first!

Good work ethic, Elie!

CWT to 190K...or dissolution.

"If they even still care, I'm sure all of them have found new jobs by now. "

I don't know about that. Weren't many of them in structured finance?

Co-sign 11:27. I appreciate the occasional late night and weekend posts on ATL.

Skadden announced their bonuses. That stings a little, doesn't it?

balls deep

Elie c'mon, cut CWT some slack, that Sept-Dec severance was crazy generous; I'd love to have been one of those fired associates!

ouch, this is painful. the assumption that most of those laid off associates would have secured new positions by now may very well be without merit.

Don't feel too bad for Bob Link. He still has his $6 million mansion in the Hamptons:

http://abovethelaw.com/2008/08/lawyerly_lairs_robert_link_hamptons.php

ouch, this is painful. the assumption that most of those laid-off associates would have secured new positions by now may very well be without merit.

Naysayers be damned, CWT's offices are fck'n nice.

pride

i LOVE getting fired! i HATE work.

hard to believe that laid off associates have found jobs, as rumors and realism has everyone thinking firms are either publicly laying people off, engaging in stealth layoffs, or reducing their intake of summers/laterals.

Good post - love to hear more about firms. Perhaps more posts on what firms are getting work right now???

The 96 were laid off almost four months ago. My guess is that most of them have new jobs (although maybe in different practice areas than their ones at CWT).

Proof that your firm name can only take you so far. You still need good, talented partners to be successful.

I can tell you for a fact that most of us who were laid-off back in August HAVE NOT found jobs. Have you been following the news about the economy?

Most firms are laying off now and only giving 3 months severance. CWT laid off months ago with ~6 month severance AND gave the laid off attorneys an early start in searching for new employment.

As a laid off associate, definitely still have not found a job.

- Nervous V40 detritus
email job leads to nervousv40detritus@yahoo.com

CWT is a motherfuckin' TTT y'all. It should dissolve so that no future associates have the misfortune of working there.

CWT has nice offices. They will rise again. I am dating a CWT '05 gen corp associate in NYC.

CWT does indeed has sick offices- except the men's bathroom door near the receptionist is somewhat deceiving.

On another note-- how are the smaller nyc vault 50-100 firms going to survive this recession?

Someone start the "Cadwalader Summer Associates 2009" Facebook group. I would like to look at these people.

ATL late night. I love it! More please.

21 -- Who????

this is much better than atl's typical late night discussion about cocks!

*goes back to dreaming about a 1L sa position...preferably not at cwt*

-nervous T-10 1L
email job leads to nervoust101l@yahoo.com

COCK

Also--you numbnuts (17, 14, 11/9, 5) learn the meaning of the term "sarcasm."

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand COCK

"Former Cadwalader chairman Bob Link is being left off of the firm's 2009 management committee..." = "dissolution".

90% of you are law students and the remaining 10% are either 1st or 2nd year associates who are likewise clueless; I am mortified by the logic displayed above, or lack thereof, and its implications for our profession. The level of immaturity, arrogance and elitism displayed on this website by both posters and editors is pathetic.

For the vast majority of you still in law school: you will soon enter a profession. Please attempt to act with some semblance of professionalism, especially in these difficult times. I can only hope your comments on this site are the product of your anonymity and do not reflect your true character. To Messrs. Lat and Mystal: I am ashamed that you have promoted this conduct. Instead of demanding truth and transparency from law firms, you foster the divisiveness amongst the "haves" (those who attended "T-14" law schools and proceeded to work for "V5" firms) and the "have-nots" (those who suffered at "TTT" schools and now languish at similarly regarded firms).

You two are well-credentialed and should be proud of your careers. However, both of you have much learn.

To all the posters, good luck on your finals.

Good post Elie - I am one of your biggest critics (though it should be noted that I have never said anything as low as some of the assholes who have been around recently; I just criticize your writing and proofreading with some regularity); but this one was just the right tone. Thanks for posting late too.

12:54 - You probably should not be reading the comments (or ATL generally). Your sensibilities are too delicate.

28 = loser

It's premature to say that CWT will dissolve, but honestly, they strike me as the Frankenstein's monster of biglaw firms, sewn together from the big names of other firms seeking to make an extra buck. But the thread that held them together (structured finance) is dissolving, so it'll be interesting to see if they can manage to hold together during these hard times.

And all along the way, it's the associates that fare the worst. My sympathies go out to them; hopefully they can pull through.

Re: 30+31 - Thank you for proving my point.

Sadly, a good many of the laid off associates have not found jobs - since real estate and CMBS jobs are disappearing right and left. Some of my poor friends have been out of work since January, and their severance ended months ago. (A former CWT associate)

34, you know it's ok to take a pay cut when seeking a new job, right?

I am regularly sodomizing a laid off CWT associate. She says it reminds her of the good times.

