We interrupt today’s blood-letting to bring you the latest from the NYT weddings page. In keeping with the dark mood around here, all of this week’s contestants are brunettes. Here they are:
1. Sophie Jensen and Robert Lalley
See which of these newlyweds still have jobs, after the jump.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 2.22: Six Non Blondes”
Troubling rumors are circulating about Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis. Tipsters say that: (1) layoffs are happening in the firm’s New York office, and (2) the start date for incoming associates is being pushed back to the end of the year.
The firm laid off 15 to 25 non-equity partners in January. Now it appears to be moving on to associates. A source says the firm started conducting layoffs of mid-levels in its New York office on Wednesday, and that they are still going on, writing this morning:
The layoffs are continuing today (mostly in the litigation and private equity departments). I’m not sure about the veracity of this, but I also heard that K&E’s NYC litigation department lost one or two big clients because they refused to lower their fees.
The firm spokesperson has not responded to our inquiries. If you have more information, please contribute to the comments, or send us a tip.
We’re also hearing that start dates for incoming associates at the firm have not been announced yet, but one 3L bound for Kirkland has gotten news that the start date will be December 2009 at the earliest.
Was told in writing that I won’t be starting until the end of the year for sure, and they left open pushing it back even further…. Guess my loans will have to wait….
Update: A 3L bound for Kirkland’s D.C. office questions the report of delayed start dates:
I am a graduating 3L that will be starting in the fall at Kirkland’s D.C. office. When I accepted the offer, K&E told me I would hear back in the spring about start dates, bar expenses, etc. I am not sure what 3L can have a “letter in hand” about start dates, I have not received any start date information, nor has a fellow incoming K&E associate whom I just asked.
A round-up of the firms that have pushed back start dates, after the jump.
Continue reading “Layoffs and Delayed Start Dates at Kirkland?”
The world is obsessed with celebrity professors Cass Sunstein and Samantha Power, who recently left the ivory tower to take high-ranking positions in the Obama Administration. He might someday sit on the Supreme Court; she’s a winner of the Pulitzer Prize; and together, as we previously reported (see the update), they’re creating the World’s Smartest Baby.
How many HLS grads turned Harvard professors get named Fun Couple of the 21st Century by Esquire? The article begins:
If The Chronicle of Higher Education had paparazzi, a few of them would be camped outside this office right now.
The office is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and inside are two Harvard professors. The first — a tall woman in her thirties with long red hair — is wrapped in a wool blanket…. The second — a slightly older man who looks a bit like William Hurt — wears a dark suit and is twirling a Wilson tennis racket, a favorite habit of his. They’re talking about the usual — Obama, the fight against extremism, the future of the Supreme Court. And also, who should order flowers for the priest who helped them out with wedding plans.
In a week, they’re getting married in a small church in Ireland — a fact that, if those paparazzi did exist, would send them into a Brad-and-Angelina tizzy.
Oh, but such paparazzi do exist. Harvard Law School student “Percy Thrillington” snapped a few photos of the happy couple, in an HLS parking lot — the small parking lot just off Mass. Ave., next to the International Legal Studies library. They were unloading what said tipster described as “a rather dorky-looking red PT Cruiser.”
(Hey, Percy, lay off the PT Cruiser. If it’s good enough for Chief Justice John Roberts — see photo at right — then it’s good enough for Cass and Sam.)
After a heated bidding war between top tabloid publications — bids climbed well into the six figures, allowing Percy to pay for his law school education — ATL emerged victorious. We now proudly present exclusive photographs of the world’s leading legal-academic couple.
Check out paparazzi pics of the Power couple, after the jump.
Continue reading “ATL World Exclusive: Paparazzi Photos of Cass Sunstein and Samantha Power!”
When it comes to lateral movement of lawyers from one firm to another, things seem pretty dead. If you’re an attorney with a job, you’re probably just holding on for dear life. Latham, holla.
But it’s important to distinguish between lateral partner moves and associate moves. The latter are becoming increasingly rare, but the former continue to happen with regularity. As various firms founder and flounder, partners with business think: “I have a portable book in the eight figures. Why would I want to go down with these clowns?”
