It wasn’t that long ago that Locke Lord was provided a lifeboat for a select few partners, associates, and staff from dissolving Morgan & Finnegan. But it appears that was a most temporary landing for the ex-Morgan & Finnegan employees. We’ve been fielding layoff reports from Locke Lord’s offices in Chicago, New York and most recently Dallas. A tipster adds:

Apparently it is affecting some people who were just brought over from Morgan & Finnegan too.

Right there, that’s the difference between driving a Lexus and driving a Lexis.

We have now confirmed with a firm spokesperson that Locke Lord did lay off approximately six percent of its associates and an undisclosed number of staff today. Locke Lord gave us the following statement:

These are extremely tough economic times for our country, and Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell is not immune. We have been cutting expenses and our budget while making prudent business decisions, but it is clear we are in a recession that continues to adversely affect us all. Our clients’ decision to cut back on outside legal services and the uncertainty ahead has led to a conservative reduction in our attorneys and staff, and we are deferring the start date of our new Associates to January 2010. At the same time, we feel strongly our firm fundamentals are sound, and we look forward to a long and vibrant future as we continue to provide excellent legal services to our clients.

In addition, the firm spokesperson tell us that only “two or three” of the laid off attorneys were from Morgan & Finnegan. But, our tipsters report that the M&F casualties were higher for former Morgan & Finnegan staff that had (briefly) made the change over.

Good luck to all the ex-Locke Lord people and ex-M&F Locke Lord people tonight.

Update (6:25): Texas Lawyer reports that Locke Lord also deferred start dates for incoming first year associates:

Additionally, the firm today notified its incoming fall associate class of 31 who were supposed to start in September that they will be starting in January 2010. The firm’s summer associate program will not be affected, she says, although “we will probably have a little less extravagant entertainment.”

Update (6:44): We now have a source telling us that 80-90 staffers were let go along with the attorneys. Altogether, this puts the layoffs today at Locke Lord comfortably over 100 people.

Layoffs at Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell [Texas Lawyer]

Earlier: Nationwide Dissolution Watch: Locke Lord Locks Down Morgan & Finnegan Laterals

* Sexually harassed by Playboy editors? Perhaps. Surprised? Certainly not. [Legal Blog Watch]

* We posted earlier today about Orrick’s West Virginia office. Now, there’s video. [The Shark]

* Actually, this isn’t how it works. People tip off Above the Law long before the partner shows up in anybody’s office…. Okay, sometimes it works exactly like this. [Legally Drawn]

* Chicago women unite. [Coalition of Women’s Initiatives]

* Don’t forget to vote in the Elite Eight of our Safest Law Firm bracket. We’re keeping the polls open for this round through Wednesday. There is a really tight match going on between Cravath and Covington & Burling. [Above the Law]

Allen Matkins, a mid-sized California firm, is the latest firm to offer the “hemlock package” of layoffs and salary cuts.

The layoffs at Allen Matkins were relatively small. Only about ten people, six of whom were associates, according to ATL tipsters. But the salary cuts were more substantial. According to one tipster:

First year salary has been reduced from $160K to $145K. A number of other associates (excluding first years) were informed that their salary would be reduced by 15% or 30%. Those associates were told that they were selected to receive “adjusted” compensation based on their hours, although the actual method for determining which associate would be subject to this salary adjustment was not disclosed and remains unclear.

Other tipsters weigh in after the jump.

There’s been a little confusion concerning precisely what Arent Fox is doing with its incoming associates. We told you earlier that the firm had pushed back start dates (some to November, others to February), but new information has come to light.

According to a spokesperson for Arent Fox. five 3Ls will be starting with the firm in November 2009, while the rest (21 incoming first years) won’t be able to start until February, 2010.

Our sources also report that the deferral stipend being offered to those February, 2010 first years is $5,000 — but that money is on top of the bar expenses. According to our sources, that money will not be paid out until November. Arent Fox declines to comment on the specific amount of its deferral stipend, as per firm policy.

After the jump, we explain why some commenters think that Arent Fox is “rescinding” offers to incoming first years.

Let’s start with the good news. Robinson & Cole, a well known Connecticut-based firm, has named a new managing partner. John B. Lynch (Holy Cross undergrad, UVA law school) was elected managing partner of the firm yesterday. Congratulations.

Sadly, it appears that one of his first acts was to layoff associates and staff. Thirty people are out today at Robinson & Cole. Above the Law just obtained the following press release:

Robinson & Cole has eliminated 11 counsel and associate attorneys, and 19 support staff positions. These cutbacks are taking place among the firm’s seven offices in the Northeast. Other prudent expense reductions will be made across the firm.

“Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”

On the bright side, all systems are a “go” for Robinson in terms of incoming first years and the 2009 summer program. That’s pretty good news in today’s market.

Read the full statement from Robinson & Cole after the jump. Good luck to our brothers in UCONN territory.

Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email (at roxanastthomas@gmail.com), follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook.

Cliff does not understand why attorney layoffs — mine or anyone else’s — are, well, newsworthy. This comes to light when I show him what I think is a fairly remarkable story about a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop who, in a display of consummate indiscretion, broadcasted the firm’s layoff plans to his fellow passengers on the Washington-to-New York Acela train (via loud cell-phone conversation).

“Pretty fucked up, huh?” I say. He shrugs. Crickets chirp. “I don’t know,” he finally answers. “I don’t get it. I don’t get the whole thing.” I try to explain why I think the story is remarkable. First, there is the obvious matter of the partner’s imprudence, and the thoughtlessness of announcing personnel decisions that will affect people’s lives — people like me — to the passengers on the 2:00 train. Second, I tell him, putting aside the fact that widespread job losses are the foremost indicator of what feels like our profession’s implosion, they are often fashioned as “stealth layoffs.” Pillsbury had already engaged in some stealth layoffs, and although it is not clear that the partner’s unofficial press release (in the form of poor volume modulation) thwarted the firm’s plans for another, the possibility gives the story a “gotcha” quality.

But, it turns out, while the term “stealth layoff” may be part of every lawyer’s lexicon at the moment, it does not have universal currency. “What are ‘stealth layoffs’?” Cliff wants to know. Growing exasperated, I try to explain the pernicious “enhanced performance review,” and its insidious corollary, the “performance-based dismissal.” My indignation is not contagious: Cliff remains unmoved. “These are private companies,” he says. “I don’t see why they have an obligation to announce anything about who they choose to fire, or why.”

People get fired, he says: it sucks, but why should we expect law firms to act any differently than any other employer? Cliff has worked in advertising for the better part of two decades, where, apparently, things work differently; when he was working at big ad agencies, he tells me, people were fired all the time. In fact, firings usually coincided with payday, so if you got a paycheck you knew that you were safe for a little while longer.

Once, years ago, when he was working at one such agency, someone from management went around and put stickers on the doors of selected offices. Everyone who got a sticker assumed that they were going to be canned, so that later, when they were herded into a conference room, they were prepared for the ax to fall. Instead, they were told that they “were the future of the company,” but that everyone else was being told to pack up and leave. The chosen ones were then sequestered in the conference room until the unfortunate ones, who hadn’t made the cut, were shepherded out of the building. No one had any warning of what was about to happen, much less an expectation that they would get three months of severance.

I understand what Cliff is saying. “But,” I remind him, “you told me that the last few times you were fired, they escorted you out as you threw things down the hall and yelled obscenities.” I also recall him saying, at some point, “Wow, I can’t believe you’re still going into the office. I would be walking in with a can of gasoline.”

“I didn’t say that it doesn’t suck,” he concedes. “I just don’t understand why everyone thinks that these law firms owe them something.”

Is Roxana’s significant other being insufficiently understanding? Read her reflections on lawyers’ love lives, after the jump.

Reed Smith already laid off 115 people in early December. Here at the end of the first quarter, the firm has decided it needs to reduce headcount even further. Above the Law has been able to confirm that Reed Smith is letting go 26 attorneys and 74 staff across its U.S. and U.K. offices. A firm spokesperson provided us with this statement:

Specifically, we are initiating the outplacement of 17 associates in the U.S. and have started a consultation process in London that will potentially result in nine associate redundancies. All of the affected associates are in the corporate and real estate areas of our practice, where demand for our services continues to be slow. Overall, this action will affect less than 4% of all of our associates.

I should’ve learned, to play the guitar.
I should’ve learned, to play them drums.
Maybe get a blister on your little finger.
Maybe get a blister on your thumb.

These layoffs bring Reed Smith’s total cuts to 215 employees in the past four months. Let’s hope this is the last round. Good luck to everybody who has been let go today.

Read the full statement after the jump.

If you’re a 3L or a clerk with a Biglaw job offer, congratulations. If you were hoping for a traditional start date in the fall, you may be a little disappointed though. Many a firm has pushed its start date for incoming associates into 2010.

Yesterday, Milbank Tweed informed associates that it’s pushing back start dates from October 2009 to January 2010. From a tipster:

This was done [Monday] afternoon by phone from partners (probably from the practice groups where incoming associates are slated to go) and an email went out later. Old Start Date: Oct. 19, 2009. New Start Date: January 25, 2010. $10,000 stipend + the $10,000 you can get as a salary advance + moving expenses + bar expenses.

Incoming associates at Arent Fox and Fulbright & Jaworski are also reporting that their start dates have been pushed back to January 2010. A spokesman from Arent Fox tells us that a lucky few still have the option to start this year though:

A number of third-year law students who were offered a position with Arent Fox will start on November 1, 2009 as previously planned. The remaining 3L students offered a position with Arent Fox have had their start dates deferred until Feb. 1, 2010…. Arent Fox is providing a stipend plus bar exam fees for those whose start date has been deferred.

We’ve got a round-up of start dates at over 20 Biglaw firms after the jump, most of them set to welcome new associates in 2010. We invite you to supplement start date information in the comments, or by e-mailing us with “Start Date Watch” in the subject.

There’s an interesting job opening Orrick is extending to a number of recent graduates. We got this information from Georgetown University Law Center, but we understand that Orrick has posted this job at a couple of top schools:

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (Wheeling, WV) - Orrick currently has an excellent opportunity for recent law school graduates in its Global Operations Center in Wheeling, WV. The position is an entry level Career Attorney in its dynamic and growing Emerging Companies Group (ECG).

The economy is bad. Everybody knows that. But are we really living in a world where students at the nation’s best law schools are looking at “career attorney” jobs in West Virginia? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But this can’t be what GULC students were hoping for when they began their law school journey.

A tipster explains exactly what we are talking about, after the jump.

I wanted to circle back to a column that appeared in yesterday’s Washington Post and ABA Journal. A small firm “middle manager” wrote into the WaPo complaining that he kept hiring terrible associates:

I’m in middle management at a small law firm. Of every three associates we hire, we inevitably part with two within a year. The pattern is always the same: The associate is hired, struggles with his hours for the first few months, and then develops problems maintaining a responsible level of contact with clients. Then he struggles with deadlines, and finally when the partners and I are at our wits’ end, the associate pretty much stops working, stops billing and becomes a liability. We offer training and performance plans, we have scheduled weekly meetings with the associates, and we’re small so someone is always available for guidance. Is firing people just the way it is?

It sounds to me like this guy has a terrible eye for talent. The Washington Post (rightly, I think) highlights several factors that can help this guy become a better interviewer. But advice columnist Lily Garcia also offers this tip:

But there’s no guarantee your new associate will make it. If an employee is struggling, it is easy to assume it’s because of poor attitude or lack of ability. But environmental factors, such as an employee’s training, support and supervisory relationship, most accurately predict success.

If 66% of your people are washing out, it’s probably not because 66% of the law students you hire are functionally useless. I can’t imagine what firm the advice seeker works for, but lets hope management heeds this basic advice.

Explaining Your Credit History; and the Case of the Vanishing Lawyers [Washington Post]
Law Firm Manager Writes Post Columnist About Clueless Associates [ABA Journal]

* The American Lawyer gives you its list of the top 25 dealmakers of 2008. H. Rodgin Cohen of Sullivan & Cromwell came out on top thanks to his work on bank bailouts. [The American Lawyer]

* Judge James Munley ruled that teens taking naked cell phone photos of themselves does not constitute “child pornography.” Teens in Wyoming Pennsylvania, sext all you want! [Reuters]

* A California lawyer says she’s launching a Craigslist-like site for recent law grads and out-of-work lawyers to advertise their services. It sounds more like Match.com to us though. You’ve got to pay to create a profile pitching yourself. [AmLaw Daily]

* New York AG Andrew Cuomo sticks it to the banking Man, forcing JPMorgan Chase to drop a flat monthly fee from its credit card accounts. [CNN Money]

* Peter Madoff is appealing the ruling freezing his assets in the $2 million lawsuit filed against him by Brooklyn Law student Andrew Samuels. [Bloomberg]

* A highly unusual plea bargain in Maryland. Charges against a 22-year-old woman will be dropped if she testifies against other cult members… and her son rises from the dead. [Washington Post]

We’re down to eight firms in our 2009 March Madness for Law Firms. It’s an NCAA-style tournament in which ATL readers vote to crown one firm Biglaw’s safest — the place where you are most likely to still have your job at year’s end.

The real NCAA tournament heads into the Final Four this weekend, and we plan to catch up with them. We’re bringing you the Legal Employment Elite Eight match-ups today, with polls open until midnight on Wednesday, April 2. We’ll then head into the Final Four, with Biglaw’s two safest firms competing for the crown on Monday.

There were many upsets in the latest round of ATL March Madness. Heading into the Elite Eight round, it looks like Vault prestige seeds mean little. Over 6800 people voted in the most popular match-up of the Sweet Safe Sixteen, helping Paul Weiss (V13) fend off Skadden (V4). Williams & Connolly (v14) managed to squeak out a victory over Sullivan & Cromwell (V3), in a tight competition with a final score of 51-49.

Heading into the weekend, Debevoise (V12) was beating Davis Polk (V5), but when the buzzer sounded at midnight Sunday, some last-minute voters managed to hand a narrow victory to DPW. The final score was 50.1 to 49.9.

