to have enough work. We've even hired some laterals recently. I couldn't imagine a better place to work; the people are great (associates, partners, staff) and I actually have fun working there. I don't know of anyone who won't hit their hours this year. (I did know several people last year who didn't hit their hours.)
shearman had a similar email a couple days after dpw's. post it.
Ropes has a five year plan (yeah, I know) to boost their PPP to over a million dollars so they can seduce rainmaking partners from bigger firms. The over-expansion to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Chicago, and even Rhode Island has caused the firm to fire secretaries, associates, IP prosecution clerks, and patent agents.
Ropes plans on having their business come back in a year or two so they are getting rid of their midlevels right now, betting that this year's first years and second years will grow into the role by that time. A sixth year patent litigation got fired without having a bad review before this one. It's brutal. Layoffs are being sold as "performance reviews" but there's no warning when you're about to get laid off. You can have great reviews until the last one, when suddenly, you're the worst associate ever known to man.
81- Ropes hasn't had a Rhode Island office other than a mail drop and conference room in years.
81 - you are clearly confused, as there have been no midlevels - or staff, for that matter - that have been let go. And we just opened each of Hong Kong, Tokyo and Chicago this year and are growing them aggressively. We have had nothing more than a conference center in Providence, Rhode Island for the past 6 years.
Oh - and our PPP has been well over a million for a few years now, so not sure what 5-year plan you are talking about.
I don't think 81 is a Ropes insider, so I'm not sure what his/her motivation is. Ditto everything 83 said. PPP in 2007 for Ropes were 1,330,000 (http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424834825). I have heard nothing about any midlevels getting laid off through performance reviews or otherwise. If it were happening, it would get around.
Wow, 81 is straight lying.
I'm a mid-level associate at Ropes Boston. Plenty of work, associates are not being let go.
How is Fried Frank doing?
I call definite BS on 81...Ropes actually has a mid-level shortage in some practice groups and has been hiring laterals to meet the need
85, are you sure you still work there? Maybe the managing partner wanted 81 to pass the word along to you?
Ropes sent the e-mail in response to overall market concerns (and not in response to any individual firm concerns) and directed at staff members that have a tendency to freak out in such times, not attorneys. People need to do some background research before posing as insiders.
81 doesn't have the facts straight.
I think Ropes also wanted this letter to be publicized like the other firm reassurance letters, specifically aimed at 2008 summers and prospective 2009 summers that might be worried.
68 - Kash gave me some assurances before she went down too. Fuckin' herpes...
Turned down 4 v10 NYC offers for Ropes -Boston. Grew up in NY, but I've loved boston through UG and LS. In my interview and a follow-up visit I got a great feeling about R&G. I thought everyone was happy and down to earth, at least when compared to the NY interviews I did,. They are making a strong push to ramp up their IP-lit practice, building on the Fish & Nieves acquisition from a couple years ago. And will be moving to the Prudential building in 2 years, taking over Gillette's space, which Im sure will be pretty nice.