Of course, not every lateral partner move arises out of a rainmaker seeking greener pastures. Economic instability has resulted in some partners being prematurely put out to pasture, perhaps because they don’t generate enough business in these tough times, or perhaps because their firms went under. The American Lawyer refers to such lawyers as “accidental laterals”: they never intended to be on the lateral market, but they wound up there anyway.
We suspect that this latest lateral move, however, is not accidental. Superstar IP litigator Dale Cendali — who has been quite busy in the past year, representing the likes of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling — is leaving O’Melveny & Myers for Kirkland & Ellis. Joining her at K&E are current OMM partners Claudia Ray, also based in New York, and Diana Torres, in Los Angeles. The exact timing is unclear, but look for a move sometime next month.
O’Melveny confirmed the news to ATL and issued this statement, through a firm spokesperson:
While we regret losing a talented group of lawyers, we are fortunate to have an exceptional team and deep bench of IP litigators specializing in patents, trademarks, copyrights, IP antitrust, computer hardware and software, media & entertainment, and life sciences. Our IP lawyers have national practices and have appeared in courts across the country.
More details, after the jump.
Continue reading “Musical Chairs: Dale Cendali from O’Melveny to Kirkland”
Records are being set this morning at Latham & Watkins. At 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, managing partner Bob Dell sent out an email announcing that the firm is laying off 190 associates and 250 staff. These numbers are on top of any “stealth layoffs” that may have previously occurred at the firm in the past year.
Four hundred forty employees — 190 associates, 250 staff — is, as far as we know, more than any one law firm has ever laid off (not counting dissolutions). Latham is also the first Vault top ten firm to conduct major layoffs.
But Latham is also setting another record, of a more positive nature. Consistent with what we reported yesterday, the firm is offering “a comprehensive separation package, including payment of six months salary (up to total severance of $100,000) plus six months of continued medical coverage (through August 31, 2009).” This is the most generous severance package that any major law firm has given departing employees (see this table).
That will definitely soften the blow. But one LW source has a question:
No mention on any partner shifts — did they really grossly overshoot the number of associates and staff they needed for the economy we ended up with, but nail the number of partners needed just right?
According to Dell’s email, the cuts constitute approximately 12 percent of associates and 10 percent of paralegals and support staff. One LW tipster, however, tells us that in terms of U.S. associates being laid off, the number may be closer to 20 percent.
The full email from Robert Dell, plus more, after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: Latham Cuts 440 (190 Associates, 250 Staff)”
Dewey & LeBoeuf has been slowly shedding people over the past few months. The firm closed down its offices and relocated attorneys from Charlotte and San Francisco. There was some forced attrition in November. The firm announced structured finance layoffs in December. And the firm laid off a significant portion of its Los Angeles associates in January.
Today, cuts have come to NYC and D.C.
The firm is not calling these cuts “layoffs.” Instead, the firm is finishing up semi-annual performance reviews and making cuts along those lines. The firm provided ATL with this statement:
Dewey & LeBoeuf maintains a semi-annual performance review process and we are currently in our year-end cycle. We do not comment on the specific outcomes of our performance review process or individual review conversations.
Some explanation about the Dewey & LeBoeuf review system, plus thoughts from tipsters, after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: Dewey & LeBoeuf Starts Making Cuts”
* Yes, the Philadelphia D.A. did rescind offers to 12 incoming attorneys. With fewer prosecutors, now is the time for Mets fans to go to Citizen’s Bank Park and “appropriate” some hardware. [The Legal Intelligencer]
* Are you an attorney worried about the economy? Legal bloggers feel your pain. [Law and More]
* Yo, I heard Calvin got a job at WacArnolds. Yeah. Lets rob that n***a. [ABC]
* Could somebody please stop the national embarrassment that is Roland Burris? Right now, even Chris Rock would rather have Flavor Flav in the U.S. Senate. [Law Dork 2.0]
* You gotta check out the headlights on this story. [My Law Life]
Could Friday end up being another Valentine’s Day Massacre? We’re already waiting to see if Latham will announce its layoffs tomorrow, but now we’ll also be waiting to see what K&L Gates does.