There were a few blowouts as well: Kirkland 72 - Linklaters 28; Cravath 80 - Sidley 20; and Wachtell 82 - Gibson 18.

Meanwhile with regard to the real NCAA tournament, there are 738 ATL readers and one Elie Mystal competing in pool over at ESPN. Elie would like to point out that he’s tied for fifth in that tournament at the moment. K. Eimicke is at the front of the pack for now though, and looking good to win a gavel-shaped ATL stress ball should UNC go all the way.

After the jump, we’ve got new ATL March Madness brackets, the polls for the Elite Eight round, and commentary from ATL’s Dick Vitale, Lord Oberon.

Is Skadden hurting more than people think? First, we learned that the firm was extending its Sidebar program in an effort to get associates to take a year off. On Friday, we reported that Skadden laid off over 50 staffers and greatly reduced its staff attorney program.

Above the Law just received a memo indicating that Skadden’s current first-year associates are being shipped over to litigation, for as long as six months. Here’s an excerpt from the memo that was sent to first-year corporate associates at Skadden tday:

Our first year program will now include a six month litigation component in which you will work under the direct supervision of lawyers from the general litigation, white collar, intellectual property/patent, antitrust and/or mass torts groups, both from the New York office and other firm offices. In order to implement this program fairly, all corporate associates will participate in the litigation component. One group will rotate into litigation in early April while the others will proceed to their previously scheduled “second” corporate rotation. In October, the groups will switch and those who were in the litigation rotation will be rotated to their other corporate rotation and those who have completed their second corporate rotation will rotate into the litigation rotation. We anticipate final assignments will occur in May 2010.

A six-month rotation through litigation for new corporate attorneys just starting their careers sounds like a polite way of saying, “we simply don’t have enough work to justify having all of these people hanging around.” When you couple that with the Sidebar program and the staffing cuts, this new information is sure to make people worried.

At least it’s better than layoffs. More after the jump.

* What should you wear while pounding the pavement looking for a job? I suggest the Will Smith “Pursuit of Happyness” look, but there are other ideas. [Corporette]

* Because the real world doesn’t have its very own Kyle Broflovski, maybe we should all sign this petition? Whether or not its good policy, a student loan bailout would be just awesome. [Cancel Student Loan Debts]

* Wow. Marion Barry. That dude is still kicking around? He reminds me of herpes. [TaxProf Blog]

* A University of Florida professor got fired. You’ll see why once you click on the link (scroll down because the video is no longer on YouTube) and go to at least the 2:35 mark. [Legal Writing Prof Blog]

* Speaking of Florida, I’m just not sure how we can justify that state having so many electoral votes anymore. I mean, the professional wide receiver to competent individual ratio is way out of whack down there. [The Legal Satyricon]

* There is a lot of Spirit and Opportunity in this week’s Blawg Review. Now is a great time to look explore and imagine other planets, given how terrible mother Gaia is starting to look.
[Declarations and Exclusions via Blawg Review]

I was (very impolitely) reading someone else’s New York Post on the subway this morning. There was an article about outgoing Yale Law School dean Harold Koh, whom President Obama recently nominated to serve as the Legal Adviser of the State Department. The paper’s purchaser eventually stared me down, and I meekly said, “Sorry — I was surprised the Post had such a strong opinion about this Harold Koh guy.”

My subway interlocutor (I love NYC) offered: “Yeah. Well, the article says he was a Dean of Yale Law School. That’s a pretty good school right. You gotta assume that Obama wouldn’t have nominated somebody who knows nothing about the law, so I’m guessing the writer is just an idiot.”

I don’t want to assume anything, But the random guy on the subway seems to be at least as well-informed as Meghan Clyne, the “DC-based writer” who wrote an anti-Koh op-ed in today’s New York Post. Check out her analysis of Koh’s credentials:

Judges should interpret the Constitution according to other nations’ legal “norms.” Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts. The United States constitutes an “axis of disobedience” along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq.

Those are the views of the man on track to become one of the US government’s top lawyers: Harold Koh.

Umm … context, please?

Wait, what am I talking about? Context? In the Post? Check out the latest terrorist sympathizer in the Obama administration, after the jump.

As we follow the sun through its appointed circuit, we’ve learned that additional layoffs have occurred today out west. Manatt, Phelps has laid off 25 people today: 17 lawyers and 8 staff.

Here’s the statement the firm provided to Above the Law:

The broad economic slowdown continues to present challenges to businesses in every industry. The quality and breadth our national practice, as well as initiatives to improve resource utilization and reduce expenses, have positioned us to meet these challenges. Responsible stewardship, however, requires ongoing evaluation and appropriate alignment of staffing levels with client needs.

With this in mind, we have made the extremely difficult decision to reduce our lawyer ranks by 17 and our staff ranks by 8. Due to the nature and timing of these actions, we have provided those affected with financial and other assistance to help with their transitions.

We understand that the layoffs took place in the finance, tax, and advertising practice groups.

This is the second round of cuts for Manatt. We reported earlier that Manatt has already laid off 47 people since October, 2008.

A tipster also informs us that Manatt first years will be taking a pay cut:

Bill Quicksilver announced … that first year salaries would be reduced to $145K starting April 1. And no on campus recruiting.

Is this the new trend, lay people off while cutting salaries? It certainly appears that firms are trying to finish off this round of cuts before Passover and Easter.

Update (4:48): Additional details about severance after the jump.

More bad news on the last day penultimate day of March. We’re now able to report that the firm so nice they named it twice, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, is laying off ten percent of its associates and staff. Here’s the statement from a Stroock spokesperson:

For some time, we have watched, with concern, as firms and businesses around the country have responded to difficult economic conditions through layoffs of hardworking, dedicated employees. Over the past several months, we have sought to avoid taking similar steps. However, the economic downturn has not abated and we have determined that these conditions require us to take similar action. So, today, we have reduced the number of associates and staff by approximately 10% firm wide. We remain well staffed to serve our clients and to grow when conditions improve.

These actions sadden us greatly, but under current economic conditions are unavoidable.

We also understand that that the firm will be asking certain associates to take a pay cut. More details after the jump.

We’ve heard rumors for a while that Alston & Bird was deferring the start dates of its incoming first year associates, but the firm refused to confirm the news. We’ve finally gotten our hands on the memo. It appears that Alston & Bird is doing exactly what you would expect:

Entering Associates: we will defer the start date for incoming associates until January 19, 2010. We will be providing a stipend of $10,000 to help defray expenses during the deferral period. In addition, we have offered the opportunity to pursue a one year public service or pro bono fellowship — and we have a number of these we can make available - to a limited group of our entering associates. For those approved for a fellowship, we will provide a payment of $5000/month.

One incoming tipster is fairly upbeat about A&B’s plan:

[S]eems about in line with most other big firms and the public service stipend is pretty good money for Atlanta if you can actually find one of those jobs these days. they must be trying to make up for the economic and stealth layoff bloodbath of late.

It appears that incoming first years have known about the plan for at least a week. So, A&B’s desire to be stealthy with its issues in this economy has not unduly harmed its incoming first years in their attempts to find alternate employment for a year. Other firms should take note that the longer they wait to defer start dates, the harder it is for their first years to secure new jobs for a year.

Alston & Bird is also scaling back its 2009 summer associate program to nine weeks.

Read the full A&B memo after the jump.

The story of New Jersey Superior Court Judge Lawrence DeBello has the makings for a great romantic tale — the forbidden love between a judge and his law clerk.

From the New Jersey Law Journal:

A Mercer County, N.J., judge has admitted breaching judicial ethics and policies by sending romantic e-mails to his former law clerk via his judiciary e-mail account and by using his judicial office to help land her a public defender job.

The alluring law lovely, who has not been named, clerked for DeBello in Hudson County Family Court from 2006 through 2007. When she left, she and DeBello kept in touch, exchanging e-mails that discussed “personal matters” and used “offensive language”, according to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct complaint [PDF].

DeBello unwisely used his judicial e-mail account for their correspondence, rather than opening a get_underneath_my_robes@gmail.com account. Even after being warned by his judicial superiors, DeBello could not keep his passion tamed:

DeBello admitted that at a December 2007 meeting with Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli and Hudson County Trial Court Administrator Joseph Davis, he conceded the e-mails were inappropriate…. But after that meeting, the e-mails continued and even heated up. DeBello admitted that in December 2007 and mid-January 2008, he “participated in the escalation of the intimate tone and nature of those e-mail exchanges, which concerned their respective romantic feelings for one another.”

In January 2008, DeBello was transferred to Mercer County, but kept up the e-mails, trying to help the former clerk get a new job. He admitted he “used the power and prestige of his office” to advance her “private interests” by making an unsolicited telephone call to Deputy Public Defender Edward Marable — head of the Office of Law Guardian for the northwest region, who had appeared before him in court — telling him the former clerk was interested in a law guardian job.

Love obviously made this justice blind to the error of his ways. We just hope he got more than legal research out of his judicial Juliet.

DeBello has filed an answer [PDF] to the complaint which basically amounts to “Busted.” As Will S. said, the course of true love never did run smooth.

Judge Admits Ethics Breach Over Torrid E-Mails With Former Clerk [New Jersey Law Journal]
Judge Hit With Ethics Charges Over Steamy E-Mails With Former Clerk [New Jersey Law Journal]

Ann Althouse, law professor, blogger, from ATL Idol judge, has gotten engaged to a commenter on her blog.

Thank God I’m married. Seriously. I’m so glad that I don’t have to look for love in the comments. Thank you, sweet chocolate Easter Bunny Jesus. I will sacrifice a dozen colored eggs in your honor.

Andrew Sullivan has the bare bones facts:

Ann Althouse gets engaged to … a commenter on her blog. The post that got the ball rolling. Ten days of emailing … and she was ready.

And here’s part of Althouse’s response to Mr. Sullivan:

Andrew, I don’t think you’ve understood the time line here. And why link to the nasty Pandagon on this one? Your post is really disrespectful to me. If you’d watched the Bloggingheads you linked to, you’d know that my fiancé is someone who has interacted with me in writing on my blog for more than 4 years. We decided to meet in person after an exchange of email in December. We met in January and then, after a some additional email, decided to meet again in mid-February, and then we fell in love. We decided to get married after 2 more weekends and a 10-day spring break.

Well Ann, you have our congratulations. And since I don’t know what else to say, I’ve just turned on the LEWW-signal. Maybe we’ll get some expert commentary shortly.

Update (2:37): After the jump, LEWW answers the call and weighs in.

No Comment Possible [Daily Dish]
Love in the Time of Commenters [Bloggingheads]
Uh Oh. [Althouse]

Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to Letter from London, a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. You can reach Isaac by email, at isaacsmithlondon@googlemail.com.

The G20 summit, accompanied by its anti-capitalist sideshow, arrives in London this week - and UK Big Law is feeling a little scared.

Law firms are warning employees not to wear suits on Wednesday or Thursday so as to avoid being targeted in the violent protests planned around London’s financial district.

Which provokes an interesting question: how ghetto does a corporate lawyer need to dress in order to avoid arousing suspicion as to their true identity?

We’ll soon find out.

It all seems a bit unfair, really. It’s not as if lawyers got the super big bonuses. And now their salaries are actually falling. If those nasty anti-capitalists had bothered to have a quick scan of The Lawyer last Wednesday, they’d have seen that Shearman & Sterling’s London office had followed Freshfields in cutting newly qualified associate salaries by 8%.

Are we going back in time? More after the jump.

Late last week, we told you that bad things were coming down the pipe at Fried Frank. This morning, the firm announced that 99 people will be let go:

Effective today, we are implementing changes that will result in an overall reduction of 41 associates and 58 administrative staff from our U.S. workforce. This decision is one we worked very hard to avoid. But we must respond responsibly to the current environment. We would like to express our appreciation to everyone impacted by these decisions for all they have done for our Firm and our clients.

The economy is so bad that even firms that “don’t do lawyer layoffs” are having to do lawyer layoffs.

It’s not even surprising anymore that the firm is deferring all incoming first-year associates to January 2010. Fried Frank is also following the trend of asking associates to defer until the fall of 2010:

Additional steps announced today pertain to our fall 2009 class and our 2009 summer associate programs in the U.S. The start date of our fall 2009 class has been deferred to January 28, 2010. All incoming associates whose start date is deferred until January 2010 will receive a $10,000 stipend. We are also offering an opportunity for members of the fall 2009 class to defer until the fall 2010. We are encouraging those associates to develop their legal skills by pursuing a public interest or government position or by volunteering with a legal, political or community-based organization. Those who elect this deferral will receive a stipend of $70,000 plus health benefits.

And Fried Frank is cutting its summer program from 12 weeks down to 10.

Ninety-nine layoffs. Shortening of summer programs. Deferral of incoming associates:

I don’t like,
I don’t like,
I don’t like Mondays.

Read the full memo after the jump.

* Dahlia Lithwick likens the high drama at the High Court over who-will-retire-first to an Oscar Wilde play. [Slate]

* Holland & Knight was one of the firms that took part in the pre-Valentine’s Day massacre, but one practice group was actually hiring. It’s a good time to be a lawyer-lobbyist. [Washington Post]

* Dewey & LeBeouf may help the MGM Mirage unwind. [Swiss Press]

* Jury selection begins today for the trial of Brooke Astor’s son and lawyer, who allegedly took advantage of her Alzheimer’s to steal millions from her. The case has been getting media attention for years, but now (post-Bernie Madoff) It seems almost quaint. [New York Times]

* Solo practitioners and small firms are getting creative in how they bill. Some are even bartering. A cow for some document review perhaps? [National Law Journal]

[Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.]

Things are either quieting down or it’s just the calm before the storm. We suspect the latter. Although there were more people laid off this week than last, it was still relatively quiet, particularly compared to the beginning of the month. Still, first quarter results are being calculated and it’s not going to be pretty.