CWT rejected me a couple of years ago. Now I am more than thrilled to see them burn.

I like the late night post.

Good post, Elie

Adding Palmer to the management committee is a joke. That guy could not land a big debtor case if you handed it to him on a silver platter. My bet is dissolution in 09.

37: I was "invited" to apply to CWT in '05 -- only to be rejected before they even gave me a meaningful review. I'm now very happy at a v30 firm. I've got to send CWT a thank you card for rejecting me 3 years ago, it may have been one of the best things to ever happen to me.

@37: You kinda sound like a little girl when you say things like that. I hope you don't make those type of comments in person.

does anyone out there know what the reference to "cadwalader sean" means?

Elie, working late?! The economy must be getting to you too.

Guest # 28,

You are a breath of fresh air. Imagine someone with enough chutzpah to be straight and direct, offering common sense objectives among a den of miscreants that talk with the acumen of college freshmen.

I hope God blesses you with strength and fortitude in your career and respected profession.

Sign me,

Proud Cadwalader Groupie

Is this thread mistitled? I though Bob Link was staying at CWT as a partner - it isn't quite goodbye, is it, Elie?

I don't mean to harp on Elie, but if he really thinks that most laid off CWT associates have found jobs by now, then he doesn't have a clue about what's going on in the job market right now. It is my understanding that VERY FEW of those folks, at least the ones laid off in August, have jobs of ANY SORT yet. They were largely told that it would be tough to find a job in August, but starting in September the market would pick up a bit. Well, we all know what happened in September...as far as I know, a handful of laid off associates found jobs, mostly in that slower August/early September period. They were extremely fortunate.

News for Elie, the law students who post here, and others not keyed in: outside of patent and bankruptcy, firms are NOT hiring right now. And if they are, they are NOT interested in retooling. The idea that you can just switch practice areas is a FALLACY, especially in a depression job market like this one. Moreover, with over-subscribed 1st year programs, few firms have any need to hire junior 1st/2nd year associates, who offer no value or ability to hit the ground running.

The Cadwalader 96 are mostly screwed. And if you get laid off, you probably will be as well.

if any firm needs any help laying...off associates, please let me know. also, i can lay those that are staying as well.

-nervous T-10 1L
email job leads to nervoust101l@yahoo.com

i am a pathetic douchebag.

-nervous T-10 1L
email job leads to nervoust101l@yahoo.com

i am the king of autofellatio.

-nervous T-10 1L
email job leads to nervoust101l@yahoo.com

@8, did you just call "industry standard severance pay" crazy generous? Are you sarcastic?

51 - 5 months is not industry standard. Duh. 5 months is pretty generous.

industry standard severance = 3 months...hurry up, 51 you're going to be late for torts

"White, who was interviewed before any news emerged about the potential leadership shakeup, notes that the firm will stop paying severance--one of the factors contributing to the anticipated profit drop--to laid off associates in December. White says Cadwalader will enter into 2009 without those expenses and in a better position."
The severance pay is not the cause of the profit drop - the fact that there was not work to give those asociates is the cause. Way to slam us when we are down Chris. He made a another stupid comment in a WSJ piece about how even knowing what he know now he would not have changed a thing. The guy cannot admit he made a mistake and he will get what is coming to him soon enough.

To the laid off CWT associates --

You know, it is quite possible to work for McDonald's if your severance runs out.

Why should my taxpayer dollars pay for your unemployment if you can't find a job?

People desperately clinging to the "status" of Biglaw jobs in this economy deserve what they get.

Even partners are scrambling to find cover.

A Partner

Chris White bought a multi-million dollar home in montauk just to burn it down because it was partially obstructing the view from his palace...that's all you need to know about him.

he's obviously a douche

55: You're misinformed. Unemployment is not paid for out of taxpayer dollars.

Silly partner...

28, you are a retard with the sensibilities of an 80 year old woman. And are you either (a) a law student, or (b) a junior associate, given that you have failed to observe that the corporate model has replaced "professionalism" at the firms this tabloid covers? You're fucking posting on a thread about a firm that shitcanned 90 associates.

The last line was sarcastic. I really thought this was clear.

For future reference, if you can interpret a sentence as either A) casually ignorant of the struggles facing laid off attorneys during the worst market crisis since the Depression, or B) Making fun of law firms, go with B.

Sorry for the confusion
-- Elie

Wow, a scaracsm detector, that's real useful.

I did get the sarcasm. But I'm a structured finance associate, maybe the sarcasm was more obvious to me than to others since I knew it's pretty dire out there for laid off structured finance attorneys.

55, yeah, unemployment is paid for by your dollars, and I'll take them with pleasure until I'm re-employed

CWT severance was at the top of the market whereas places like Loeb & Loeb, one freaking month, are at the other end.

it was clearly sarcastic.

"I'm sure all of them have found new jobs by now."

some of you are tone deaf.