We believe that K&L Gates will announce layoffs on Friday. We believe it will affect most of the firm’s offices — even the ones in Texas.
The news broke late last night. We don’t have any conference room bookings to report, but there was an emergency partner meeting yesterday:
This rumor was sparked around last minute emergency Partner meetings yesterday afternoon. Some big decisions were going down in those meetings.
Tipsters from many K&L offices have written in about expected layoffs tomorrow.
Managing partner Peter Kalis did not respond to our requests for comment on the reports.
But K&L Gates has already indicated that layoffs were a possibility. Details after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide (Impending) Layoff Watch: K&L Gates Could Make Cuts on Friday”
We regularly receive tips about free events, often educational or charitable in nature, that might interest our readers. Because we don’t have the ability to give shout-outs to all, and to ensure consistent treatment, we direct everyone with events to promote to mention them in our Community section.
If your event is more commercial in nature, you can advertise on ATL. If your budget is limited, you can do a quicklisting, which will appear on the ATL main page.
We will mention events featuring participation by Above the Law. We will also mention events sponsored by our advertisers, like the happy hour sponsored by Major Lindsey & Africa, and the launch party of Practical Law Company.
If you’ll be in Washington next Tuesday, here’s an event at Georgetown Law, featuring yours truly (see the 11:45 a.m. panel), that might interest you:
Empirical Research on the Legal Profession: Insights from Theory and Practice
When: Tuesday, March 3, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Speakers: Various. Check out the full schedule of events.
Where: Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
Cost: Free, but please register in advance.
Hope to see you there!
Conference on Empirical Research on the Legal Profession [Empirical Legal Studies]
Empirical Research on the Legal Profession: Insights from Theory and Practice [PDF]
Management at Latham & Watkins continues to be incommunicado regarding the firm’s impending layoffs that we reported yesterday. Nonetheless, Above the Law has come by some information that could be positive for sleepless Latham associates.
Multiple sources have told ATL that Latham could be offering a six month severance package to the attorneys the firm is about to fire.
Of course, we don’t want to get everybody’s hopes up. As one source says:
I’d be shocked if that actually happens, given how bastard-y Latham been lately, but who knows?
But there are persistent rumors that Latham will try to combat the overwhelmingly negative press the firm has received by offering a soft (ish) landing to the departed.
Of course, the most humane thing to do at this point would be for Latham to make a public announcement and euthanize terrified associates.
Commenters and tipsters weigh in after the jump.
Continue reading “Impending Layoff Watch: What Will the Latham Severance Be?”
Earlier this month, duty called us to a midtown Manhattan bar to cover a Pink Slip Party for our sister site, Dealbreaker. Geared toward those laid off from Wall Street, the “party” was a depressing scene meant to bring job-seekers together with potential employers. There were more recruiters than potential employers around, though, and there were lines of people in suits waiting to sit at booths to go over their resumes with the recruiters.
Job seekers are similarly disadvantaged in the legal market, thanks to continuing layoffs. One unemployed lawyer is trying a novel new approach. He wants to turn the headhunter payment arrangement inside out, and pay a recruiter to find a job for him. From his Craigslist ad:
This economy sucks. It probably sucks for recruiters too! Therefore I want to make life a little more interesting. This may not be a huge amount of money, but if you’re already on commission it’s more than usual I imagine.. For any recruiter that helps me a permanent position as an associate attorney in relevant areas (defined below) I will pay the following immediately:
$60,000- $69,999 per annum I will pay you $3,000
$70,000 – $90,000 per annum I will pay you $4,000
$100,000 + per annum I will pay you $5,000
I am also looking for contract work in the short term. I will pay $300 for anything which is supposed to last more than a month.
This seems to make sense. Sometimes job seekers are advised to avoid working with a recruiter because it makes them more expensive, since the employer has to pay the recruiter a fee on top of the new hire’s salary. If the new hire foots the recruitment bill, the game changes.
Some people don’t like this idea. The Craigslist poster, who asked to remain anonymous, has had some angry responses, after the jump.
