December 2008

Just because it’s after Christmas it doesn’t mean that law firms are done with their holiday shopping. A tipster reports an intriguing possibility about Texas powerhouse Locke Lord Bissell & LIddell and IP shop Morgan & Finnegan: Locke Liddell is acquiring Morgan & Finengan. Don’t think it’s final yet. Tipsters from both firms have heard […]

* Every president over the past 30 years has had to speak with a federal prosecutor. “Here the guy hasn’t even gotten his tuxedo for the ball yet and already there’s a prosecutor who wants to talk him,” says Skadden’s Robert Bennett, about Barack Obama’s new record for being interviewed by investigators in the Blagojevich […]

To those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas! We hope you’ve been spending the holiday in the company of family and friends, rather than at the office — or in front of a computer screen. But if you are stuck at work right now, here’s a little post to let you know that we’re […]

In Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we asked you to cast your vote for the 2008 ATL Lawyer of the Year. More than three thousand ballots were cast, but there can be only one Lawyer of the Year. Starting at the bottom, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich may not have hit the very lowest point […]

Mayer Brown has wished its NYC associates a merry Christmas Eve with bonuses matching the New York market (a.k.a. the Cravath/half-Skadden model). Our tipster tells us there is no official word as to pay raises for 2009. This announcement comes a month after Mayer announced layoffs of 33 attorneys, as well as administrative staff. Our […]

The 2009 salary freeze is steadily spreading through the bottom half of the Vault 100 firms. Yesterday, Venable held a firm-wide meeting to discuss bonuses and salary. Our tipster reports that Venable is hopping on the crowded pay freeze bandwagon. Looks like we’re paying out “normal” bonuses (i.e. well below market) to those who billed […]

This is a depressing time for the economy and for the legal profession. But there are pockets of happy holiday news out there. From a tipster: I’m a 2L who just received a holiday gift from the Texas-based firm with which I will summer. The gift is nothing particularly fancy — a decent quality firm-themed […]

* Our old friend Marc Dann is back in the news. The Inspector General report on Dann say he turned the Ohio AG’s office into a “house of scandal.” The many outrageous happenings in the Dannimal House included his hiring of a bunch of young ladies that he called the “Dannettes” whose conduct and dress […]

So much for O’Melveny & Myers setting the bonus market for L.A. Proskauer Rose announced their bonuses this afternoon, and they will be paying the Cravath scale across all of their offices. That’s good news if you’re in Boston, expected news if you’re in New York, and a slightly disappointing confrontation with reality if you’re […]

* “Does Your Law Firm Face-block? Take this Survey!” [Stem Legal] * News you can use: how to drink in a work-related context. Hey ladies: “some male attorneys will probably try to get you drunk in order to hook up with you.” [Concurring Opinions] * Written without irony by Eliot Spitzer: “As Justice Brandeis observed, […]

A new book details the challenges that women face as they try to climb the corporate ladder. Author Kathy Caprino argues that in many instances women’s contributions are hard to compare against “hours” and “profits.” Careful not to blame their male counterparts, Caprino says many female professionals are dominated at work by generally white-male competitive […]

Dear Jones Day threadjackers: Here is your post about the Jones Day bonus. Now please put the lotion in the basket and give me back my dog. Okay. Yesterday, Jones Day sent around its individual compensation letters. Traditionally, Jones Day makes bonus decisions on a case-by-case basis. This year is no different, but a tipster […]

The Saturday night antics of two Florida lawyers have the makings of a great episode of the Jerry Springer show. Alleged sex in a bathroom, a girl-on-girl fighting match, and legal misrepresentation. Lawyer-lobbyist Lawyer Aimee Marie Dias, 35, was at a swanky restaurant in Tampa on Saturday night. When she went to use the bathroom, […]

On the Debevoise & Plimpton bonus post, one irate associate wrote: Debevoise associates broke their backs this year on the Siemens case and covering for those who were on Siemens. Even though there was a slowdown in the 4th quarter, profits before then were “record-breaking” — i.e. MORE than the 25% boost Deb had last […]

Venable is generally not a market leader when it comes to associate bonuses or salary. In fact, they usually don’t announce their bonuses until January. But today at 3:00 p.m. associates have been called in to discuss “the firm’s 2008 results and outlook for 2009.” Kirkland had a meeting today to discuss the obvious, and […]

The big bonus / salary meeting at Kirkland & Ellis is still ongoing. But tipsters are now reporting that K&E is essentially designing its bonus scheme around the Cravath scale (subject to the Kirkland system of adjusting bonuses for hours and performance — “above class,” “with class,” “below class,” etc.). We’ve also heard some good […]

As Thacher Proffitt prepares to shut down, the “how did this happen” reports can begin. AmLaw Daily notes that while other firms had banner years in 2007, Thacher was already struggling: Thacher entered 2008 already struggling financially. The firm had suffered a dismal 2007, with gross revenue growing only 1.6 percent to $194.5 million and […]

* This is one former Clintonite that Obama won’t tap for his cabinet. California lawyer Wade Rowland Sanders, a deputy assistant secretary of the Navy under Clinton, was netted in a child porn investigation, with a whopping 600 images on his computer. [CNN] * There are many reasons to object to the U.S. taxpayers bailing […]

Dechert has been the subject of a lot of bad news lately. The associates still at the firm will be pleased to know that they will be getting a market bonus for hanging on this long: We are pleased to announce that we will be paying base bonuses for 2008 to associates in each of […]

Kirkland & Ellis is perhaps the biggest bonus shoe left to drop. Will the firm follow Skadden as the firm’s prestige and profitability suggests? Or will Kirkland pull a Half-Skadden and settle down with the rest of the market? We’ll know tomorrow. A firm-wide email just gave K&E New York associates a big reason to […]