Open Thread: Standard of Living During the Global Economic Crisis
Cutbacks are hitting every level of Biglaw. Firms have gotten very creative in their attempts to wither cut or control costs. Because of all these rollbacks, weathering the global economic crisis is more challenging than simply holding on to your job — though that is hard enough.
How is the economic crisis affecting people day-to-day? We received an interesting story from a Biglaw staffer that really brings home the daily struggle to make it through this recession:
Last year Dechert sent out that retroactive memo about taking a certain percentage from the attorneys’ bonuses if they didn’t enter their time on time. Well, now they are saying that they are going to do it to the paralegals as well, BUT since most paralegals don’t get bonuses, they are threatening to take five percent from our vacation pay if we don’t qualify for a bonus and if we are late entering our time. I only make about $120 a day (in New York City!), so if the partners, who are making millions, want to take $6.00 from a struggling paralegal, that is just disgusting. …Do any other firms treat their staff [like this]?
Dechert aside (and for the record, we don’t know if this story is an accurate reflection of Dechert’s policies on this specific issue), what other kinds of everyday, “standard of living” sacrifices are people having to make in these difficult times? Contrary to the popular belief, bonuses and pay raises don’t really go into the “coke and prostitutes” fund.
Are associates reorganizing their debt repayment plans? Are paralegals putting off plans to go back to school, or accelerating those plans? Beyond the dollars and statistics, there is a very real cost to all of the bad economic news.
How is it going out there?
Earlier: Biglaw: Welcome to the Credit Crunch
(66) Comments
Comments
GT makes secretaries bring their own toilet paper to work.
McNealy & Deesh makes you go out to crap in the Starbucks across the street.
Milbank now has us all working from home to save on electricity. And they froze salaries.
MWE does this with attorneys after a few warnings. Not sure about staff.
Dechert's plan to dock vacation pay would most likely be illegal under California law. Don't know about New York.
I wanna RIP one of my nasty PUSSY FARTS right on these greedy partners' faces!
Um, is it really that hard to enter your time?
Paralegals are TTT!
We should have a poll about the percentage of attorneys that have BANGED their paralegals or legal assistants.
My number - 1 paralegal and 1 legal assistant in 15 months (and working on paralegal #2!). What's your number?
Due to budget shortfalls, Latham first years no longer have chairs and are being encouraged instead to sit on staff members' faces.
We don't make much money, but we live in igloos and ice is cheap.
9 - 0 paralegals but 2 legal assistants in 29 months. In my experience, it has become much harder to score in the office in recent times.
6:
Thank you. I needed a good chuckle this morning. Much appreciated.
HLS rumored to be taking away 'professors' as quality of living has declined. They will all teach via video conference from home.
Skadden forces all secretaries and staff attorneys to wear catheters; all bathrooms have been removed.
Good grief, just enter your time and quit crying. It is your job. Do it.
The bull's balls are way too offensive for this blog; Please castrate.
I put my entire bonus toward paying off my six-figure student loans. The bonus was cut in half from last year, so I ended up paying down around 10K after tax instead of 20K. Unfortunate, but it could have been a lot worse.
I am living as if I will be laid off next week: paying down debt and beefing up emergency fund.
My firm has a policy but it is more nebulous. It is a "factor" in our evaluations. The question I have is, "What is 'late'?" Daily, weekly, monthly?
I am living as if I will be laid off next week: paying down debt and beefing up emergency fund.
My firm has a policy but it is more nebulous. It is a "factor" in our evaluations. The question I have is, "What is 'late'?" Daily, weekly, monthly?
My firm has a policy but it is more nebulous. It is a "factor" in our evaluations. The question I have is, "What is 'late'?" Daily, weekly, monthly?
I am living as if I will be laid off next week: paying down debt and beefing up emergency fund.
17, 19, 24 - Amen, brother.
in fairness, it probably takes a stick to get biglaw paralegals to enter time properly. they are just offended by the fact that such a small stick ($6) is presumed to be effective.
My bonus is going right up my nose.
Coke on a Monday
22/23- Maybe the policy is deliberately nebulous. If you're sitting in the office writing a brief, "late" might be something much different than if you're halfway across the country in the midst of a month long trial.