Continue reading “Job-seekers Paying Recruiters: Hot New Trend?”
[This article was prepared by Tricia McGrath, a director in Lateral Link's NY office. For questions please contact Tricia at tmcgrath@laterallink.com.]
This is an interesting time in the legal industry. In the past few months, we have watched the lay-offs of many strong associates and counsel. If you are one of the gainfully-employed associates, what can you do to secure your position at the firm? How can you prevent becoming a casualty in the future? By embracing the changes in the market and increasing your value to your firm!
Business development is about building relationships. You want to get to know people and have them know you. It is all about building a network of contacts that you can leverage in the future. No one expects a junior or mid-level associate to go out and land a Fortune 100 client – that’s not how it works. At your level, you should be building contacts and legal expertise, both of which you’ll need in the future. You should demonstrate to your firm that you have a potentially bright future in rainmaking.
Here are some additional basics for venturing into business development. The earlier you begin to build skills in this area, the more successful you will be either at your current firm or your next one!
Learn from Others
***More after the jump.
Continue reading “Ask the Experts: Business Development 101 – Increase Your Value (Part 2)”
Okay, let’s try to blow the lid off this thing. We know that some firms are rescinding offers to 3Ls, we just don’t know which ones.
Here’s a quote from yesterday’s Workplace Prof Blog:
I’ve just started hearing of major law firms rescinding or “indefinitely deferring” employment offers to this year’s 3Ls. At our school, this is disproportionately hurting our top students — students who clerked for major firms last summer, received what they thought was a job offer, did not participate last fall or early this spring in the job-search process under the rational assumption that they already had a job, and only now are being informed that that job does not exist. The information I’m hearing is that these students are not being given a stipend, a “severance” package, or anything else to help tide them over — they’re just being told “see ya later.”
We know things are bad for 2Ls. We know things are terrible for 3Ls without offers. We know clerks are chaining themselves to their desks.
But if you are a 3L who had an offer rescinded, you’ve essentially been fired before you started working. You’ll have to compete with all the other laid off attorneys, yet you’ll have zero Biglaw work experience.
We’re asking 3Ls to step forward and tell us which firms are rescinding offers. We’ll try to collect your tips, and figure out just how many firms are rescinding offers.
Send your tips to tips@abovethelaw.com.
3Ls Getting Hosed [Workplace Prof Blog]
Earlier: You’re a 2L? I want to say one word to you. Plastics.
[Ed. Note: The following piece was authored by "The Legal Tease" of Sweet Hot Justice fame. You can check out all of Legal Tease's other musings from Sweet Hot Justice here.]
There have only been a handful of moments in my legal career–nay, in my life–when I’ve felt there was a decent possibility that all the people surrounding me in a particular space were about to collectively crouch down, bare fangs, and storm forward in a sweeping, feral frenzy of rage, ripping out the throat of whichever poor bastard happened to be in charge. Typically, this feeling has only kicked in while, say, waiting on the tarmac at O’Hare during a blizzard, or sitting in my 1L Property Law class on the day my professor announced that she didn’t believe in teaching black letter law. But last Thursday, it happened in a 6th floor conference room in my tense, hungry little corner of BigLaw.
You see, the powers that be at my firm had called a meeting that day. Not just a meeting, but the meeting–the one to address the recent, escalating fear crippling the associate ranks. True, BigLaw can hardly be described as an oasis of calm in any economy, but the paranoia around my firm lately has been palpable. In the past few weeks, each time I’ve heard a knock on my office door before 9 a.m., or received a call from an extension I didn’t recognize, or opened an email addressed to “All Associates-USA,” I’ve felt my body click into a fleeting state of stomach-sinking paralysis, wondering whether I’m about to be told that I’m officially being relieved of my obligation to show up for work on a daily basis. Call me neurotic, but the massive stealth layoffs ripping through my firm lately–paired nicely with radio silence from the firm’s management–can make a girl a little jumpy.
