What % is 23?

SECOND years should be nervous, too.

Damn. I'm a plaintiff's lawyer, and Proskauer Rose attorneys have been a class act, every time I've had a case against them.

Best wishes to them all.

QUINN REMAINS

people who post "first" are huge tools.

Is QUINN still hiring?

-nervous T-10 1L
soon to be nervous 1L sa

A rose by any other name is still a lobster.

6,

You said "are" when I know you meant "have."

-1

7: You really need to get a handle on things....You are only a 1L.

COVINGTON remains.

It's just a matter of time before they start stabbing incoming associates in the back.

7-

APPLICATIONS RISE

CALLBACKS FALL

QUINN WILL KEEP YOUR RESUME ON FILE

BOW DOWN TO YOUR QUINN OVERLORDS!

SHIELD YOUR UNWORTHY EYES OF QUINN'S MAGNANIMOUS SPLENDOR!

Proskauer has a huge incoming Summer Associate class (its largest ever). I wouldn't be surprised if it pushed back class of 2009 starting dates and/or made other cuts to its younger, current (or soon-to-be) associates.

Jermaine, you don't have to be a prostitute;
you can say no to being a man-whore.

Jermaine, you don't have to be a prostitute;
you can say no to being a man-whore.

As this site is taking too long to load, you will not see me again for SEVEN days.

There are some good people at Proskauer Rose! Yet there is an also abundance of dead weight partners that waste money and couldn't produce quality work anymore, if indeed they ever could. Perfect example is that stupid fiasco in New Orleans last summer. Proskauer should look closely at equity partners and whether they add value to the firm, and identify the partners that may have been valuable in times past, but don't fit the smart, competitive and efficient times in which we are now competing. Getting rid of big fish saves the most money and can do more to shape the firm in both the short and long term. Of course it goes with saying that you should also get rid of any of the "pet" associates that are extremely loyal to big partners. If Proskauer (or other law firms had the balls to do this), your staffing problems would be over and your firm would be more able to compete. Those that can't control cost, while delivering efficient and quality legal service to our clients is now a liability. The thousand dollar lunches, total lack of awareness or concern for operational overhead expenses.... etc... can now be seen for what they are - Stupid.

Instead of just focusing on how many associates, staff and others are being terminated on a daily basis, why not start a discussion thread on what can be done about this issue. For example, what is the real market price for associates going forward? If the market moves back to $125k for first years and the rest of the associate pay scale is adjusted accordingly, how much money would firms save? How many jobs could be saved? How much extra would firms be willing to invest in underperforming and uneconomical associates during the current down period? What are associates in underperforming areas doing to retool for the future? Has anyone that was going to be terminated found a way to pitch a viable alternative that made sense for the firm and you? Is it better to try and retool younger attorneys or more senior attorneys -- especially in areas that are slow and may never come back? How much money are you willing to put at risk to take your future practice in a new direction? What can firms do to maintain their image on campus, while still addressing economic realities and preparing for a new era when fewer associates and lower leverage ratios are required? Enough whining already! Isn't it time to harness the collective brain power of this blog's readership to actually come up with a few ideas and solutions? If not, should anyone have a right to whine and complain?

Layoffs at Schiff Hardin in Chicago! No official announcement yet but lawyers be going the way of hope.

I think 6 meant to say that those people "are" huge tools, "have" no friends, and will be "first" to be let go during the next round of layoffs because they have nothing better to do than refresh this blog every 30 seconds hoping to be the first poster in the comment section.

Layoffs,huh?

So....haaaaaave you met Ted?

With the massive layoffs continuing to strike at major law firms, I have only one question to ask the terminated associates and personnel? How are you enjoying President Obama's wave of Change?

Last fall, I caught a young associate wearing an Obama/Biden button the on the firm's premises. I sternly admonished him and advised that our political views should not be displayed at the firm (we must not upset the sensitivities of our clients). It was no secret that most of the younger associates are bleeding heart liberals that have no comprehension of politics or how the world works. Perhaps if they stopped and took a break from their obssession in making money, they would gain an understanding of how life really works. It is sad to see so many people become unemployed. I am deeply disturbed by all the commotion of the firings. It has certainly created an adverse impact on worker productivity firmwide.