Life does go on for some. Freshfields kicked off the London firms’ partnership-announcement season with news that 14 associates had made partner - just more than half the 25 of last year, though. Surprisingly, nine of the 14 were in corporate practices. Not surprisingly, none were in the US.

Of course, the layoffs continue. Clifford Chance had its eighth layoff announcement - 25 transactional lawyers in New York this time (although we note that it’s sometimes difficult to track the UK firms’ layoffs because the redundancy process sometimes includes layoffs that have been previously or are later reported as if separate). Anyway, that brings the firm’s total up to 391 (210 lawyers, 181 staff) - good for #4 on the Top Ten list.

The other big news for the week was Dechert sneaking back onto the list when it laid off 125 people - 63 lawyers, 62 staff. That brought the firm’s total to 239 (144 lawyers, 95 staff), good for the #10 spot. This is another firm that just can’t get it right. The firm has had 5 separate layoffs.

News, analysis, and context, after the jump.

We just wanted to remind you that the polls are open until Sunday for the Sweet (Safe) Sixteen round of ATL March Madness for Law Firms. It’s our NCAA-style tournament to crown Biglaw’s safest firm — the place where you are least likely to be laid off.

Sixteen firms remain. Some of the match-ups are tight ones.

A faithful ATL reader who goes by the moniker Lord Oberon has been chosen to weigh in as a guest commentator. ATL’s Dick Vitale has compiled stats from the AmLaw 100 survey for the March Madness firms. Here’s Oberon’s round-up, baby!

Of the sixteen we have information on, there are five that have posted gains in profits, number of equity partners, and PPP. In order of PPP (the order doesn’t change if you use 08 or 09 PPP), they are: Paul W - Kirkland - Debevoise - Cleary - Gibson

Of all the March Madness firms we have information on, there are three that have NOT posted gains in profits, number of equity partners, or PPP. In order of PPP they are: Cravath - Latham - Shearman & Sterling

There are seven March Madness firms that posted revenue above $1 Billion. Of those firms, Weil and Latham have reduced the number of equity partners; Skadden and Latham have reduced PPP; and Latham reduced gross revenue.

Two firms increased the number of equity partners, but lost revenue and PPP: Fried Frank - Milbank Tweed

Eight firms increased the number of equity partners, but lost PPP: Skadden - WilmerHale - MoFo - Paul Hastings - Sullivan - Davis Polk - Fried Frank - Milbank Tweed

Use the statistics as you will. Vote with your head. Or vote with your heart. Either way, vote for Biglaw’s safest firms, and check out the brackets, after the jump. Polls close Sunday at midnight.

For those just tuning in, earlier today, we wrote about Stephanie Haney, a 2L at UNC who hopes to be one of Playboy’s Girls of the ACC. (See Career Alternatives for Law Students: Playboy Bunny.)

After our initial post went up, Maxine Eichner — a professor at UNC School of Law — emailed Above the Law directly to say that Ms. Haney was not a student at the law school. We updated the post and wondered:

Who is Stephanie Haney? Does claiming to be a law student really help you get into Playboy? Perhaps Haney didn’t get the memo after an accidental admission offer? Is she actually a student but using an assumed name? We don’t know the answers, but we’re trying to get them.

We sent out some inquiries and now we have answers for you. Stephanie Haney is enrolled at UNC as Stephanie Shimek. Haney is her maiden name. Here’s a note from UNC Law.

Dear Ms. Hill:

Thank you for checking in. Stephanie Shimek is a 2L at UNC School of Law. We believe that Ms. Shimek did not intend to cause any confusion about her identity; she has personal reasons for a recent change in her last name.

Regards,
KEB

Katie Bowler, MFA
Assistant Dean for Communications

Fair enough.

After the jump, commenters weigh in and Mrs. Shimek/Ms. Haney explains the personal reasons behind her name change.

* I thought I was the only one who believed Katie Couric had a personal vendetta against my brain. (Seriously though, can’t we just put Katie back on the Today Show, move Matt Lauer to The View, put Campbell Brown in Couric’s CBS spot, and put Elisabeth Hasselbeck on CNN up against O’Reilly and Olbermann so Keith’s head will explode and MSNBC will give the time slot to Ben Affleck? Trust me, this is the only way to stop Ben Affleck from making any more movies.) [Cityfile]

* Speaking of Olbermann, if I may channel him for a moment: How DARE you count the AIG bonuses that were given back as gross income for tax purposes? This is a GROSS miscarriage of the justice that Americans have FOUGHT and DIED for, sirs! This grotesque loophole is, in fact, the very definition of HYPOCRISY. (j/k Mr. Olbermann. Please love me.) [TaxProf Blog]

* Where do I sign up for the job “exotic dance researcher?” [The Legal Satyricon]

* If law firms were public corporations, would that help things? [Law and More]

* I once saw Hole in concert and Courtney Love did a cover “Come As You Are” that was better than Nirvana’s. But, as the man says, “cocaine’s a hell of a drug.” [Popsquire]

* If law students can be centerfolds, why can’t SCOTUS judges run the triangle? [Litination]

Like many of you, we’ve heard the rumors about significant staffing cuts at Skadden all week. We now understand that all of the affected individuals have been informed, and we can now appreciate the scope of Skadden’s actions. Here is the bad news for Skadden staff:

* We understand that over 50 legal support staffers have been let go from the firm.

* In addition to those support staffers, the staff attorney program at Skadden has been greatly reduced. Only staff attorneys that were “integral” to ongoing matters have been kept on. And there is no word on whether those people will have any job security after their matters wrap up.

* The cuts were spread across all of Skadden’s U.S. offices, but at this point international offices remain unscathed.

* No associates were let go.

At some level, staffing cuts at Skadden are not surprising. Last week, we reported that two major Skadden DC partners were leaving the firm. We now understand that they took ten associates with them. We understand that associates participation in the Sidebar program has been very strong. It is a bit too early to tell what the final numbers will be for participation in that program, but our sources report that one of the reasons for the strong early numbers is that Skadden partners are using their contacts to find objectively interesting public service opportunities.

Still, fewer attorneys was bound to lead to fewer staff.

Of course, that doesn’t mean laid off staff are happy with the situation.

The economy is continuing to shed legal jobs. Today’s news comes from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. A GDC spokesperson just furnished Above the Law with this statement:

Due to the challenging market environment that has affected our clients and the demand for legal services, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has reduced its staff positions by 36 across the Firm’s nine U.S. offices. While this is a modest reduction in staff relative to many peer firms, it was nonetheless made reluctantly and with great regret. Now, more than ever, however, we must take appropriate steps to serve our clients in the most cost-efficient manner.

As we’ve said many times, legal support staffs continue to feel the brunt of the retraction in the legal market.

This is the latest cost cutting move from Gibson Dunn, which recently scaled back its summer program to ten weeks. Hopefully, it will be the last?

Good luck to the recently displaced staff at GDC.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of staff layoffs

It’s springtime for IP lawyers because people with experience are always in demand. Today’s Job of the Week is with another IP boutique law firm. Lateral Link has been tremendously successful helping smaller law firms recruit top talent. If you are a small firm looking to hire an attorney, please email Michael Allen at mallen@laterallink.com.

Position: Senior IP Litigation Attorney

Location: Chicago, IL

Description: Well established Chicago based IP firm with an international client base is seeking a senior IP attorney to second-chair IP litigation trials. The attorney must have a technical background and at least seven years of experience. Will consider senior associates, counsel or junior partners.

For more information about this position or to apply, please contact Maricar Tinio at mtinio@laterallink.com. Current members can also contact their personal search consultant directly to discuss this position. Membership in Lateral Link is free and you can apply at www.laterallink.com.

Despite the rise in applications to law schools, many current law school students might be lamenting their decision to pursue a J.D. There’s more news about Biglaw firms firing than hiring these days. Summer associate programs are shrinking in size, being shortened, or being cut altogether. Start dates for 3Ls are being pushed back to next decade. What’s a law student to do?

Instead of aiming to get her head shot on the website at Boies Schiller, one (alleged) UNC 2L is doing an OCI hoping to get into the pages of Playboy. The men’s magazine is recruiting students from across the country for its college issue and is at UNC looking for models for “Girls of the ACC.” From the Daily Tar Heel:

Second-year law student Stephanie Haney, 24, said that she would be honored if chosen. “The women in Playboy are the most beautiful women in the world,” she said.

Haney said she would only pursue modeling in the short run so she can finish school. But she’s willing to put her degree on hold. “I feel like this is something you have to take if it comes up,” Haney said.

If “it comes up,” it would be a good sign for Haney’s future in pornography, or as she refers to it, “the entertainment and image industry.”

More discussion, plus some UPDATES, after the jump.

The National Law Journal reports that eight firms have opened up offices in Los Angeles during the recession. Is this really going to work? We’ve already established that the San Francisco legal market is about as relevant as an aging hippie. Are we sure that L.A. is the promised land?

According to the NLJ, firms have been capitalizing on the glut of available lawyers in California:

To do so, many firms, such as Snell & Wilmer, Atlanta’s Alston & Bird, Philadelphia’s Blank Rome and Lathrop & Gage of Kansas City, Mo., took the opportunity to snag lawyers who recently became available, largely due to dissolutions and economic conditions.

Let’s see, Blank Rome just laid off 79 people. Alston & Bird has been conducting stealth layoffs.

And just last week, Above the Law received some new information about Snell & Wilmer. Details after the jump.

Yesterday, the New York Times published a story about New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s ties to “big tobacco.” As an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Gillibrand — who replaced Hillary Clinton as New York’s junior Senator — represented Phillip Morris.

For most people who understand how law is practiced at the top firms in the country, the interesting part of the NYT article pretty much ends there. As an associate, especially a “superstar” associate as Gillibrand appears to have been, you work for the partners and represent the clients they tell you to represent. It’s really not that complicated.

But since Gillibrand is now a Senator and tobacco is “evil,” neither the Times nor Gillibrand could just leave well enough alone. The Times takes the first shot:

But a review of thousands of documents and interviews with dozens of lawyers and industry experts indicate that Ms. Gillibrand was involved in some of the most sensitive matters related to the defense of the tobacco giant as it confronted pivotal legal battles beginning in the mid-1990s.

Gillibrand was at DPW from 1991 to 2000. And she was really good at it. Wouldn’t one expect that a superstar mid-level would be involved in “sensitive matters” relating to a huge firm client? But hey, the Times reports that Gillibrand is a “former smoker.” Ah-ha. She clearly wants to hand out free cigarettes in elementary school.

But Gillibrand does slightly overplay her hand. We’ll get into it after I take a smoke break.

Squire Sanders was one of the first firms to figure out freezing associate salaries would be tolerable given the current economic situation. I don’t know if the firm will be a trend setter here as well, but the latest news from the firm seems to be in keeping with the general theme of terrible market conditions.

We’ve already reported that Squire Sanders pushed back start dates for its incoming first year associates.

Now the firm is shortening its summer program to seven weeks. But that’s not all. More details after the jump.

* The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that hundreds of juvenile court cases in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania will soon be overturned. After former judge Mark Ciavarella pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from juvenile prisons in exchange for more convictions, the state hired a “Special Master” to investigate. He is not a Malasian Martial Arts expert or the Commander of a space shuttle. [WNEP news]

* Cuomo is still running around in his superhero cape putting out bonus fires. He has expanded his investigation into credit derivatives to see whether banks like Goldman Sachs received taxpayer funds. Do I smell a presidential run in 2012? [Bloomberg]

* In a stunning act of self parody, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has picked a Director for the NRA for the state’s new Attorney General. Check out this sweet picture of him sitting on a hummer. [Anchorage Daily News]

* Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff has joined Covington & Burling. [Covington & Burling LLP]

* Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has a different response to executive compensation than Cuomo and Blumenthal. He says “..there is no law in Wisconsin making a contract illegal simply because someone is well compensated.” [The Wall Street Journal]

* In case you missed it, ATL got a shout out in the New York Times and Time Magazine.

Let’s close the day where we started, with EAPD. We reported this morning that the firm laid off 60 people. Over the course of the day, the firm made additional plans to cut back on its 2009 costs.

The firm will be delaying the start dates for its incoming first year associates. The new date is March 1, 2010. According to a firm spokesperson, deferred first years will receive a $10,000 stipend on top of the normal bar exam expenses. The Red Sox should be good this summer, Brady should be healthy, and the Celtics still have the big 3. Maybe that will help pass the time for a year?

But sadly there is more bad news for law students scheduled to work at EAPD. The firm informs Above the Law that it has canceled its 2009 summer associate program. The decision affects nine would-be summers. Edwards Angell will be paying $5,000 to the displaced summers.

“It looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.”

Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: EAPD Lays Off 60

* John Quinn of Quinn Emanuel sat down to give some advice to young lawyers. Apparently, he remains. [WSJ Law Blog]

* A podcast is up of David Lat’s talk at Duke. Remember, Lat will be in Morgantown tomorrow night … in case you want to see what Morgantown looks like. [Duke Law]

* Can you be contractually obligated to keep your tattoos hidden? Only if you’re pretty. [Popsquire]

* All war is hell. [Underdog]

* Are your Linked In connections more important than your GPA? [Sports Agent Blog]

* For a little background on what AIG is looking at in Connecticut, here’s some perspective on how the state has historically treated employers who failed to pay wages. [Connecticut Employment Law Blog]

* How to design an effective strategy once you’ve been laid off. [Edificial]

* Ira Lee Sorkin gets scammed by …? My money’s on Mrs. Madoff. [Dealbreaker]

Almost a month ago, Latham & Watkins set the market in terms of incoming first year deferral programs Latham offered $75K to associates who saw their start dates with the firm pushed back for a year.

Many firms have followed, but none have topped. Today, Weil, Gotshal & Manges is taking a run at Latham’s high water mark.

A tipster reports sent us a Weil memo that announces the firm’s new deferred start date program. It’s a bit complicated. Weil is pushing back the start date for all incoming associates until January, 2010. But, in addition to bar expenses, the firm will be paying associates $15,000 in September 2009. That is more than anybody else who has deferred start dates to the first of the year.