Turns out, though, my fears were totally unfounded. Because, you see, last Thursday, the firm finally stepped up and started talking. They held the meeting–a self-styled Q&A forum for all associates where the firm’s associate management committee promised to address several “topics of interest.” And oh, how they did. They cut through the typical administrative nonsense and dove right into the big topic. The topic that’s undoubtedly been clouding their minds in the past few weeks. The topic that apparently dwarfs any and all other possible topics that might be of interest to any associate. Anywhere. The topic so relevant, so timely, that it merited a good 25-minute discussion. That’s right, friends, my firm finally opened up and addressed this, the Most Important Topic Facing BigLaw Today: whether the firm should adopt a Casual Fridays dress code.
Things get worse after the jump.
* After visiting Guantanamo, Attorney General Eric Holder says the prison is “well-run now” but the administration is going to close it anyway. The White House just gave itself a big pat on the back. [Reuters]
* The court rejected a Long island surgeon’s bid to get $1.5 million in compensation for the kidney he donated to his estranged wife. [The National Law Journal]
*Bonus Watch part deux: Bank of America’s CEO will testify today in Andrew Cuomo’s investigation of the $3.6 billion in bonuses paid at Merril Lynch before the two banks merged. [Bloomberg.com]
* “The U.S. Supreme Court made it tougher to sue companies for antitrust violations. [Bloomberg]
* A federal identity-theft law that is a “favorite tool of the government” in immigration cases was flawed in the eyes of SCOTUS when they heard arguments about it yesterday. [The New York Times]
* Two former pro-Israel Lobbyists accused of espionage can use classified documents in their defense, a federal appeals court ruled. [The Associated Press]
* Former Covington & Burling staff attorney Yolanda Young is suing Covington & Burling for racial discrimination. [On Being a Black Lawyer]
* If you don’t want to deal with racism at a law firm, maybe you should just go clerk for a couple of years…. oh, wait. Scratch that. [The Root]
* Unless you have money. [What About Clients?]
* Heller Ehrman paid out $7 million to departing or retired partners in 2008. Heller Ehrman dissolved in 2008. You know what’s cool? Ownership. I’m going to go home and deny my television Windex, because I can. [The Recorder]
* It’s nice to see Roxana St. Thomas is catching on. [The Onion]
* Former Cadwalader associates have had more time to figure out what to do with their new found freedom. One option is to start a website where you get to review all the partners you used to work for. Let’s hope this takes off. [Rate A Partner]
* SHELDRAKE: I only wish I could help, there’s no spare s*** at the moment. Remember the greatest writers starved … JOE: Are you trying to be funny? SHELDRAKE: I believe in self-denial, gives a man some moral backbone. JOE: Can you loan me three hundred bucks? [Mama Law]
While the bad news continues to rain down on practicing attorneys, law students are the ones sitting there with a “deer in cataclysmic meteor event” look on their faces.
It’s been a while since we gave law students a chance to vent their frustrations, so here we go.
Today, NALP is out with actual statistics showing how 2Ls are seeing their jobs disappear in a pyroclastic flow. From a synopsis in the National Law Journal:
The median number of offers to 2Ls for summer associate positions at firms of all sizes fell from 15 in the fall of 2007 to 10 in the fall of 2008. The decline was even steeper at firms with 700 or more attorneys, where the median number of summer associate offers fell from 30 in 2007 to 18.5 in 2008. Additionally, fewer callback interviews yielded summer associate offers in 2008. In recent years, about 60% of callback interviews led to summer associate offers. Last fall, however, only 47% of callback interviews led to offers.
And after scrolling through the 20-page NALP report, we also noticed the shortening of summer programs:
Summer programs were typically 10 to 12 weeks long, regardless of firm size. Over three-quarters of offices reported summer programs of either 10, 11, or 12 weeks, although the lengths reported ranged from 6 to 19 weeks. For the vast majority of offices (80%), the 2008 summer program length was the same as in 2007. About 11% reported that their program was one or two weeks shorter compared with 2007; however, about 5% reported that their summer program was one or two weeks longer.
More numbers, statistics, and reasons to trade in your J.D. for a certificate of attendance in refrigerator repair, after the jump.
Continue reading “You’re a 2L? I want to say one word to you. Plastics.”