46, Elie might not have meant it this way, but this is effectively goodbye to Link. After managing the firm all these years, Link has absolutely no book of business left. Nada. The question if the firm does not go under is how long they keep him around.

can't wait until cadwalader dissolves.

any news on other rumored layoffs, e.g., shearman? greenberg?

Re: 58

No, I am not a retard. I'm curious if you would personally attack me if we passed while walking down the street? In an elevator? No? I didn't think so.

And for your information, professionalism isn't some socialistic norm that forces employers to continue to pay employees, even when there exists absolutely no financial incentive to do so. While you could argue (and I would agree) that greed has overpowered professionalism at many firms, causing partners to value their pro-rata profits above associate retention, I believe you're naive to think that judgment then influences every decision made by every firm mentioned on this website (or that firms not detailed here are not similarly cost-conscious).

To all posters, good luck on your finals.

The next step will be to start making savings by cutting back on the foreign offices - which were Link's babies

We need more posters like 28. Thank you good sir. As a law student, I am mortified by the stupidity of my peers. God save the profession.

this was yesterday's story. should have been up no later than 7:00pm. that's LAT 101.

You people really are retarded. You villify any firm that lays off associates. Then, in the next breath, express joy that a firm my dissolve, resulting in..... the layoffs of ALL associates at the firm.

Good God, the logical inconcistency is astounding.

If you haven't noticed from Heller and Thelen, the partners move on rather easily after dissolving, the associates are the ones that suffer.

So if Cadwalader is so awful for laying off associates, you should want them to survive so the remaining associates still have jobs.

Morons.

71, CWT had lowest associate satisfaction for years and now massive layoffs. I would be pleased to see their business model crash and burn.

28 and 67: You are confusing civility with professionalism. Civility requires that we not attack each other in the street, and I would agree that it is sorely lacking on this board.

Professionalism, on the other hand, requires adherence to certain generally agreed professional standard even where adherence to those standards results in financial deteriment. So, yes, to the extent that one views lawyers and firms as having some professional obligation to assist in the development of the younger members of the profession, then CWT's firing of a hoard of junior associates at a time when no other firm is likely to take up the cause of training them, does display a lack of professionalism. Perhaps the professional thing to do would be to accept a period of lower PPP, and meet their professional obligations to the junior members of the profession. By this standard, CWT and nearly all other big law firms, with the possible exception of places like Cravath, are not "professions" but rather mere businesses.

By the way, CWT may be in deeper trouble than the implications of a report that the firms was ditching Link would suggest. The firm was beholden to a segement of our economy that no longer exists. Dissolution is at least starting to become a possibility. (Aren't the CWT rainmakers, e.g., Block, already threatening to leave?)

73 - Block threatens to leave every year. but if it does happen this year, very bad sign.

Well said. The problem is the partners in biglaw today have seen a change in the profession since they began, such that 15,000 people take the bar exam every year. we are treated like cattle and, like in other businesses, are entirely fungible.

we would hope that the older partners who remember the profession would adhere to your standards of professionalism. but your standard just does not make business sense anymore. it is a rather sad state of affairs for our "profession" at least in biglaw.

They will start offloading excess ballast to avoid dissolution - structured finance partners will start taking serious points hits next year and overseas outposts will take a hammering (Block reportedly always considered them a waste of money)

Au revoir mustachoied hayseed.

Don't shed any tears for Bob, architect of the new law firm paradigm, he can go back to his massive book of business in that lucrative field of mortgage backed securitization!

Fried Frank just laid off 15 real estate associates in the DC office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5c1k949Zn4

A tribute to dear leader.

You are the weakest Link. Goodbye.

BTW, not that anybody cares anymore, but there is actually nothing substantive amidst all this hype.

yea the bankrutpcy group is ruthless. the new partners are kicking out the old ones because their profits have been so low that they are trying to wrest control of the group in order to insulate themseves. besides litigation , bnakruptcy is one of the few groups at cadwalader that are not expected to have diminishing revenues for the next number of years.

and yet, somehow, these guys are managing in the meanwhile to make enemies within the firm and while waiting to sink a whale of a debtor case. circuit city and lehman got snapped up by the other big fish, and cadwalader had northwest a long time ago. the overall weakness of the firm scares big debtors from using the bankruptcy group there too. its most worrisome. i wish them all the best , they are a hard working, if not somewhat conflicted group.

to make matters worse, all the juniors, who do a lot of the real grunt work that needs to be done, are looking elsewhere for better positions at other top firms. a good number of juniors, as well as a few of the highest seniors from the old guard, have left in the last half year. Only the green weil partners and their associates remain....and by the looks of it MR P may be eating a lot, but at cadwalader, you only eat what you kill, and theyre not talking about food.

Not that people are still reading this article or comments, but you are right on the money #47. I'm one of the 96 without a new job, and not for lack of effort.