But Weil is also asking associates to volunteer for have their start dates pushed back until January, 2011. Yes, I said “2011.” That would be longer than any firm (at this point) is asking its incoming first years to wait. However, if associates push back until 2011, Weil will give you $75,000 — if you work for a firm approved public interest organization — on top of the $15K they will receive in September, 2009. Should an associate choose not to work for that time, Weil will offer $60,000 (on top of the initial $15K).

That is not all that is happening over at Weil today. More details after the jump.

As we mentioned earlier today, there is significant variation among firms offering some sort of deferral stipend or public interest externship. Should the money from the firm be contingent upon finding employment in a public interest organization? Should it be paid out monthly or up front? And of course, how much money is on the table.

The difficulty facing firms — and incoming associates who thought they had jobs lined up for the fall — is that management is trying to make the rules up as they go along. Law firms want to be competitive with peer institutions, but each firm has its own bottom line that can’t be ignored.

At the same time, public interest organizations are flush with resumes of highly qualified people who can work for free. But they must also be concerned with the fact that these new recruits likely never wanted to do any public interest work, and will be desperate to go back to their Biglaw jobs (if available) in a year’s time.

And there are still so many options that have not been tried. As one tipster pointed out to us today:

Wouldn’t this be a good time for all these young lawyers to take two years off to serve their country.

You can’t get more “public interest” than serving your country. And if patriotism doesn’t motivate you, just think about how “JAG Corps” will look on your resume when this recession is all over. We’re living in a bizzaro “Hey, you never know” kind of world.

These are all complicated issues, and all of the players seem to be doing the best they can with them. After the jump, we take a look at Ropes & Gray, which is trying to balance the new issues associated with its “new alternatives” program.

Each week, Above the Law’s sponsors generate content for your edification and entertainment. You can find their posts in Sponsored Content, which runs along the right-hand side of the ATL main page.

Here are the latest offerings:

1. Ask the Experts: What Not to Do If You Are Laid Off

Lateral Link’s Gary Cohen offers words of wisdom to laid-off lawyers, in the form of five things not to do if you lose your job. Check out his tips here.

2. The Asia Chronicles: State of the Market, March 26, ‘09

Evan Jowers, of Kinney Recruiting, assesses the current state of the lateral market in Asia.

Thanks to our sponsors for their contributions and their support. To learn about advertising opportunities on ATL, click here.

As many of you know, reporting on Fried Frank can be difficult. Fried Frank has gone the “stealth layoff” route in the past, because “Fried Frank doesn’t do lawyer layoffs.”

Nonetheless, we’ve gotten a number of tips over the past few days that something is going down at Fried Frank this week. It’s just that nobody knows precisely what that something is, at least not yet.

What we do know is that there was an all partner meeting yesterday. The billing code given to the conference room booking was the “Office of Attorney Development.” Anybody want to offer a guess on exactly what kind of career development the partners were contemplating?

We also understand that Fried Frank is having a partnership vote today. One source says that the vote is on whether the firm should offer an incoming associate deferral program.

That is a lot more promising than what some of our other sources think. More from our tipsters after the jump.

Clifford Chance has made a significant move today, as more firms try to find creative ways to handle the global economic crisis.

But first, let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Above the Law has learned that the firm is letting go of 24 of its New York associates. In a press statement from the firm, a Clifford Chance spokesperson reported:

Clifford Chance today told 24 transactional associates in its New York office they would be laid off due to continuing sluggishness in the market. The firm also anticipates laying off Business Services personnel in New York following a review that is expected to be completed shortly.

We also understand that some first year associates in New York were let go today.

Clifford Chance laid off 20 U.S. litigators in October, and a number of London attorneys in January.

But perhaps the more interesting news is Clifford Chance’s initiative for its incoming first years. Details after the jump.

Tonight, the “real” Sweet Sixteen games will play out on NCAA courts. Here at ATL, the NCAA-styled ATL March Madness for Law Firms continues. Sixteen firms remain in the tournament hoping to be crowned Biglaw’s safest — the place where you’re least likely to get laid off.

Thirty-two firms entered the tournament, based on Vault prestige rankings. Thousands of ATL readers voted to eliminate sixteen firms in the first round. There was only one upset of a higher-ranked seed: Linklaters (V26) beat Latham (V7). The Magic Circle firm’s magic run may not last though. Kirkland has a solid lead over the UK-based firm at the moment.

Will there be more upsets in the Sweet Sixteen? Over 4,000 votes are in since voting started on Tuesday and two of the contests are nail-biters: Skadden vs Paul Weiss and Davis Polk vs Debevoise.

Check out the brackets and vote on the next four match-ups, after the jump.

A fun part of traveling is observing “cultural differences.” It’s okay to pick your nose in public in some parts of Kenya, to comment on someone’s significant weight gain in the Philippines, and to burp mid-meal in India. The practices may not be your cup of tea, but that’s the fun of exploring other cultures. But what about a culture of gender discrimination in the workplace?

A group of female hospital administrative staff have filed a lawsuit in Ohio against Summa Health Systems and Dr. Santosh Potdar alleging gender discrimination. Among their allegations against the doctor, from the complaint:

[This article was prepared by Gary Cohen, a director in Lateral Link’s Dallas office.]

In the current economic environment, columns and blog posts abound advising laid-off attorneys what to do now that they have been cast into the wilderness. This advice has generally been on the mark and includes items like networking, learning a foreign language, and taking a contract job. The goal of every attorney seeking to return to the legal profession should be to make himself or herself as marketable as possible once the job market recovers. However, there are actions an attorney might consider in moments of fear or panic that could harm his or her chances once firms begin hiring again. Desperate times lead to desperate actions, and I have unfortunately encountered some questionable behavior that should be avoided if a laid-off attorney wants to maintain his or her viability as a candidate in the future. Based on my observations, here are some points to consider.

1. Do not machine-gun your resume to every firm in the country. Sending your resume to hundreds of firms will not increase your odds of quickly finding a job. There is a good chance that you are a transactional attorney of some type if you have been laid off, and at the moment, there are basically no firms nationwide looking for transactional laterals. Occasionally, a position will open up, but the odds of any one attorney getting the job are practically nil due to the magnitude of the competition. Chances are good that your resume will end up being quickly rejected, never read, or worse, immediately sent to the circular file. At the same time, you could potentially be closing doors to future consideration by these firms. A better plan of action is to strategically contact firms where your odds are best (even if still slim) based on connections, type of practice, etc. In the end, your best choice may be to simply wait things out.

2. Do not lie to recruiters. Laid-off attorneys often reflexively contact multiple recruiters, thinking that Recruiter B might have some kind of connection that Recruiter A does not. That isn’t problematic in and of itself, provided the attorney lets the recruiters know which firms he or she has contacted, either directly or through another recruiter. Managing your search is critical, and you can quickly kill your candidacy by submitting your resume more than once to a firm. Furthermore, if a recruiter discovers that you have not been honest about your search, he or she will likely drop you like a hot potato. No recruiter will risk his or her reputation by submitting a candidate to a firm if the recruiter thinks the candidate is not trustworthy, and no law firm will want to hire a candidate that appears devious. Your recruiter wants to help you, and any subterfuge will only hurt you in the end.

We just received word from Dechert that the firm is letting go of an additional 125 people today. An email from firm chairman Bart Winokur went out first thing this morning announcing 63 attorney cuts and 62 staff cuts:

In light of the decreased market demand for legal services worldwide, we are planning to reduce the number of lawyers and other time keepers in the firm by 63 and administrative staff by 62. Some of these individuals are being given notice today, and we are beginning the required consultation process with others. The reductions affect offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Needless to say, we are taking these steps reluctantly and with great regret. None of these decisions has been made easily because we know how difficult it is to find new jobs in this challenging economic environment. We thank all these individuals for their contributions to the firm over the years.

Barton J. Winokur

Dechert has been shedding a lot of people over the past few months. Since December, we’ve reported on at least 101 layoffs at Dechert, with the cuts being made to staff, staff attorneys, and attorneys.

With the other cuts happening around Philly, including the full scale dissolution of WolfBlock, it appears that the Philly economy is in rough shape.

Good luck to all of our Philly fanatics out there.

Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Dechert Lets Go 10 Staff Attorneys
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Dechert Cuts 19
Dechert Ices 72 Staff Positions

Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge had a round of staff cuts back in November. That seems like ancient history. But it looks like the firm could not hold its fire forever. Today, both attorneys and staff were informed that EAPD would have to cut back. Above the Law obtained this statement, from an Edwards Angell managing partner Walter Reed, and COO Jeff Hunter, explaining what has happened today:

After careful consultation with the Firm’s Department Heads and governing committees, we have reached the difficult decision that the Firm must reduce the size of its workforce. Today we will inform about 25 lawyers and 35 staff that their employment with the Firm is ended, and will offer them severance arrangements similar to those offered by the many other firms that have also made these difficult decisions.

According to the latest NALP numbers, that is over 15% of the firm’s associates. We understand that the cuts hit the firm’s offices in Providence and New York, as well as Boston. The severance package should be the market standard.

Read the full firm statement after the jump.

* The receiver appointed to locate Dreier’s assets recovered more than $100 million, including $39 million in art, a 121-foot yacht, three properties in the Hamptons, and a sand dollar. [Bloomberg.com]

* A month before he was accused of helping R. Allen Stanford run an $8 billion ponzi scheme, he sent him a text: “I am praying for you.” Now his fellow church members are praying for him. [Bloomberg.com]

* An Illinois attorney was charged with stealing more than $100,000 from his firm from a scheme that lasted from 2001-2006. Prosecutors say they should be able to pay back the firm with loose change found in between couch cushions in Dreiers yacht and three houses. [The Chicago Tribune]

* Three families have filed suit against the District Attorney after he threatened to charge them with child sex abuse for “sexting” (sending semi-nude photos to people on their cell phone). [The New York Times]

* Was it the recession that killed WolfBlock? This reporter says it was “a past they couldn’t escape.” Sounds sinister, but it was just bad management. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Some small investors with bad luck repeatedly sue companies with allegedly poor management in an attempt to hold corporate officers accountable for their losses. Is that good or bad? [The Wall Street Journal]

A tipster was looking over the Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft online “resource center.” If you scroll to the “Clients & Friends Memos,” you’ll see a CWT partner taking a huge (and hilarious) bite out of … Manny Ramirez:

I am enraged! and outraged! plus morally reprehensibled (did I say I am outraged!), that Manny Ramirez has inked another huge contract—this time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. For those of you who do not follow baseball, know this: Manny Ramirez was getting paid about $20 million or so a year last season (which is nowhere near a year) by the BoSox. In the middle of a close pennant race, Manny decides to assault a team official, fake phony knee injuries in both his knees, and duck out of playing in crucial games until he forces a trade and costs the Sox the World Series.

In a memo titled: “The Manny Ramirez Tax Lightbulb; Also (2 Ideas in 1 Memo) Putting Pay in Perspective” Cadwalader’s Steven Lofchie, Co-Chairman of the Financial Services Department, decides to do something productive with his free time.

Read more highlights after the jump.

* So here’s a commercial with an “interesting” message:

But is it pornographic? I’ll know it when I see it. [The Legal Satyricon]

* I gave an interview to WFAE 90.7 FM about the Charlotte legal market. It’s a family program, so “it’s terrible” was the best way I could think of to describe the market down there. [WFAE 90.7 FM]

* I thought Europeans like Obama. [What About Clients?]

* Hey kids, law school isn’t worth it. Trust us. [Legal Blog Watch]

* … So, for the love of God, please stop applying and getting accept to law schools. You’re ruining it for everybody. [Legal Writing Prof Blog]

* We just spoke about jurors twittering, but what about judges? [Courtoons]

* Here’s an alternative view to Roxana St. Thomas’ struggles. Would you like fries with that? [Law and More]

We’ve collected a number of layoff reports coming out of Quinn Emanuel the past couple of days. Overall, the numbers are a lot lower than what we’ve been seeing coming out of California. But it appears that some layoffs have occurred.

Our sources report that 6 people from the firm’s Silicon Valley office have been informed that they will be let go in the next couple of months. Multiple independent sources also report that 20 - 25 people have been let go from the firm’s Los Angeles office since the first of the year.

But when we reached out to John Quinn, he adamantly denied the reports from our tipsters:

A handful of people have been let go for lack of work. 25 is wildly inaccurate.

The sources we spoke with report various reasons for the layoffs. Some cite performance, others claim to have made their hours, still others said they were casualties of the economy.

Whatever the official number of layoffs, it does appear that Quinn has kept the amount of cuts down as compared to other firms headquartered on the west coast. You’ve got to take the good news where you can get it.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs

Earlier this month, lawyers for a building products company asked an Arkansas judge to overturn a $12.6 million judgment because “Juror Johnathon” had been sending out tweets on Twitter about his thoughts on the trial. Here are our thoughts in Twitter fashion:

atlblog: Everyone’s talking about Twitter these days and the ability to broadcast your thoughts continuously in 140 character tweets.

atlblog: We really should have done a full post on it last week when that NYT story about twittering jurors and mistrials made its way around the Web.

atlblog: Jurors aren’t supposed to talk about a case outside the courtroom. Twittering is talking. What will judges do about this?

atlblog: We wonder which firms will go to the Final Four in the ATL March Madness contest… Oh. Sorry. Off topic.

atlblog: @WSJ’s Ashby Jones. We liked the headline for your piece: Twelve Twittering Men? Very clever. We imagine Henry Fonda with a BlackBerry.

atlblog: That WSJ article has a weird Bob Dylan non-sequitur at the end. Apparently, Dylan’s outhouse stinks up his neighborhood… Sorry. Off topic.

atlblog: @davidlat. Please stop twittering about the recession and how the ship be sinking. It depresses us… Sorry. Off topic.

atlblog: Why are we so addicted to broadcasting our thoughts that we can’t not tweet and update Facebook statuses during jury duty?

atlblog: Jurors doing their own online research is the more serious problem. Lots of good letters to the NYT editor from lawyers & one law student.

atlblog: Please feel free to tweet your thoughts about jurors, social networking, technology, and twittering in the comments.