Remember when being a staff attorney was a viable option in the Biglaw universe? As we have previously reported, many big firms are laying off their staff attorneys. Today, Dechert adds its name to that growing trend.
Within the past few hours, we received a number of tips about staff attorney layoffs at Dechert.
Our sources tell us that Dechert will lay off 10 staff attorneys today. The number accounts for about 1/4th of the firm’s total staff attorney force.
Dechert laid off 19 attorneys two weeks ago, and 72 staffers back in December. So this news should not be particularly surprising.
But it is another indication that the economic crisis is taking a toll on all types of Biglaw employment.
Good luck to the 10 staff attorneys leaving Dechert.
Earlier: Staff Layoff Watch: A Roundup
In lieu of Wednesday’s ATL / Lateral Link featured job survey post — lolcat lover Justin Bernold is on vacation — we bring you a questionnaire about a topic near and dear to your hearts: Continuing Legal Education (CLE).
If you’re at a firm that’s experiencing a slowdown due to the downturn, with many free (and non-billable) hours to kill, now is a good time to rack up CLE credits. In Notes from the Breadline, Roxana wondered: can CLE credits be rolled over, like cell phone minutes? In some jurisdictions, yes.
To take the survey, which serves both editorial and marketing purposes for us, please CLICK HERE. You can also share your thoughts on CLE in the comments.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
CLE survey for ATL [SurveyMonkey]
Hello, friends. The tables we’re compiling these days are not fun ones. We’ve posted running lists of the firms that have frozen salaries — as well as a list of those that haven’t — and, in this post, a list of the going rates in severance packages.
With layoffs still going strong, knowing the severance terms at your firm is more important than ever. As reported earlier today, 70 to 150 Latham associates could be handed three-month goodbye presents on Friday.
We put together a casual comparison of severance packages last week, and we asked those with knowledge to weigh in. ATL readers offered several corrections and additional information. We even had a firm spokesman email us to correct a listing.
We offer a new table, after the jump, along with the same caveats from the first time around.
In 2009, a small group of Harvard Law School students noticed an absurd monopoly in the bar prep space, held by an unchallenged leader with a non-evolving product. In response, these students teamed up with Harvard Law alumni to launch BarMax on January 14, 2010.
The mission: democratize bar prep by embracing new technologies to provide the very best bar exam review courses at a fraction of the cost normally associated with these courses.
Since then, with the encouragement of thousands of students and an unwavering commitment to their success, BarMax has established itself as a comprehensive alternative to the stagnant, over-priced status quo.
As we continue to expand, we do not want to lose sight of the basic premises that led us to create BarMax in the first place. If you are a law student who believes that there is something fundamentally wrong with being forced to take out yet another loan to pay for a $4,000 bar exam prep course, you are not alone.
Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past five years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com
Happy Chinese New Year! We were extremely busy the past few months, including most of our US based team working from our Hong Kong offices during November and December.
As a follow up from our recent post, which listed our 62 US associate and counsel placements in Asia last year (vast majority in HK / China), please note that thus far in January ’12, we have already made seven US associate and counsel placements in Asia. This is an especially impressive number, considering the biglaw lateral hiring market in Asia is down right now (see state of the market brief overview below). These new placements are of new hires in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, who were interviewing with their new firm for a month or more and they are spread out among different practice areas, including project finance, litigation, fund formation, M&A and cap markets. We are close on four additional new associate placements, in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, that we expect to close soon. We do not discuss partner placements in these articles, but the pace of partner recruitment in Asia (a large part of our business) has continued.
Hedge Fund In-House Openings in Hong Kong
We are seeing a small run of new in-house openings in Hong Kong at hedge funds. We are currently filling three different in-house positions at three different hedge funds in Hong Kong, two of these searches we are handling on an exclusive basis. All three will most likely be filled by a US associate, with about 4 to 6 years of experience. Mandarin not required. Candidates from NYC and London will be considered, but at one of these funds the new hire will likely come from Hong Kong / China or Singapore (with HK being the strong preference).
Please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com if you are interested in these hedge fund openings. As you probably would expect, the competition for these spots will be fierce and the funds will be very selective when choosing which candidates to interview.