While I am not condoning the past administration, I can now vicariously vouch for these young terminated associates that they were doing better under the past administration than the present. Our President has said it will get a lot worse before it gets a lot better. I would like to hear from some of the terminated associates or personnel, particularly their view of whether they can stand it to get any worse than it already is.

Put the key of despair into the lock of apathy. Turn the knob of mediocrity slowly and open the gates of despondency - welcome to a day in the average office.

22,

Ouch!

-1/9

Current Scale-

1st- $160,000
2nd- $170,000
3rd- $185,000
4th- $210,000
5th- $230,000

What they should go to in avoidance of overpayment and further layoffs

1- $140,000
2- $155,000
3- $175,000
4-$200,000
5-$230,000

This way, only 1st-4th years see a real cut and they get back on track over time. 1st-4th years aren't going anywhere in this economy anyways.

-B.O.O.M.

The dingo ate my law firm.

Also

-JD/MBA bonuses - gone
-Clerkship bonuses - halved
-bar stipends- salary advances
-tech stipends- gone
-gym memberships- gone
-summer programs- cut down, more firm provided lunches (sandwiches in conference room), no letting people split, no more 1Ls at large firms, etc.

Is Skadden still accepting applications for Spring 2010?

Everybody, stop freaking out. The Dow has bottomed out and is rising. The recession is over.

There are some good people at Proskauer Rose!

Yet there is an also abundance of dead weight partners that waste money and don't produce decent work anymore, if indeed they ever could.

Proskauer (all firms) should look closely at equity partners and whether they add value to the firm, and identify the partners that may have been valuable in times past, but don't fit the smart, competitive and efficient times in which we are now competing.

Getting rid of equity partners saves real money and can do more to reshape the firm in both the short and long term. Of course, it goes without saying that you should also get rid of any of the "pet" associates that are extremely loyal to the "identified" partners.

If Proskauer (or other law firms had the balls to do this), their staffing problems would be over and the firm would be better competitively positioned. Those that cannot control cost, while delivering efficient and quality legal services to our clients... is now a liability. The thousand dollar lunches, total lack of awareness or concern for operational overhead expenses.... etc... can now be seen for what they are - Stupid.

Your move to pick up the Chicago bankruptcy attorneys a few weeks ago was a good move, in hard economic times good decisions are difficult to make, but bad decisions, or worse yet, lack of action (like some firms that are pretending this economic crisis isn't happening) is certain death.

Good luck to all!

29,

That list makes sense, except for the gym memberships. I think a healthier workforce is more productive - there's definitely an ROI there.

The summer programs should definitely be scaled back. A first year lawyer is useless enough, but a first-year law student? Seems rather a waste of all that money.

31, put the crack pipe down before you start posting.

Were Proskauer first years again targeted in this reduction? Any info on the severance package?

Me - accepted at Skadden
You - idiot
Me - prestigious
You- idiot

rinse and repeat

As the official spokesman for the White Shoe Silk Stocking Law Firms, I have been authorized to give the following statement to Above the Law:

Proskauer Rose is not a White Shoe Silk Stocking Law Firm, therefore we have no comment on this post. However, Proskauer does have one small thing in common with us; Proskauer is terminating associates and we are terminating associates because there is a world-wide recession and WE ARE BROKE!

" Maybe tomorrow can be an official "no layoff day?" "

Dream on Elie.

This thing be needin' sharpening.

Just tell the partners if one more associate is fired, you're all out of there!

32 -- The only firm happier than Proskauer that those 3 bankruptcy partners in Chicago moved from Winston to Proskauer is...Winston.

Partner Emeritus -
Take some of your own advice; show some sensitivity to the readers of this blog and recognize that there are other places besides ATL to spew your anti-Obama shtick. I assume you think the Iraqis were better off under Hussein, the Afghans were better off under the Taliban, and Blacks were better off as slaves.

"We didn't get our forty acres and a mule, but we did get you CC."

Proskauer is truly a firm on the decline. They used to be worth something maybe 10 years ago, but haven't done much lately aside from fire people. Its sad to see a firm in its waning days.

The ship be sinking...

As I (and others) predicted, round 2 is well underway.