Appeal says juror sent ‘tweets’ during case [Associated Press]
As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up [New York Times]
Twelve Twittering Men? [Wall Street Journal]
Letters to the Editor about “As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up” [New York Times]

We regularly receive tips about free events that might interest our readers. Because we don’t have the ability to give shout-outs to all, and to ensure equal 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 it on ATL; if your budget is limited, consider a quicklisting.

Our rule against event promotion admits of exceptions. We will mention events featuring significant participation by Above the Law editors (e.g., a speech by one of us). We’ll also mention selected 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 or near Morgantown, West Virginia — which isn’t far from Pittsburgh, and which happens to be one of the few cities that’s doing well in the downturn — you might be interested in this event, featuring your above-signed editor (see the 9:50 a.m. panel):

DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: INCENTIVES AND LEGAL RISKS

When: Friday, March 27, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Speakers: Various. Check out the full schedule of events.
Where: Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom, WVU Law Center, Morgantown, WV
Cost: Free and open to the public.

Hope to see you there!

Digital Entrepreneurship: The Incentives and Legal Risks [West Virginia University College of Law]

Above the Law has been able to confirm that Ballard Spahr has officially pushed back start dates for its incoming first year associates. A tipster summarizes the details:

On Friday Ballard Spahr told its incoming class that it is delaying start dates until September 2010. There will be a $45,000 stipend offered…. The firm claims it will try to help the incoming associates find these jobs.

We understand that the $45K is in addition to the standard $5K bar stipend the firm traditionally offers.

The firm will not cover health care directly, but there will be a $5,500 Health Benefit Stipend as well.

Getting the money is contingent upon finding a job, but the firm is not limiting the work to public interest legal work. Incoming first years are encouraged to find employment at host of places, doing legal or non-legal work in certain circumstances.

Somebody get Habitat for Humanity on the phone.

In other news, the firm is also shortening the length of its summer program to seven weeks.

This news might be depressing to some law students that have already signed up for Ballard Spahr, but not the ones who were choosing between Ballard and Wolf Block.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of start dates
Nationwide Dissolution Watch: WolfBlock

While President Obama and a bipartisan Congress spent most of last weekend trying to recoup $165 million in taxpayer money that insurance giant AIG paid to its upper-level employees, the Miami-Dade County Commissioners were finalizing a plan to spend $359 million in taxpayer money to build a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins “bailout”-demanding owner Jeffrey Loria.

The Marlins new stadium, anticipated to open in 2012, will be neither the first baseball-oriented stadium built with public dollars (that distinction belongs to Milwaukee County Municipal Stadium), nor the most expensive subsidized baseball stadium (that distinction belongs to the Washington Nationals’ new $611 million facility). Yet, this new stadium may ultimately come to symbolize all that is wrong with the relationship between Major League Baseball and the American city.

From a taxpayer perspective, the Marlins new stadium deal epitomizes fiscal irresponsibility. First, the specific terms of the Marlins stadium agreement skew hugely in the Marlins’ favor (more so than many other recent stadium deals). Under the agreement, the local government will be responsible for covering approximately three quarters of stadium building costs, while the Marlins will get to keep all stadium revenues — even those revenues from events completely unrelated to baseball, and even those revenues derived from selling stadium naming rights.

And we haven’t even gotten to the worst part. More on that after the jump.

In Blawg Review #204, I quipped that lawyers don’t do well in a street fight. Thanks to Judge Ian Richards, I stand corrected. Check out this TMZ video:

The video is a little grainy, so let me give you the play-by-play, after the jump.

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com.

ATL -

I am one of many 3Ls who already missed OCI and are now trying to figure out what to do. We go to a T-50 school in a major market and have grades ranging from top 25%-15%. We’ve tried mass mailing to firms (all sizes), networking with judges and attys and nothing is paying off. Any advice on how we can find jobs? We aren’t looking to get rich, we just want a paycheck that we can live off of without having to eat nothing but noodles for the rest of our lives.
I’d also be interested in a take on our future, do we have any chance later on of securing a strong job with a large to medium size firm? Should I tell my wife to leave me so her life isn’t financially ruined as well?

Pork and Beans

Dear Pork and Beans,

Incidentally, when I’ve noted in past Pls Hndle Thxs that there aren’t very many law jobs to be had at the moment, I wasn’t joking around or hogging all the available jobs for myself. It’s just a bad economy, as my rich cousin likes to say, mere seconds before I punch him in the face. I’m sure you already know about this, but there are a bunch of law job websites (both firm and government employers) that you should monitor and contract attorney agencies with which you should register and then harass for work. Also, your school probably has separate alumni job listings, so the minute you graduate jobless, you can start checking that. In the meantime, there are other jobs - waiting tables, babysitting, working in retail. Might as well get a discount at Aeropostale while you’re waiting for a law job to strike, right?

Should your wife leave you? That depends entirely on the type of woman you married. If she’s a cosmo- swilling, Bergdorf allowance-getting, non-parody DABA girl, you won’t have to tell her to leave you, because chances are she’s already gone. If she married you because of your debonair looks and your intentions to replace the macaroni necklace you made her while a student with some legitimate ice, you still have time to make good on that promise. Hopefully your wife was not bluffing when she vowed to that “or poorer” boilerplate, so she should be ok with noodles for a time. Unless she’s on the South Beach diet, in which case the good news is that there are, evidently, no assets, equitable division should be a cinch.

As for whether you’ll ever work in a firm - a dream is a wish your heart makes. Anything is possible once this economy turns around, but if you want answers now, text STAR to 4ASTRO to begin receiving your daily horoscope or LOVE to 69000 for sexy ladies who are waiting to hear from you.

Your friend,

Marin

Next up, Elie provides decent advice. Really!

* A U.S. District Judge in Virginia, Rebecca Beach Smith, will soon decide whether preserved Titanic artifacts must remain available to the public. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

* Adam Liptak gives us a lively look into the Supreme Court discussion about the highly critical Hillary documentary. [The New York Times]

* Obama’s lawyers were in lock-step with Bush policies Tuesday, arguing in favor of the decision to refuse one of Europe’s leading Muslim intellectuals entry in to the U.S. [Reuters]

* Pakistan’s supreme court chief justice returned to court Tuesday amid dancing supporters. [The Associated Press]

* Attorneys cringe as Blagojevich continues to put himself in the spotlight despite his pending federal corruption indictment. [The Associated Press]

* Dreier LLP may be able to reduce a $29 million claim from Wachovia. They need all the help they can get. [Greenwich Time]

* Barney Frank defends calling Scalia a “homophobe.” [The Boston Globe]

The NYU Law School “Law Revue” is opening this weekend. We linked to a promotional video a few days ago. But with opening night right around the corner, the NYU guys are stepping it up, with this fully animated homage:

That’s it, I’m in. Can somebody get me tickets?

Earlier: NYU Law Revue Preview

* The AIG bonus tax is also sexist. And, of course, communist. And most likely racist, homophobic, ageist, it certainly doesn’t do enough to fight AIDS or cure cancer, and is solely responsible for the death of every puppy in North America. [TaxProf Blog]

* According to NYU Law School “all your deans are belonging to us.” [The Faculty Lounge]

* Today is the last day to RSVP for the General Counsel Panels in Chicago and NY sponsored by DLA Piper and Lateral Link. RSVP at Lateral Link and get more information about this CLE. [Lateral Link]

* Some of Madoff’s victims kind of deserved it. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog]

* “I’m a LAWYER.” [Popsquire]

* Don’t bring your eminence into my domain. [Oxford University Press]

* Personality goes a long way in this business. [Underdog]

* Okay, it looks like Juliane Moore is going to play HRC in the upcoming Bill and the BJ movie. That role was totally inhabited by Emma Thompson, but Moore could be a good choice. She’s very thorough. But who is going to play Monica? I nominate Ellen Page. [The Huffington Post]

Yesterday, we mentioned a NALP “glitch” that allowed users to get a sneak peak at the organization’s 2009 statistics about law firms. The problem, whatever it was, was fixed soon after we alerted NALP to the problem. Here’s the quick statement we obtained from NALP:

Legal employers provide this data to NALP each winter. NALP is pleased to be able to publish this free online searchable database each spring once the data submissions are finalized.

Excellent. It’s a great resource.

As promised, today we take a look at some of the overall summer program numbers from the firms that are ranked 11 through 20, according to Vault (check out firms 1 - 10 here).

The moderately surprising fact is that this next batch of firms didn’t decrease their overall summer associate offers as much as the Vault top ten. Looking at the firm’s New York offices, there was a 14% decrease in offers to 2Ls, compared with a nearly 20% decrease in the V10.

But, one firm really does skew those numbers. More details after the jump.

Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email, at roxanastthomas@gmail.com, or find her on Facebook.

After a few weeks of unemployment, I begin to wonder whether some sort of sporadic dysfunction is affecting my ability to receive email. Specifically, while I am able to peruse every available resource for potential job openings, the résumés I submit seem to drop into an online supernova black hole. Occasionally, I get a confirmation message indicating that my résumé has been received, but, as a general matter, I hear nothing but the sound of silence.

Where do they go? I wonder. Are they floating lazily in space, along with billions of unwanted headshots submitted by New York’s considerable legion of actor/singer/dancer/waiters? Are they in a virtual file cabinet somewhere, turning virtually yellow and brittle at the edges? Or do they go straight into a giant “deleted items” folder? Perhaps the beleaguered legal employers, in an effort to capitalize on economies of scale, have set up a single, huge data landfill, where cover letters indicating a willingness to be “flexible as to class year,” accompanied by finely honed (and embellished) résumés, can be gathered and stored. If the shrinking corps of presently-employed lawyers is wiped out by bird flu, raptured, or disabled by an epidemic of carpal tunnel syndrome, they will definitely get back to us … right?

So I am pleasantly surprised when I get an email from a potential employer, asking me whether I am available for a telephone interview. The job, which I heard about through a friend, is in the legal department of a publishing company, and although they are looking for an experienced litigator, the position does not involve actual practice. A year ago, I would not have considered it; but, given my present circumstances, I am delighted. I respond to the HR person’s email, wondering how to temper my desperation enough to avoid sounding, well, desperate. I settle on an answer that reflects both desperation and lawyerly faux courtesy, telling her that I am available later that day, the next morning, any time the following day, “or whatever works for you.” She schedules the phone interview, which will be conducted by Scott, the lawyer who heads the department, for the following morning.

Find out how Roxana’s chat with Scott went, after the jump.

I wanted to circle back to a very interesting piece on AmLaw Daily yesterday. Their article on what Texas law firms are doing during this economic downturn confirms suspicions I’ve had for a little while:

At a time when law firms are more openly announcing and discussing layoff decisions, one group of firms is being particularly mum about job cuts — the Texans….

“It’s an interesting market where, unlike New York and the West Coast, not everybody’s being candid,” says Andrews Kurth managing partner Robert Jewell.

I’m not an expert on Texas culture, but I honestly can’t understand what benefit Texas firms get from hiding their layoffs in this manner. Why would they be more comfortable with the rumors and anonymous sourcing about the extent of their layoffs, as opposed to simply telling the truth?

Are they yella’? Because it seems to me that the forthright and honorable thing to do would involve standing up and admitting the extent to which they’ve had to cut back.

After the jump, AmLaw reports that there might be a little class warfare at play as well.

Last week, we brought you our NCAA-tournament style March Madness for Law Firms. We took the top 32 firms from the Vault prestige ratings and asked you to vote on which firms were the “safest” — the places where you’re least likely to get laid off.

After Round One, we’re down to the Sweet (Safe) Sixteen.

The higher-ranked teams firms won in all of last week’s contests but one: Magic Circle firm Linklaters (V26) upset 2008 March Madness tournament champ Latham (V7). Sadly, Latham’s bench was not as deep this year. Apparently, voters disagreed with this line of reasoning.

There were two particularly close matches. As predicted by one commenter:

Gibson v Wilmer in the first round is gonna be a close race.

Gibson Dunn won out, but barely, while Kirkland eked out a victory over Jones Day.

The most popular match with 6226 votes was Ropes & Gray vs Davis Polk & Wardwell. Check out which firms advanced, and vote on the first four match-ups of the Sweet Sixteen round, after the jump.

Back in rosier economic times, we started a series of open threads on career alternatives for attorneys, i.e., things you can do with a law degree that don’t involve Biglaw or contract work. These days, we’re starting to think of the series as things you might do if you can’t find Biglaw or contract work.

The latest installment in the series is inspired by a profile in last weekend’s Washington Post Magazine of “Saphira,” a lawyer who traded in regulatory analysis for shimmying in sequins and spangly scarves.

Rachael Galoob-Ortega has been a “professional oriental dance artist,” a.k.a. bellydancer, since 1996. She used to just moonlight as a bellydancer while working full-time as a partner at a small firm, The Salem Law Group. That led to at least one embarrassing incident, recounts the Washington Post. A potential career downside is having to perform for judges inside and outside of the courtroom:

After passing the bar on her first try, she started practicing at a Sarasota law firm representing building contractors. She also joined a belly-dance troupe that performed at high-end soirees. Her two worlds comically collided one night, after she’d spent part of the day discussing the motion docket with a county judge. At a party that evening, she was in the midst of a solo dance, dressed in full belly-dance garb and a long wig, when she shimmied up to a table and recognized the judge. “He said: ‘Oh my God. That’s Rachael Galoob — she was in my courtroom today!’ ” Saphira recalls. “And of course, the room erupted in laughter.”

She winked at the table and moved on.

We hope that after winking, Saphira told the judge, “These hips don’t lie.”

The Oklahoma City University Law grad also has an LLM from Georgetown. She gave up her full-time law job to open Saffron Dance studio in Arlington. The tipster who sent us this story says:

There are lots of belly-dancing lawyers. No fooling. We sometimes call ourselves founding members of Raqs Judicata (Raqs Sharki is the Arabic name for the dance). It’s a great exercise for people who have to sit in front of computers all day long drafting briefs and memos.