The bull's balls are way too offensive for this blog; Please castrate.
This is off topic, but when do firms generally raise salary of a first year? Is it with all raises shortly after bonus season or is it a year later?
First to question -- $120 a day for a NYC paralegal? I can't believe the pay would be that low in South Dakota or Mississippi!
Give me California, where vacation pay is vested and irrevocable. Now if we could just keep our government solvent...
I steal staplers.
33,
Your comment gave me a great idea.
Selling staples on the street for a dollar. Kind of like selling apples during the Depression, eh?
34, get ready to be broke, or get your ass stapled.
34 -- Exactly --
I will build my own Hooverville in Bryant Park out of printer paper boxes and sell staplers and anything else I find on secretarys' desks. I will also steal the Mickey Mantle signed baseball from the partners office down the hall.
with my student loans at 2-3% it's silly to pay them down ITE.
I steal other peoples family photos.
Too offensive. I feel offended.
Bankruptcy law rules!
I drink PEPSUBER!
how long should emergency funds be now? I think I've heard 3 mths before, but there's no way I'd find another biglaw gig in 3 mths now.
Does anyone have suggestions on where to consolidate my student loans with the rates this low? I have both private and federal loans, with pretty high interest rates on all of them (btw 5% and 6%).
i billed 80 hours in january 2009. anyone beat that?
I think it is 12 months now for emergency funds.
42 - I would recommend emergency funds of four years at the least, and assuming the off-chance that Obama wins re-election, eight years in total. Hell, if you can, I'd just go with 10 years to be safe. By 2018, housing prices may have returned to mid-1990 levels and the DJIA will once again be approaching 9,000.
43: Call Access Group. They're pretty good.
Yeah, I billed 220 hours in January.
As for consolidating student loans, I don't know what the current rates are. Many of us were able to consolidate a couple years ago when student loans rates were crazy low. I am paying around 3%.
48 - you're a tool.
I consolidated my Stafford loans when I graduated, but I was told that I couldn't consolidate the private loans. Is this true?
50 -- Yes.
43, consolidation is not the same thing as refinancing. It allows you to lock in a low interest rate so they don't go up later, which obviously only works on variable rate loans. For those 6.8% fixed-rate loans, consolidation does not help you and you will end up paying more.
The Democrats got rid of the variable rate loans and replaced them with the 6.8% fixed rate ones in order to make college more "affordable." Who knew that interest rates might go down?
You know who to thank for your fixed rates.
53 nailed it
Mos def, 19. I've got cash to last me for 18 months in the emergency fund.
Any opinions as to how long interest rates will stay low?
Orrick does this as well.
55 - Interest rates will stay low for approximately 9 to 12 months at which point the inflationary pressures building in the economy will begin to skyrocket. Rates will them climb very high, but will still not be enough to stem the hyperinflation that will result from the flood of money the Fed and Treasury have been pouring into the financial system. On the other hand, you will be able to pay back your school loans for the same amount it will cost for a loaf of bread.
52: You're wrong. It was the Republicans who got rid of the variable rate loans, over Democratic opposition. Luckily we now have a Democrat majority in Congress, and they might be able to undo the GOP's mistake.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510998
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243478,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/education
58 nailed it.
Any dumbass who takes on student debt deserves what he gets. Free law school is out there for anyone who wants it. T14 if you're not a prestige whore who has to pay mega bucks to go to HYS.
60=GULC night shift janitor
They'll never get my swingline. It is my stapler. I could burn the building down.
58 - dont be posting all them pesky facts...the republicans just know all these problems are somehow the fault of the poor or sick or bill clinton....
I have variable private loans out at 6%. Anything I can do to get them a bit lower and locked in? (My federal loans are consolidated.)
Same as 18 and 19... paying off loans more slowly because (1) less bonus money to do it with and (2) need to hang onto cash reserves in case the layoffs strike.
Also, I'm on the shittiest case ever and not complaining about it or asking to be reassigned because I don't want to get fired.
"On the other hand, you will be able to pay back your school loans for the same amount it will cost for a loaf of bread."
that's pretty funny. nice post.