It will be interesting to see how firms that have done stealth layoffs as part of annual "performance reviews" will proceed in this round 2. Will they continue to show their lack of cojones and schedule impromptu quarterly reviews wherein they will inform associates that their performance has deteriorated or failed to improve, or will they finally acknowledge that their firms are not smarter than the rest of the world and are suffering as a result of the recession as well.

Stay tuned . . .

4 - I'm a Plaintiffs' lawyer too. You guys hiring? :-)

Blood for Baal!
Blood for Baal!

36- insecure virgin alien freak

Proskauer adopted a "severance plan" last November, implemented for the first time in December, which provided for 2 months severance for associates with less than 5 years, 3 months for those with 5 and les than 9 and 4 months for those with 9 or more years. A substantial number of first years were laid off at that time, largely those in corporate from non-NY law schools, who had the remaining balance on their transitional loans deducted from the 2 month severance. Work at the firm is slower now than it was 2 months ago, particularly on the corporate side, and I wouldn't be surprised, if things don't pick up by the end of April (Proskauer's half fiscal year), if there weren't an additional round.

it is a crappy firm

36 - bullied his entire life

This comment is addressed to post no. 41.

I am willing to place a hefty wager that you blamed George W. Bush for 9/11. Although only in office for a short time, I will humor you and say it was his fault. Now let us take a look at Obama's first 50 days in office. Almost 2 million jobs loss since he took office, Dow is down by 15% since he took office, consumer confidence is at an all time low, already designated more monies to "fix" the economy than has been spent on the war in Iraq and the whole legal profession going down the tubes with a generation of young lawyers enslaved to their student loan debt. Yes No. 41, this is change I can believe in. If McCain were African-American and Obama was White, you would have voted for McCain. You voted along racial lines instead of values and principle. And now it looks like America is lost.

real nervous T-10 1L here

OMFG!?! Just got my 1L SA offer rescinded, I am so fucked now. What can I do? Is it too late to apply to other firms? Quinn seems to be in good shape with all the posts here, is this a good idea?

*thinks about joining the ranks of 1st Year Suicidal*

*cries, cries, cries*

-nervous T-10 1L
soon to be nervous 1L sa

QUINN REFRAINS

52: I'm bored of you. Put things in perspective and shut up.

48 - Were 1st years included in this lay-off too?

Partner Emeritus –
Condescension certainly becomes you, but you do not need to humor me. You would lose that hefty wager because only an idiot would blame 9/11 on Bush, so if you say it was his fault, then you are truly an idiot. Obama has been President for 50 days; Bush was President for 2920. Blaming the current situation on Obama again demonstrates that you are an idiot. Bush began his Presidency with a budgetary surplus. He squandered it. America had a surplus of worldwide goodwill after 9/11, Bush squandered it. Bush had a chance to completely eradicate the Taliban and al Qaida, he squandered it. This recession started in December 2007, eleven months before Obama became President. This recession is the turd Bush bequeathed us. I suspect that the reason you are now Emeritus is because your former partners recognized that you had become an old coot who was driving up the firm’s malpractice premiums, and therefore it was necessary to put you out to pasture. Finally, I voted for the best candidate on November 4, 2008, regardless of color. Can you say the same?

"They still call it the White House, but that is a temporary condition."

They're not telling associate who was let go until Friday. It's mental torture.

Chocolate City = not-so-subtle Black Panther troll.

If you hate GWB that much, go sue Covington about it.

"This second round of cuts shouldn't be all that surprising. Proskauer profits per partner were down ten percent last year. And we know partnerships don't like that."------Elie, Would you please knock of the inflamatory language and quit trying to stir up hatred for partners. There are too young smucks around this board with no life experience or understanding of the workings of a partnership. You are doing everyone a disservice by fueling a them against me atmosphere.

-Nervous T-10 IL

Shut Up!

27=5th year

So what's the body count for the week now?

No hope...no...hope...

This comment is addressed to post no. 56.

You are a mental eunuch. I never posited that George W. Bush was responsible for 9/11. I merely stated that to humor you and concede your idiotic counter-argument about how Obama is not responsible for the current crisis we are in.