Indeed, Saphira has even recruited a Covington & Burling partner teach at her studio. More on that, as well as video of Saphira in action, after the jump.

(Warning: It’s not just shaking the belly. There’s also copious licking of lips and tossing of hair.)

Incoming first years all over the country continue to find out that they won’t be able to start when they had hoped.

Dewey & LeBoeuf officially pushed back start dates for its new associates until January, 2010. The email went out last night:

After careful consideration, the firm’s Executive Committee has decided to delay the start of the first year associate class from fall 2009 to January 11, 2010. Our hope is that by postponing the start date for your class, workflows will have increased across our practices and we will be able to give you challenging assignments from day one.

Dewey emphasizes that just because you can’t start working at Dewey this fall, it doesn’t mean that you can’t start working as soon as you want:

For those of you who would like to start your career in the fall, you may wish to apply for a Community Service Fellowship. You recently received details on the firm’s fellowship program from [Redacted]. Those selected for a fellowship will be able to start with the firm, on secondment to a public service organization, as early as September 2009.

Above the Law has also received the details of the Dewey’s fellowship program. For those accepted into the program, the firm will pay up to $80,000 for associates to not work at Dewey for a whole year. But while the firm says that associates taking a fellowship are still “start[ing] with the firm,” it is not at all clear that associates will advance a class year upon completing the fellowship.

Those taking a fellowship will receive an extra $5,000 from Dewey to tide them over until January.

After the jump, take a look at what Debevoise is doing.

The National Law Journal reports that Goldberg Kohn has made deep cuts:

Goldberg Kohn, a Chicago law firm with 77 lawyers, last week cut about one-quarter of its associates and dismissed support staff as part of a cost-savings effort that will also include reducing pay and scaling back its summer associate program….

The pay cuts for the partners and staff vary, depending on the individuals. The firm now has 29 associates and 48 partners.

Never heard of Goldberg Kohn? I’ll let a tipster describe it:

Smaller but self-declared “elite” firm in Chicago.

Based on what other self-described elite firms are doing, Goldberg Kohn is fitting right in:

Goldberg Kohn said it is also reducing the length of its summer associate program this year to eight weeks and has delayed the start date for its incoming class of first-year associates.

The Wall Street Journal reports that college towns are the places to go to hide out from the recession. Maybe laid off Chicago associates can go to Ann Arbor?

Midsize Chicago firm cuts one quarter of associates, reduces salaries for partners [National Law Journal]
Why College Towns Are Looking Smart [Wall Street Journal]

* United Airlines settled a suit filed by a former pilot, who resigned after repeatedly finding porn in hidden places in her cockpit, including underneath a cap on a safety device called a “stick shaker” (no pun intended). Click to see United’s ridiculous effort to dismiss. [The Seattle Times]

* Attorney General Andrew Cuomo convinced 9 out of the top 10 bonus recipients at AIG to return their bonuses. Who is number 10? [The New York Times]

* Barney Frank called Antonin Scalia a “homophobe.” [The Associated Press]

* It turns out that Madoff has more than $1 billion worth of assets and the french authorities plan to seize his chateau in Cap d’Antibe, France, so maybe his victims can get a time share? No? [The Associated Press]

* A court battle between billionaire Wilbur Ross and hedge fund manager Bruce Rose may be the key to understanding the housing crisis. [Bloomberg]

* A sex-discrimination suit against Wal-Mart reaches the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today. 200 female employees say women in comparable jobs don’t get paid as much as men. [The Huffington Post]

* Preservationists think a landmark case in Chicago is cause for alarm. [The New York Times]

We love to point out when our commenters point us in the right direction. Over the weekend, somebody placed this comment in the recent Law Shucks post:

Hunton & Williams is planning big layoff in week ahead. The firm has been laying off PARTNERS in stealth moves during the past two months and a firm-wide meeting is scheduled for this week. Expect big staff cuts since those attorneys are no longer around.

In response, one of our tipsters did some checking:

Saw a comment under the law shucks story that Hunton was having a firm-wide meeting this week. Came in and checked today, [rooms have been reserved] by Human Resources from 11:30 to 1:00…. on Friday.

Hunton & Williams did not respond to our requests for comment. But there are a lot of issues that the firm might choose to address this coming Friday.

We’ll get into our other tipsters’ reports after the jump.

* I’m not sure what a female associate is supposed to wear to her first golf outing. But I know what the commenters are thinking and they are certainly wrong. [Corporette]

* Brian Cuban does a brilliant job here comparing the various ways dating is like basketball. But he acts as if a brother is out there on his own. When I roll, I roll with a posse and we all have our assigned positions. I’m the point guard, I facilitate everything because I can’t score for myself (a.k.a. “the married guy”). Living my life vicariously through others, the team concept is very important to me. [Dallas Basketball]

* A concierge service, for lawyers. Will they mail out résumés for unemployed clients? [Legally Organized via AmLaw Daily]

* I think there are some Heller creditors who might want that desk back. Former incoming Heller associates might want it too, for firewood. [California Lawyer]

* Lat will be speaking at this symposium on Friday: “Digital Entrepreneurship: The Incentives and Legal Risks.” [West Virginia University - College of Law]

* Speaking of Lat, he comes up in this interview of Jessie Liu, who recently joined Jenner & Block as a partner after several years with the Justice Department. [Legal Bisnow]

* In case you missed it, we hosted Blawg Review #204 this morning. [Blawg Review]

As we predicted last month, Harold Hongju Koh is stepping down from the deanship at Yale Law School. President Obama is nominating Dean Koh to serve as the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Dean Koh previously served in the State Department, as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, from 1998 to 2001.

Dean Koh is relinquishing his day-to-day deanly duties immediately, to prepare for his upcoming confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If confirmed, he will officially resign as dean, after five years of service. Professor Kate Stith is taking over as Acting Dean of Yale Law School.

When we visited our alma mater back in December, Dean Koh was most gracious and welcoming (even though he has occasionally been on the receiving side of snark here at ATL). We wish Dean Koh well in his new position.

Memos after the jump.

There doesn’t appear to be a Wolf Block miracle in Philly today. The firm is dissolving. A press release was just issued by Bradford Hildebrandt, whom the ABA Journal reported this morning had been brought in by the firm to oversee a possible wind-down.

The partners of WolfBlock LLP have voted to commence an orderly unwinding of the firm’s business.

WolfBlock will remain in the practice of law for several months to protect the interests of its clients, employees and creditors. The decision to unwind was reached in view of a confluence of unfavorable factors: the economic recession, especially in the firm’s core real estate practice; the constriction of credit occasioned by the ongoing banking crisis; and the intended and anticipated departure of significant partners and practices.

We’re not sure which practice groups in particular felt they’d be better off on their own.

Time to brush up on your WARN law, again. The Intelligencer reported that the overall headcount at Wolf Block is 290. There’s a lot of sadness in Philly today.

Read the full release after the jump.

Jeez, it’s like “we love the Queen” day over here.

We’ve got some law firm expansion to report on. McGuire Woods is planning to acquire the London-based firm of Grundberg Mocatta Rakison. The move will add 36 attorneys to the McGuire roster. According to the firm press release:

Today’s announcement greatly enhances McGuireWoods’ international capabilities, and allows the firm to better serve clients with matters requiring an international presence, including corporate and financial transactional work, as well as litigation and wealth management matters. In addition, this combination will allow the firm to offer GMR’s existing international client base its capabilities to handle matters throughout the United States and in the other countries where McGuireWoods has offices. McGuireWoods’ clients will also have access to GMR’s international network.

A tipster reports:

Maybe they’re trying to get some of that $1,440 an hour advising work.

The ABA Journal reported this morning that U.K. regulatory lawyers bill out for as much as 1,000 pounds a day.

McGuire Woods Chairman Richard Cullen explains why the firm wanted to expand during the recession, after the jump.

There’s a pretty interesting glitch happening right now over at NALP (here at ATL, we know something about “technical difficulties” — we’re working on ours). Even though the new numbers haven’t been made public yet, if you know what you’re doing you can get a sneak peak at the 2009 NALP numbers.

We’re not going to tell you how to do it, but we’ve done it and we’ve obtained some pretty interesting numbers to report about the New York summer programs at the top 20 firms as ranked by Vault. We’ll give you some numbers about the V10 today. Tomorrow we’ll expand our look to the Vault 20.

Getting an offer at one of the top nine firms in the land (the NALP glitch didn’t work for S&C) was considerably more difficult this year than last year. We compares the number of summer associate offers extended to 2Ls in 2007, with the expected numbers for that same group in 2008. Overall 2Ls offers were down a whopping 20% at the top 10 firms. And you have to wonder what percentage of those summer jobs are going to turn into full-time offers for employment.

For 1Ls, it gets even worse. We explain that and some other highlights, after the jump.

In these dire times, academia is regarded as a refuge. Sure, endowments are down, some schools have imposed hiring freezes, and budgets are being trimmed here and there. But the academy, especially the legal academy, hasn’t seen anything like the carnage experienced by Biglaw.

Take the ivory tower of Columbia Law School, which apparently remains an impregnable fortress against the recession. Despite a few budget cuts at the university, the law school still provides professors with delicious digs. From the Sunday New York Times:

Many buyers say that jumbo mortgages are hard to come by these days. But don’t tell that to Edward R. Morrison, a law professor and economist at Columbia University, who is something of an expert on these troubled times.

Last month Mr. Morrison and his wife, Anne, bought a restored two-family town house at 357 West 121 Street in Harlem for $2.575 million. Brokers said it was a record price for a town house in the neighborhood — just down the hill from the Columbia campus in Morningside Heights, near Morningside Park — and one of the top 10 town house sales in Harlem in recent years.

As we’ve told you before, to the Elect go all the spoils. (Ed Morrison clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia.)

Now, a $2.6 million townhouse is pretty sweet — but it’s not the nicest piece of real estate owned by a CLS faculty member. That title surely belongs to Hans Smit’s $29 million mansion.

(Actually, make that $30 million, the price reflected in the current version of the listing. What recession?)

More details about the Morrison manse, plus a picture of the super-cute professor, after the jump.

Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to Letter from London, a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. You can reach Isaac by email, at isaacsmithlondon@googlemail.com.

On his recent trip to the US, Prime Minister Brown presented President Obama with an ornamental pen holder, carved from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet.

In return, Obama gave Brown some DVDs — which, it was revealed on Wednesday, don’t work in UK DVD players.

Why humiliate us like this?

Maybe Obama was angry at the UK because London-based firm Clifford Chance laid off 35 business support staff from its New York and DC offices at the end of last year. But news of that only emerged last week — after Obama purchased the DVDs.

Perhaps Obama has a thing against the British. We do, after all, “sound gay and smell like Indian food” — as one poster on last Monday’s column observed. But your new president doesn’t seem the sort of chap to be burdened by petty prejudices — aside from, of course, his hatred of the disabled.

Or could it be that Obama is pissed off that he had to meet Brown instead of Tony Blair? Yeah, that makes sense. Americans f**king love Tony Blair.

Something you might not know about Tony Blair, after the jump.

Last Monday, Dewey & LeBoeuf informed the world that some of its partners would be receiving less money. This past Friday, The Recorder reported that DLA Piper is also officially reducing partner compensation:

DLA Piper informed all of its U.S. partners on Friday that it will reduce pay for most of them by 11.5 percent in 2009, while strong performers will get more money.

I guess it was only a matter of time before the horrible economy started taking a bite out of partner draws:

DLA’s pay cut is part of an annual budget projection process and is not related to the firm’s 2008 results. The firm ended 2008 with zero debt and will end 2009 with zero debt, said O’Malley.

As opposed to 2008, when the economic downturn was not full blown until the fourth quarter, firms are preparing for four quarters of dried-up demand in 2009.

Of course, after the jump we have to get into the obligatory “but things here are just great” rhetoric.

Here at Above the Law, we thrive on taking a vat of hydrochloric acid to the veneer of the legal profession and exposing the original craftsmanship underneath. Nothing is sacred.

When given the opportunity to serve for Blawg Review — the “blog carnival for everyone interested in law” — I was excited to take Above the Law’s brand of rousing rabble out on the road. How many “Sacred Cows” are out there? How many can I hunt and grill? And as Denise Howell might ask me on her “Yo Comments Are Whack” podcast: “how many cow jokes can you take in one week before you end up on a liposuction table?” Eric Turkewitz already tussled with Oprah this week, so the easiest mark has already been bagged.

Of course, ATL is also a news organization. So while I had high hopes of continuing my friendly banter with Loyola Law School Dean Victor Gold, the news of the week inexorably pushes me in one direction. Luckily, it turns out that the thing everybody was blogging about this week is the biggest sacred cow of all, and it is ripe for poaching.

Let’s do this, after the jump.

* The vultures are circling around Dreier LLP’s Park Avenue office—an auctioneer’s website reads “everything must be sold,” but Dreier’s indictment last week says he must forfeit the firm’s assets—the prosecutors and bankruptcy trustee will have to fight it out. [The National Law Journal]

* “U.K. regulatory lawyers advising clients on the financial crisis and scandals bill as much $1,440 an hour.” “It’s our time in the sun,” says regulatory lawyer Darren Fox—alright Fox, wipe that smug look off your face—just because former M&A lawyers in the states can’t even get volunteer jobs—doesn’t make it OK to gloat. [Bloomberg.com]

* The Connecticut Attorney General got aggressive about AIG bonuses over the weekend. The outrage continues with new information that AIG payed out $218 million in bonuses, more than the $165 originally reported.[The Los Angeles Times]

* Enron executive Scott Yeager will be the first to bring his case before the U.S. Supreme Court. [The Houston Chronicle]

* SCOTUS will review “Hillary: The Movie,” and decide whether the scathing documentary should have been regulated as a campaign ad. [The Associated Press]

* A specialist on law firm finances says New York firms need to follow each others lead and re-shape associate pay—replacing “lockstep” with merit pay. [The Lawyer.com]

* An interesting case for the judge’s probable ruling to uphold Proposition 8 from a progressive gay marriage supporter. [The Washington Post]

We hope you enjoyed last week, a “relatively quiet week” in layoffs. We’ll see if the relative calm holds as we get closer to the time for firms to make another payroll.

