January 2009

Last week, Fortune released its annual list of the 100 best places to work. Shockingly, a number of law firms made the list. Now Fortune wants to tell us about the 25 Best Paying Companies (from among the top 100 companies to work for), and once again I have no earthly clue what they are […]

Usually, resisting arrest in Boston involves a wicked scrap with staties. I guess higher education is supposed to teach you how to use your words instead of your fists. But at Harvard Law, I guess they skip the “oral argument” phase altogether, and go straight to vague prestige threats. Let’s see how that is working […]

Last week, we mentioned that Linklaters was gearing up to conduct massive layoffs. Today, The Lawyer is reporting that 270 Linklaters employees are out of a job: Magic circle firm Linklaters has confirmed that between 100 and 120 of its City lawyers will lose their jobs as part of its so-called New World strategy, while […]

Fish & Richardson is conducting layoffs, another indication that IP work is not a safe haven during the economic storm. The firm would not respond to our requests for comment, but a firm wide email sent to Fish associates confirmed that 30 support staffers were let go this week: Today, Fish & Richardson is reducing […]

* Cha-ching. Harvard Law gets an anonymous $10 million gift to endow a Laurence Tribe chair. [Associated Press] * Gov. Rod Blagojevich has decided to swing by his impeachment trial in time to deliver the closing argument. [Chicago Tribune] * Martin T. Manton would have been a Judge of the Day back in 1939, had […]

*Wow. Layoffs have come to the ACLU. Reagan: 1 – Obama: 0.[Huffington Post] * How many people are taking the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl? Would your answer change if I told you the Obama’s were backing them? [Sports Judge Blog] * Bart Simpson is a Scientologist? [Popsquire] * They raped Indy. And we […]

Earlier today, we learned that a number of associates have been let go from Morrison & Foerster. According to a firm-wide memo that was just released, 53 associates have been laid off across all MoFo offices. We also understand that 148 staff members were let go. The firm just confirmed the reports to ATL: Morrison […]

Yes We Can…. Hire lots and lots of Supreme Court clerks? In prior posts (here and here), we reported on the impressive legal team that President Barack Obama has assembled to staff key positions in his administration. Like many of the Bush Administration lawyers they’re replacing, the Obama lawyers have impressive pedigrees: degrees from top […]

We still don’t think Biglaw firms giving out normal raises is news. But judging from the number of e-mails and comments we’ve received begging for this list, many ATL readers judge this post-worthy. In case you’re somehow unfamiliar with the practice, Biglaw firms tend to have a tiered salary system keyed to associates’ class years. […]

AmLaw Daily continues to provide firm by firm profit numbers, and attorneys continue to be annoyed with firm rhetoric against the backdrop of actual layoffs. The latest issue comes from associates formerly with Foley Hoag. Two weeks ago, we reported that Foley Hoag laid off 32 people, 17 associates and 15 staff. Yesterday, AmLaw reported […]

Starting February 15th, you’ll be able to spend your Sunday nights watching hottie Biglaw siblings Victor and Tammy Jih go global as they compete for $1 million in the Amazing Race. As noted yesterday, Victor Jih, 35, is a partner at O’Melveny and Myers, while Tammy Jih, 26, is an associate at Quinn Emanuel. We […]

We are now receiving reports that Morgan, Lewis & Bockius fired a large number of associates. A firm spokesperson tells us: Attorneys depart law firms for any number of reasons. The number leaving this year is consistent with prior year departures. It is inappropriate for us to comment on individual personnel decisions. However, reports of […]

Last January, we did an ATL / Lateral Link survey on how often you cancelled your social plans because of work. Notably, we found that “[a]round forty percent of associates missed dates,” usually because a partner asked them to finish something at the last minute. But now that the economy has collapsed slowed down, some […]

[Ed Note: Do you have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com] ATL – I’m a corporate attorney, dealing with an unhappy circumstance. I’ve worked in corporate law for ~2 yrs. Due to the slowdown in corporate, I was shifted to do banking litigation. It keeps me busy, a little more job […]

Mayer Brown already announced that New York bonuses would match the New York market. Last night, the firm announced its bonus structure for offices in Chicago, Palo Alto and Washington, D.C. We are pleased to announce that the Firm’s bonus structure for work done in 2008 will be the same as it was for work […]

* Cheerleaders get respect, but lose the ability to sue. The Wisconsin Supreme Court rules that cheerleading is a contact sport, and so its participants can’t be sued for accidentally causing injuries. [CNN] * Rod Blagojevich is participating in his impeachment trial by audio tape only. While the Illinois Senate listened to the recordings of […]

Readers, commenters, and tipsters have all demanded that we run a post addressing the “stealth layoffs” that might be taking place at Latham & Watkins. The firm has remained steadfast in its contention that no layoffs have happened at Latham & Watkins. They claim no dismissals for economic reasons, or anything out of the ordinary […]

* Creative destruction? If I was half the man I used to be, I’d take a flamethrower to this place. [Law and More] * On Being a Black Lawyer’s Yolanda Yong tells us if we should expect anything “different” from the nation’s first African-American Attorney General. [Huffington Post] * If you are desperate to hang […]

Really, it was only a matter of time before it came to this: A mistrial was declared Monday when a home-invasion robbery suspect smeared human feces on his attorney’s face then threw more at the jury. What are the chances that this is an Ed Norton in Primal Fear moment? The prosecutor said the defendant […]

John Grisham sat down with us this morning for an exclusive blog interview to discuss his new book, The Associate. The book’s main character, Kyle McAvoy, is a Biglaw associate with a mysterious past and intriguing future. In his previous books, Grisham has explored emotional and ethical costs of practicing the law in various forms. […]