President Obama has no governing experience and his decisions thus far have proven that he is incompetent and unfit to lead this nation. His solution to the economic meltdown is to create print more money (which devalues our currency and creates super inflation) and throw money at the problem rather than formulate practical solutions. He appointed a tax scofflaw to engineer a solution to the current economic crisis. President Obama's impact on this nation is already being felt, just read the headlines. People are committing suicide because they are losing their jobs. Families are going hungry and businesses are closing shop as a result of Obama's oppressive tax strategies. And yes, I have lost money as a result of Obama and have had to layoff some workers who were undeserving of termination. Obama left me no choice.

You mock me as a result of my advanced age. I bet I could still take you down physically but I digress. I am partner emeritus because I led my firm with other partners for almost 15 years. It was time to hand the reigns of leadership to others who worked hard and deserved it. I am not a tyrant.

19, I agree that the quality of partners is particularly spotty at Proskauer. There are some who could be partners anywhere, and others who probably would be let go for weak performance if they were a 4th or 5th year associate. A substantial percentage of the partners either lateralled in or were acquired through merger, in situations in which the primary focus was on acquiring new business rather than qualitative evaluation of attorney skills. This also has affected the firm's culture, which depends more on what department you're in, and who you work for, than is the case at other firms. All in all, a firm still searching for its identity.

55, I don't know yet about additional first years as I haven't yet heard any names. But I do know that some first years who avoided the axe the first time around because they were in a more active practice area or from a NY school where the firm has a "relationship" flunked the bar and may not be that secure.

Partner Emeritus: did (or do) you write for The Economist? You sir are brilliant.

-admiring associate

Partner Emeritus:

I never said you were a tyrant – just an idiot, as you continue to demonstrate by arguing that the current state of crisis is due to the decisions President Obama has made and the policies he has proposed during the past 50 days. In addition, have you not noticed that I have a name, that I am not just a number? Are you ill-mannered as well as ill-tempered? I am not surprised that your former partners relieved you of your responsibilities.

“God Bless Chocolate City, and its surrounding vanilla suburbs.”

Wait a minute... Weren't a bunch of 1st years who went to pretty good schools and passed the bar (as they were supposed to) laid off in December? And then Proskauer kept 1st years who flunked the bar just because they had a relationship with local schools? I'm presuming NY Law or Brooklyn... It's hard to believe that is the case. ReallY?

57 - not true. some associates were told today, rumor has it.

still no memo to post -- i think this is a false rumor. shame on ATL. get the memo or print retraction.

69, don't want to get specific about schools but you've got the essence of at least a part of the criteria applied. However, practice area was also important. There's been more than a little internal grumbling about it.

As the official spokesman of the White Shoe Silk Stocking Law Firms ("WSSSLF"), I am authorized to say that while the partners of the WSSSLF have more in common with Partner Emeritus than with someone named "Chocolate City” who may not even be a member of the bar; nevertheless, Chocolate City is correct that a poster with an avatar is due more respect than an anonymous "guest" poster.

70 - Were 1st or 2nd years affected?

74 - I believe so. Not 100% sure.

Was there or was there not an internal memo?

This comment is addressed to post no. 68.

You are beneath a troglodyte, thus, you are only a number to me.

President Obama's policies are a recipe for fatal failure. This nation's economy is on course to flatline because his oppressive policies are geared toward raising the cost of business in America. Companies are engaging in "corporate flight" to India, Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico, Chile, and other nations because Obama has proposed a socialist agenda to highjack the nations' wealth and re-distribute it as a solution to the economic crisis. Corporate America eschews these policies and will punish Obama and the American people by taking their industries (read: JOBS) to a friendlier environment. Unemployment will reach 20% by the end of the year. The FDIC is on course to become insolvent as more private banks become Federal Savings Banks. Is that the change you want? The writing was on the wall this past November. You folks thought Obama was an anit-Bush because he seemed "brighter." Obama is a product of affirmative action. He went to Harvard Law School based on that policy. What college did Obama transfer from before landing at Columbia? Let me hear it. While I am not against affirmative action, I do believe it is a stigma on those that have benefited from that policy. Let me ask you this: Would you prefer a doctor who got into Harvard Medical School on his own merit to perform heart surgery on you or the candidate that got in as a result of affirmative action? Exactly.

Enjoy the dismantling of America, courtesy of our President Barrack Obama.

no internal memo, but partners came around to offices to tell you that you were not one of the unlucky ones

No tele-conferenced meeting this time with Fagin looking and sounding depressed?

if ATL emails the firm they will make a statement. I am starting to question this ....