Last night, the Legal Intelligencer broke the news that Wolf Block could be doing a lot more (subscription) than laying off employees this week:

Several sources have said members of the executive committee met Saturday to discuss a possible dissolution of the firm. The matter is said to be set for a full partnership vote as early as Monday. A decision to dissolve the firm would need to be approved by at least 75 percent of the partnership, one source said.

After the jump, the now familiar story of failed mergers as precursors to dissolution.

[Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.]

For the first time this year, we had three consecutive business days without any major firms announcing layoffs. As in Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, though, the individual suffering continues even as the “big picture” is unremarkable.
The layoff-free streak ended on Wednesday, when Chicago’s Jenner & Block laid off 34 staff.

The major announcement of the week was the long-anticipated layoff at Katten Muchin, where a total of 69 - 12 associates, seven non-equity partners, four other attorneys, six paralegals and 40 staff members - were fired. The firm is offering associates an interesting choice: one month’s severance, or sign a separation agreement and receive three months’ pay. Income partners get six months’ severance with the separation agreement. Those who remain are facing pay cuts of up to 20%, depending on billables.

All in all, though, this week was a major pullback from prior weeks. “Only” 158 people were laid off from major firms - just about 10% of last week’s 1,477. The first two weeks of the month were also significantly higher: 1,132 for the week ended March 6 and even the 560 for the week ended February 27. Still it was just enough to put March ahead of February as the worst month on record: 2,937 to 2,782 for total layoffs. February is still worse for attorneys laid off: 1,121 to 1,059.

After the jump, the firms’ ameliorative and prospective attempts to deal with the situation.

Displaced 3Ls who haven’t been able to line up a job for the fall might want to give this woman a call:

I wonder if she’s hiring junior associates?

Have a nice weekend.

Are you a Lawyer? Probably Not. [Funny or Die]

* I’ll be hosting Blawg Review next week. It’s a lot of pressure, especially since my wife found my external hard drive and deleted all of my Victorian pornography. But, I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something generally inflammatory and inappropriate. Do you know how I got these scars? [Blawg Review]

* Some people think that today’s Skadden partner departures are another sign that Biglaw is crumbling. I suppose that is a necessary precursor to the end times. 12/21/12! Mark it, people. The History Channel is never wrong, especially when it is talking about the future. [Ideoblog]

* The competition is heating up for next year’s winter associates program. [Legally Drawn]

* Elections for the ABA chairman of the student’s division are being held this weekend. We support the candidate who can return law students to their rightful, dauphin-esque sense of entitlement and privilege. But failing that GULCer and former Clinton (HRC) staffer Sam Arora will do. He’s already been featured on Above the Law and a constant barrage of Georgetown jokes is fun for the whole family. [ABA]

* Thinking outside the box is a lot easier to do when the box is on fire and there’s nowhere else to go. [What about Clients?]

* We all know you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater. But I was surprised to learn that the word “bomb” started the America’s Next Top Model riot. I was pretty sure that the magic word was “cocaine.” [Popsquire]

Earlier today, we told you that Troutman Sanders was having a firm wide meeting. The meetings are over and we are happy to report that there are no layoffs from Troutman. At least not yet.

Of course, things aren’t exactly great over at Troutman. The meetings did convey some “very important” information to associates and staff. A firm spokesperson gave Above the Law this report:

In response to the continuing economic downturn, Troutman Sanders LLP today announced it is offering a generous voluntary severance package to its staff employees. In addition, it announced it will be implementing in the near future an as yet undetermined number of involuntary layoffs of its staff and associates. Troutman Sanders believes these reductions, while difficult and unfortunate, will help insure that the law firm remains profitable and maintains the highest level of service to its clients.

Pillsbury already blazed the trail on “voluntary” departure programs. Are there really associates and staff who want to be laid off in this economic environment?

We don’t have the information on what “generous” severance is being offered to employees who commit hara-kiri or how it is likely to compare with what people will get if they are “involuntarily” run through.

But one source expects all this to be sorted out in a couple of weeks.

Earlier: Mystery Meeting at Troutman Sanders
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Pillsbury’s Voluntary Departure Numbers
The Deadliest Sin?

This is a very common story about school sanctioned gladiatorial combat among high school boys. The Guardian reports:

Some schools have counsellors to settle disputes between students. But South Oak Cliff high school in Dallas preferred another, more direct method: bare-knuckle fighting inside a steel cage.

According to a 2008 report obtained by the Dallas Morning News, staff at the school sanctioned the use of “the cage” - a section of the boys’ changing room barricaded by wire mesh and steel lockers - to settle disputes and bring unruly students under control.

I fondly remember the day I bludgeoned Vespin the Trapper Master to death with my graphing calculator. Nobody makes weapons of woe like Texas Instruments. Unfortunately, I went to high school on Long Island, so our Colosseum was in the basement of a Genovese drug store. Would that I was born a citizen of Texas. There I could have received the full adulation of the mob:

Frank Hammond, a counsellor at the school who was dismissed and has since filed a whistle-blower lawsuit, said: “It was gladiator-style entertainment for the staff. They were taking these boys downstairs to fight. And it was sanctioned by the principal and security.”

The (ex) principal weighs in after the jump.

It’s NCAA Tournament time, which means that if you get married this weekend or the next two, your guests will be cursing you as they surreptitiously refresh their BlackBerries. We therefore applaud this week’s brides, who planned their weddings for this past weekend, before the madness struck. They are — if we may say so — our Cinderellas.

Here are this week’s finalists:

1. Sara Schacter and Aram Erenburg

2. Melissa Weiss and Kenneth Mazer

3. Rebecca Kirszner and James Katz

Read more about this week’s legal lovebirds, after the jump.

This has been a rough week for big firms based in Chicago. But small firms are still cruising along in the Windy City. As always, the Job of the Week is brought to you by Lateral Link. Lateral Link has been tremendously successful helping smaller law firms recruit top talent and this week placed an attorney at an elite 8 person firm in NY (filling the Job of the Week from February 27). If you are a small firm looking to hire an attorney, please email Michael Allen at mallen@laterallink.com.

Position: Commercial Litigation Associate

Location: Chicago, IL

Description: This Chicago boutique with less than 5 attorneys, is seeking a junior associate to join the firm. The attorney should have at least 2 years of big firm experience and due to the size of the firm personality fit is very important. The firm was started by a former Kirkland & Ellis attorney and they represent some of the world’s largest companies with an aggressive targeted approach to litigation. The new associate will jump right in and be involved with every aspect of litigation. This a tremendous opportunity to get significant hands on experience.

For more information about this position or to apply, please see Position 10412 on Lateral Link or you may contact Brooke Weinstein at bweinstein@laterallink.com. Current members can also contact their personal search consultant directly to discuss this position. Membership in Lateral Link is free and you can apply at www.laterallink.com.

Yes, we live in a world where any firm wide meeting has to be greeted with a sense of “oh, crap.” But that doesn’t mean we can’t still hold out hope that one of these meetings will end up being completely benign.

We just received word that Troutman Sanders has scheduled an all staff meeting for 2:00 p.m. EDT today. Conference rooms have been booked at all of the firm’s offices. The purpose of the meeting was announced via firm-wide email:

Bob Webb is holding a meeting today for all of the US Firm’s staff employees to discuss a very important matter. Your attendance at this meeting is requested and we appreciate if you would adjust your schedules in order to attend. Thank you.

We collect some of our other Troutman tips, and an update about an all associates meeting, after the jump.

Let’s take a closer look at the torches and pitchforks the U.S. Congress is brandishing. As you have undoubtedly heard, Congress overwhelming passed the 90% tax on “things we don’t like.” 85 Republicans joined the fracas, so this is a bipartisan ex post facto effort.

Our sister site, Dealbreaker, has already weighed in on the legality of this tax. (Aren’t you glad law firms didn’t take any government money?) They neatly summarize some of the key legal questions:

The “bill of attainder” test keys off these two prongs:

Is it targeted at specific individuals?

Is it of punitive intent?

So what’s punitive intent? The Fifth Circuit’s SBC Communications v. FCC ruling is about the most direct on this as the Supreme Court hasn’t touched the issue in decades.

We’ve collected some of the arguments, for and against, for your perusal. After the jump, we invite you to take our reader poll.

You don’t see this everyday. Two D.C.-based partners of Skadden Arps partners are leaving the firm. And it’s not even to work for the government.

The two Skadden D.C. litigators are Andrew Sandler and Benjamin Klubes. Associates were told in group meetings late yesterday afternoon. Skadden furnished Above the Law with the following statement:

Andrew Sandler and Benjamin Klubes are forming their own law firm to be named BuckleySandler, which will also include all of the 36 attorneys from the firm Buckley Kolar, a DC-based boutique that focuses on regulatory issues affecting the financial services industry. In addition, Andrew Sandler will become the CEO of Corporate Risk Advisors, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm providing services to the financial services industry.

Our sources weigh in after the jump.

Good morning. I hope you enjoyed your evening. Welcome back to your daily carnage report.

We just received word that Mayer Brown expects to lay off 55 lawyers and staff. Here’s the internal memo that went out to U.S. employees early this morning:

In recent weeks, Mayer Brown has undertaken various actions to respond to the ongoing global economic crisis, which is impacting our clients, our profession and the firm. As part of that process, our London office today began a redundancy consultation that we expect will result in the departure of up to 55 lawyers and support staff. The action in London is part of a review of our global operations. We have not yet determined what that will mean for each office and practice. However, the only responsible course is to align our personnel levels with current and anticipated client demand for our services.

We are carefully weighing our decisions and considering a number of options, with full recognition that these decisions could affect the careers and lives of people whose contributions to the firm we value. We expect to make any further decisions shortly. As more information becomes available, we will share it with you.

Thank you for your understanding.

This is the second round of layoffs at Mayer Brown. Our sources feel that this is a clear indication that layoffs will be immigrating to the U.S. “shortly.”

If they do, we’ll keep you posted. Good luck to those in London. Happy Friday.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs

* AIG turned in the list of bonus recipients to New York’s Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday—let the games begin. Just kidding, I too fear for the safety of heavily compensated AIG executives—there is nothing scarier than an angry progressive. [The Los Angeles Times]

* Dispensers of medical marijuana have room to breathe after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal authorities would cease raiding their operations. [The New York Times]

* Attorney General Eric Holder issued guidelines to federal agencies after The White House advised them to release their records to the public. [The Washington Post]

* A 3-judge federal appeals panel is considering whether or not to re-instate Madoff’s bail—springing him from jail until sentencing in June. [Newsday]

* Albert Hu, a Silicon Valley hedge fund manager conned clients by saying he was represented by prominent law firms like Heller Ehrman and Shaw Pittman; he was arrested in Hong Kong, and charged with defrauding millions from investors. [The National Law Journal]

* Another sad tale of an associate whose offer has been put on hold—his employer Latham & Watkins is asking incoming attorney’s to defer their start dates. [The National Law Journal]

On Tuesday, I told you about Loyola Law School’s OCI policy of preventing students who had outstanding transfer applications from participating in Loyola’s on-campus interviewing program. I suggested that the policy was unfair:

It’s totally understandable for Loyola to want to service people who are happy to be at Loyola. But every student paying tuition should have equal access to the school’s services.

Well, that post has generated a somewhat blistering response from the Dean of Loyola Law School, Victor Gold. He sent the following message to all students today:

The website Above the Law carried a story recently about Loyola’s policy concerning transfer students’ participating in on campus interviews (OCI). The story misrepresents our policy, omits some key facts, and gets others wrong. The purpose of the policy is not, as the story claims, to discourage transfers. Rather, its purpose is to make sure that offers intended for Loyola students in fact go to Loyola students. It is my job to maximize employment opportunities for Loyola graduates and to ensure that employers coming to Loyola actually get to interview Loyola students. That is why I approved the policy.

The key facts Dean Gold wishes to publicize, plus a reader poll, after the jump.

* Not that anybody asked me, but I think Jeff Steiner should be a little less judgmental towards his laid off friends that are “partying” instead of “diligently volunteering and considering his next career steps.” It really doesn’t take all day to send out resumes and refresh your barren email account, and some people are able to consider all of their career options while playing a little Golden Tee. Everybody’s got their own coping mechanism. [Legal Blog Watch]

* Larry Tribe thinks that a 90% “ever dance with the Devil in the pale moon light” tax is cool. I’m waiting for John Larroquette to weigh in with a cricket bat. [TaxProf Blog]

* I’m ashamed I didn’t put this together earlier. If you don’t have the technical chops to work in IP, think about pulling out your old Property books and brushing up on squatters’ rights. I’m not sure your future clients will be able to pay you, but you are going to have future clients. [Law and More]

* I used to hope the future of criminal investigations would look like an episode of Star Trek, but now I see it’s going to look like an episode of CSI. Oh well, it’s still better than watching five minutes of Minority Report. [Slate]

* No cats were harmed in the writing of this post. [Popsquire]

There was a snafu over in the admissions department at UNC Law School. A tipster reports the basic details:

UNC Law sent out a number of e-mail invitations to their admitted student weekend today leading to the recipients of the e-mail believing they had been accepted. 15 minutes later they sent out this e-mail to the students who had received the invitations.

Kind of like the ultimate “sike” isn’t it? Here’s the copy of the retraction letter the almost-admitted students received:

Hello [Redacted],

You just recently received an email inviting you to the UNC School of Law admitted students days. That email was sent in error. Please disregard the email. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. If you have any questions regarding this. Please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes,
Dean States

Another tipster didn’t hesitate to cross UNC off of his list:

I received an email welcoming me to the University of North Carolina Law School. Thirty minutes later I received a second email telling me to disregard the first. When I called the admissions office to clarify, I was stonewalled by an overly defensive and patently unapologetic Dean of Admissions. Please let me know if you would like me to forward the emails to you guys. North Carolina can “go to hell!”