Amused that Partner Emeritus cannot spell Barack. You sir are an assclown.

Partner Emeritus:

Even as a troglodyte I cannot stoop to your level, as I note that it did not take long for your true colors to emerge from under that sheet. While I am aware of no evidence that President Obama gained admittance to Harvard Law School as an affirmative action candidate, I will humor you, concede that he was, and say “So what.” There is no affirmative action track at HLS. He took the same classes and the same examinations as the other 500 students in his graduating class. You argue that Obama is somehow "stigmatized." He graduated magna cum laude and President of the Harvard Law Review. There are a whole lot of lawyers who would want to have that "stigma." I would rather be represented by a lawyer who graduated at the top of his class at Harvard Law School than be represented by you, and I daresay that the same holds true for the clients of your former law firm. Similarly, there is no affirmative action track to the White House. President Obama convinced 52 per cent of voters that he would be a better President than Senator McCain. He has been President for 50 days, and you are yelling “Henny Penny the sky is falling.” This country was in far better shape on January 20, 2001 than it was on January 20, 2009. I am willing to make a hefty wager that this country will be in far better shape on January 20, 2016 than it was on January 20, 2009. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to live to see it.

Partner,

No learned response for 67?

:(

Not even a grandfatherly piece of sage advice??

Partner Emeritus speaks the truth. All of our business clients are constantly complaining about Obama's anti-business politicies and ideology. It's clear to everyone that Obama wants to re-distribute wealth, not create it.

Can anyone at Proskauer confirm that layoffs occurred today?

I am ashamed to admit I voted for Barack Obama as a knee jerk reaction to reject Bush and his ilk. Partner Emeritus is correct about the effects of Obama's policies. We are doomed. Most of Obama's policies are taken straight out of the communist manifesto.

Proskauer actually got Obama to speak at its Firm last summer. I guess what goes around, comes around...

82, there is an affirmative action track to the Presidency. It's having 90% of blacks (and their white-guilt-ridden liberal counterparts) vote for him over white candidates (with substantially similar policies, if the voters even knew what the policies were) in the Democratic primaries.

We had a white person running for the presidency and talking about hope and change, overcoming adversity, anti-wealthy populism, and his humble roots. His name is John Edwards, in 2004.

Obama's policies are snake oil and will kill the business.

Obama =socialism

88 is more-or-less right. More white people voted for McCain than for Obama. Blacks (and to a lesser extent Hispanics) block voted for Obama, and so he won.
You can argue why that happened, but for whatever reason, it did. To say that Obama's skin color is unrelated to his being elected seems puerile.

I don't know why you guys are arguing about politics. Everyone knows that as soon as Obama reforms the health care system the economy will instantly rebound. Jeez... grow a brain

Great point 82 (although please tell me that I misread the tone of your last paragraph and that you're not still admiring Edwards -- he's a frickin' clown)

But frankly I'm surprised and disappointed that Proskauer is getting a pass on here about the SHAMEFUL severence package it gave last time (see 48, describing the miserable 2 months, or less in the case of first years, that most effected associates got) and is probably giving now. Also, no pro bono or any other alternatives offered. Proskauer is definitely the cheapest and most ruthless of the BigLaw firms

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

old white men with money voted for an old white man with money? change we can believe in!

I find the broader income breakdown quite interesting.

LUCE REMAINS

65 hit it right on the nail, great comment (and the reason I still check this blog... ). There are a few decent partners at Proskauer who know their sh*t and are somewhat decent people, but it says a lot about this or any firm when most of the partners come from somewhere else.

Finally, what Proskauer's leadership started in December and is continuing --axing good associates (b/c most average performers were quietly let go earlier in the fall) -- is the reason why the firm's corporate department, when things were busy, couldn't pay midlevel associates enough to come to their firm. Back then, corporate first and second years regularly stayed after midnight and all-nighters were not at all uncommon, while receiving little or no guidance or assistance (again, because there were very few midlevel and senior associates). History will again repeat itself, as it always does -- the economy will turn and Proskauer will once again be understaffed, only the next time likey much closer to the bottom of Vault ratings.