Coach Roy Williams probably thinks this student should focus more about basketball and spend less time worrying about which law school he’s getting admitted to.

How did this happen? Assistant Dean for Admissions Michael J. States explains after the jump.

Earlier today, we reported that Katten was holding a firm wide meeting this afternoon. Predictably, the talks soon turned to layoffs. Here is what some of the people who were at the meeting are telling us:

20% pay cut if average billables were less than 150 last year and less than 145 for the last 3 months. 12 associates laid off (seems VERY low …). Incoming associates deferred until Feb 2010 start date.

The 12 number seems low to other tipsters too. But the meeting isn’t over in all of the firm’s offices yet. And these numbers do not take into account how many (if any) staff were laid off, or income partners.

I say income partners because we have received more reports that some of them were let go as well.

Update (4:38): Katten has released an official statement. 69 people were let go. Like Jenner earlier today, Katten describes the layoffs as “relatively small.” It looks like we have a new “official euphemism,” but in both cases it happens to be true. Read the full statement after the jump.

But we are also getting some very interesting news about the severance package Katten is offering. Details on that after the jump.

Ropes & Gray is locked in a fierce battle with Davis Polk in our ATL Bracket (remember, voting doesn’t close until Sunday). I’m not sure if this latest news helps or hurts their chances.

Ropes isn’t laying anybody off, but it is deferring the start dates for its incoming first year associates. The firm informed 3Ls today that their start has been pushed back to January, 2010.

But that is not all. All Ropes is taking alternative steps to deal with the challenging market. According to a firm wide email that just went out:

In response, we are rolling out a program that offers all associates non-traditional opportunities for continued professional and personal development both outside and inside the firm…. The program comprises the following initiatives, all of which are described in greater detail on a new infoNet area that you can access [Redacted]

* Public interest fellowship opportunities—including both practice of law work and non-practice of law work.

* Sabbatical opportunities.

* Enhanced access to potentially non-billable training and development assignments, and credit towards our 1900 hour target for certain training activities on client matters even though they are not billed to clients.

* Deferred start for the incoming class of 2009 to early January 2010 (this is being communicated to the incoming class in a separate memo).

The memo doesn’t mention what kind of stipend is available to Ropes associates that take the “alternative” path towards career development.

Just like with Skadden’s expansion of the Sidebar program, we don’t know what will happen if Ropes associates choose to stay the course at the firm and ride out the tough times. But this plan at least gives people the option of doing something while work is slow.

Read the full memo after the jump.

Each week, Above the Law’s sponsors generate content for your edification and entertainment. You can find their posts in Sponsored Content, which runs along the right-hand side of the ATL main page.

Here are the latest offerings:

1. Ask the Experts: Straight Talk on Bankruptcy Hiring

How hard is it to break into bankruptcy? Lateral Link’s Justin Flowers offers some pointers.

2. A Job Opening!

Yes, there are jobs out there. Silver Golub & Teitell, a Connecticut litigation boutique, is looking for a junior associate. For more details, check out the job posting.

3. The Asia Chronicles: Partner Chances in Asia: You Got Any?

Robert Kinney, of Kinney Recruiting, discusses what it takes to make partner in Asia.

Thanks to our sponsors for their contributions and their support. To learn about advertising opportunities on ATL, click here.

It’s not unusual for Biglaw partners to find themselves on opposite sides of the ring when they face off on behalf of clients in litigation. But Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s Evan Chesler and K&L Gates’s Peter Kalis are staring each other down for a different reason: their opinions on law firm billing structures. Not as sexy as fighting over Lady Justice, but we’ll take what we can get.

UK-based legal publication The Lawyer is hyping the fierce match between the two Biglaw heavyweights to promote an upcoming issue of the magazine that will explore “whether the current economic downturn represent[s] a paradigm shift for the world’s leading firms.”

In one corner, we have Cravath presiding partner Evan Chesler, an NYU Law grad (‘75) and a “Leading Litigator” per the Lawdragon. In the other corner, we have K&L chairman Peter J. Kalis, a Yale Law grad (‘78) who has also been recognized by the Lawdragon but is, more importantly, a member of the Elect (clerked for Justice Byron White).

See the fight unfurl, after the jump.

It’s been a rough week in Chicago. Sidley laid off 229 people, something is happening at Katten today, and we have received confirmation that Jenner & Block has had to lay off 34 staffers.

Above the Law obtained this official statement from Jenner’s managing partner, Susan Levy:

Given the efficiency and productivity gains from these various sources, Jenner & Block is eliminating 34 support staff positions in our Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices. No attorneys are affected by these changes. We are offering generous severance packages to the individuals affected as well as outplacement services.

That is not a huge number compared to what has been going around. But it’s still pretty tough to be replaced by productivity gains during these difficult economic times.

Good luck to those let go from Jenner today. Read the full statement after the jump.

We started our ATL March Madness for Law Firms on Tuesday. Through this NCAA-style tournament, with brackets and seeding, we will crown Biglaw’s safest firm — the place where you’re least likely to get laid off. Yes, we know it’s irreverent; but we’re a legal tabloid. Irreverence is what we do.

We’ve taken the top 32 law firms from the Vault prestige rankings. Last year, we asked you to vote on the coolest law firm. You chose Latham. Yeah…

This year, we’re posing a more important question. We are asking you to vote to decide which of the firms is the safest. Where are you most likely to keep your job?

Here are the brackets:

Voting on the first eight match-ups started on Tuesday; now, we bring you the face-offs between the other 16 firms at the top of the Vault. Polls close on Sunday. You vote to determine who will go to the Sweet (Safe) Sixteen, after the jump.

Something is going down at Katten today. Multiple tipsters report that a firm wide meeting has been scheduled in each Katten office for 2:00 p.m. central time today. According to the email announcing the meeting, the purpose is:

[T]o discuss the Firm’s Plan for dealing with the continuing weak economy and how that plan relates to the associates.

The firm has not responded to our inquires about this meeting. But our sources report some obvious (and not so obvious) details. Katten has already been through one round of associate layoffs, and many people expect that the firm is initiating round two today.

We’ll tell you what we know after the jump.

[This article was prepared by Justin Flowers, a director in Lateral Link’s New York office.]

Part Two

Last week, in the first part of this article, I addressed some of the basic issues surrounding the current legal hiring market for bankruptcy and restructuring/reorganization practices, including: 1) What sort of real opportunities are out there and where are they; 2) How much real practice-specific experience is necessary: and 3) What are the realistic chances for re-tooling from another practice area into such a practice? In this second installment, I am focusing on some further analysis and predictions for what the near future holds for the world of bankruptcy and how it might affect hiring this year, as well as ways to strengthen the case for successfully making the jump if you are not a mid level bankruptcy associate right at this moment.

When will bankruptcy work hit the point that being hired as a re-tool candidate becomes a possibility?

I get a lot of questions like this on firms’ current and future capacity—have things hit the point where busy bankruptcy practices are unable to service the workload and need to bring in re-tools? And if not, when will that happen? The answer is that we don’t know, and no one else does either. No one’s crystal ball is working very well these days. Jack Williams, resident scholar at the American Bankruptcy Institute, recently predicted that Chapter 11 filings will rise at least 40% in 2009 from their 2008 levels, which were already highly elevated in comparison to recent years, according to this article by Mark Douglas of Jones Day. If Mr. Williams’ prediction comes to fruition and the current trend continues or accelerates, it’s conceivable that there could be an eventual tipping point, but only if other practice areas have enough business to prevent further cross-staffing amongst groups. As I mentioned last week, this is the single biggest impediment right now for would be bankruptcy associates looking to lateral in from a corporate or litigation background.

***More after the jump.

On Monday, we mentioned some of the difficulties deferred associates face when looking for the right public interest job. Today, AmLaw has an interesting piece on just how difficult it is for firms and law schools to find appropriate placements for 3Ls who will not be able to start with their firms in the fall:

Law firm are structuring their programs with differing requirements, covered costs, and degrees of involvement in the nonprofit job search. The deferrals themselves are required at some firms, including Morgan, Lewis & Bockius—the firm will bring its 2009 first years onboard in October, 2010. White & Case has announced delayed start dates into 2010 for 60 percent of its 2009 hires. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Latham & Watkins have announced an optional fall 2010 start date.

One of the most interesting aspects to this story is that we are seeing that “Biglaw” is not a monolithic collection of law firms. Each firm is different in ways that go far beyond normal law student concerns like “prestige” and “firm culture.”

Health insurance costs are a big concern, as Delany points out. The matter isn’t so simple, given that deferred lawyers technically are not yet employees of the firm, so coverage cannot be extended to these individuals. (Sidley Austin, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlet have existing nonprofit and fellowship programs that cover health insurance or COBRA benefits payments for the lawyers in these programs—the firms recently have announced that they will open up these fellowships to incoming first-year associates).

After the jump, it’s time for law school career services to earn their paychecks.

[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.]

A few things are bound to happen when you spend 76 straight hours closing a bond offering in a windowless office the size of a handicap toilet stall, eating nothing but stale candy corn from a nearby vending machine and fantasizing about unconsciousness. First, you make peace with the fact that showers are for people far luckier than you. Second, you start obsessively calculating what your hourly salary might be compared to, say, a teenage babysitter or a shoe-shine guy. Maybe you start to hallucinate a bit. Or wonder if it’s possible to slit your wrists with a stack of post-its. And then, finally, you catch sight of your pale, desperate reflection in the desktop monitor and you realize the pathetic, obvious, predictable truth: You’re wildly jealous of the people your firm recently laid off.

Don’t get me wrong, when it became obvious that my firm was conducting another round of layoffs, I wasn’t hoping to be axed. My day-to-day may indeed be a perverse merry-go-round of corporate inanity, bruising ego slams, romantic nonstarters, and bleak yearnings for my pre-BigLaw life, but when the time comes to end this cycle of misery, I want to do it on my own terms. Preferably with health insurance. So, when I found out that I wasn’t one of the Laid Off, I wasn’t disappointed—but I wasn’t exactly pleased, either. More than anything, I was just relieved that the waiting was over.

But now, in the aftermath of the layoffs, I can’t help but wonder if that relief was misplaced. If morale at my firm was low before the latest slaughter, the atmosphere now is pretty much unbearable. Within a matter of days, most of us went from billing a few hours a day, tops, to not being at the office for a few hours a day, tops. And yes, I get it, it’s BigLaw—it’s not supposed to be a day-spa experience, in any economy—but now, now, we’re supposed to be extra-super grateful for the sadistic pace. We’re supposed to bend over cheerily and smile while the firm’s powers-that-be alternately punish us, and then expect gratitude for, the very fact that we still have jobs. In the past few weeks, even the most docile partners I work with have had a taunting, lupine shine in their eyes every time they’ve doled out work on a Friday at 6 p.m., or announced an absurdly artificial deadline, or passed me in the hall at 5 p.m. as they were heading home and I was rounding midday. Just yesterday, one asked me if I was free to help on a new matter—and when I responded that 100% of my time was already committed, I could hear his smirk through the phone as he asked me to “define 100%.” (Note: you’re screwed no matter how you answer this one.) Now, regardless of how ridiculous, how unreasonable, how idiotic the demands of some prick partner may be, the subtext is the same: “Don’t like it? What are you gonna do—leave?”

More taunting, after the jump.

* Take a look at this legal analysis of the AIG bonus fiasco [The Hartford Courant]

* A new report from the Project for Attorney Retention (sounds like something we can all get behind) shows that it makes better business sense to have attorneys work reduced hours rather than laying them off. [The American Lawyer]

* More drama in the never-ending Minnesota Senate race: Al Franken says Norm Coleman should pay for the costs of the trial if he loses. [MSNBC]

* California’s 1996 ban of affirmative action in education, public hiring, or contracting is being closely considered by the courts. [National Law Journal]

* In spite of the recent blood bath at lawfirms—law school applications are still up. [The Wall Street Journal]

* China fell short of international anti-trust standards, rejecting Coca-Cola’s $2.4 billion bid for Huiguan Juice [Reuters]

* Enough Madoff already. Madoff’s accountant was charged with fraud and surrendered. [abcnews.com]

* Could the United States Congress just get over itself with this AIG “outrage?” Enough already. Look, I’m a Democrat. I’d slap a progressive tax on nuns if they’d let me (more pious and virtuous = more tax, if you’re playing along at home. Eye of a needle baby). But this breathless “they tuk urrr jaaabs!” crap over people getting compensation has got to stop. If we keep on AIG like this, soon redheaded step-children will think they are allowed to speak in public. [Dealbreaker]

* We need to come up with another phrase for “drink the Kool-Aid.” I used to think “It’s. People.” would work, but apparently not enough of the kids have seen that movie. Whatever we’re going to call it, don’t forget to do it, if you want to keep you job and actually add value. [What About Clients?]

* There were a lot of reactions to the Travis the Chimp story yesterday. One really good question emerges from all of the coverage. How is it possibly legal to have a freaking chimpanzee in Connecticut? I mean, I’ve speedily driven through been to Connecticut. That state is barely capable of providing a suitable home to humans. [Law and More]

* I’m pretty sure this ad is racist, I’m just not sure how. Oh well, it’s from Russia so it’s likely that some of the offensive racial stereotyping that I would normally be all over got lost in the translation. Good thing too. It’s too nice a day in NYC to feel oppressed. I’m just going to hop in this cab here and go to the .. hey, HEY, I’m not even heading to Harlem right now you freaking jerk! [Copyranter]

* Don’t forget to join our Above the Law bracket challenge on ESPN (Group name: Above the Law. Password: abovethelaw). It’s free, we have over 300 entries, and somebody will be getting some ATL attire (unless I trounce all of you, which is a distinct possibility). You’ll have to put in your bracket before the games start tomorrow. [Above the Law Tournament Group]

* I don’t know any named plaintiffs that act this way, but I sure have met some named partners who do. [Litination]