94- Fuck you! Go join an action committee, or blow a homeless on the subway. This blog is for BigLaw news

THE WORD IS THAT CADWALADER IS PUTTING SEVERAL OF ITS FLOORS UP FOR LEASE. ANY CORROBORATION ON THIS?

97 - :( ouchie. sorry that reality has a liberal bias.

-94

I think all reasonable posters can agree that thus far Obama has been a major disappointment. My only hope is that the bleeding heart big law liberals who ignorantly voted for Obama and his failed economic policies will suffer disproportionately during this biglaw implosion.

93 = idiot.

Why should any person who made $145K+ for however many years be entitled to a severance package, even if every other firm is giving one (and, by the way, the market severance is barely more than the Proskauer folks are getting)? With the exception of those whose firms dissolved, the people getting laid off (at Proskauer and everywhere else) are the ones who weren't worth keeping; severance is just throwing good money at people who proved to be bad investments. They deserve nothing more than honesty, decency and respect - everything else is a windfall.

Ok 101 - I probably shouldn't dignify your dumb impulsive comment with a reply, because if you still feel that the associates recently laid off were "bad investments", you won't let little things like logic and common sense change your mind.

I repeat again -- those who were not capable or not motivated WERE laid off for "performance" reasons prior to the rounds that started around the time of Thanksgiving. How can someone being let go for "performance reasons" deserve more severance pay (at least 3 months) than someone who had never receive a poor review?

And, obviously, some very intelligent people (eg leadership of Latham, W&C, OMM, etc.) think that giving associates decent severance is not "throwing money away," at least in today's economic times. Finally, the partners there raked in around $1.4mil, don't think giving a market severance would've landed them in the poor house

Partner Emeritus

What is the now the best firm to work at in CA? Please do not say Quinn.

(how good can it be if all of their associates are trolling on this site and when their Vault ranking is so low?)

Keep up the posts

SKADDEN IS NOT PRESTIGIOUS!!!!

I know someone who got rejected from every law firm he applied to except for one (Cooley, Bingham, etc.). That one was Skadden.

Skadden trolls ----- you have no real reason to be proud . . . your firm is everyone's backup

This is addressed to post no. 103.

I am afraid I cannot impartially answer your question. I am quite biased towards my firm which I cannot reveal here. I will however offer the following advice. Corporate/transactional is finished. It will be at least another five years (I may be six feet under by then) until corporate recovers, if our economy ever truly rebounds. Try to hone in your skills in the areas of white collar litigation (i.e., securities fraud), civil litigation and bankruptcy. These are recession proof areas of law. Unfortunately, too many firms were blinded by greed and over nutured corporate departments at the expense of the aforementioned areas. Not very wise. I will not lie, my firm has felt the impact of this deep recession and we have adjusted accordingly. What some of these other firms have done is quite opprobrious and crass.

First and foremost, three cheers to Partner Emeritus.

Second, I'm on the edge of my seat as to whether chocolate city will ever rise above his stupidity and realize that he is debating a character and not an actual old man who used to be a partner. I hope it continues tomorrow.

I was not signed on when addressing myself in post no. 105. I do not want anyone else taking credit for my posts and they are purely my own opinion and do not impute the thoughts of any persons affiliated with my firm.

104 -- Stop smoking that wacky-tobacci. You having one friend doesn't make the case for hating on them. Firm culture is (or at least was) the name of the game.

The firm handles some good deals and cases. I have friends there, they have worked hard, but always treated well (unlike some firms that smile in your face and then f*** in the *ss without vaseline)
- 93 / Not a Skadden Assoc.

107 -- Not signing in ?! Unacceptable

Thank Jesus you're retired, that would've gotten you de-equitized in today's world

106, You can take the Boy out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Boy
... so don't hold your breathe

Hunton laid off people over the past few weeks.

re: #52:

Did the whole SA class get revoked or just Nervous? If it was just Nervous, he's got big trouble, and has probably been marked as a jerk for life. If everyone (or almost all) took the hit, he might be able to get a job by 2010, assuming some modest degree of economic rebound. Probably not at 160K, though.

re: 110 - learn to spell you fool.

Any confirmation of Proskauer's layoffs yet?

Proskauer is a shameful firm. Please don't interview there or work there. I have heard that they almost fire their entire first year class in Boston every year.

They fired first years who passed the bar, but kept all of them who failed the bar. I guess it goes to show you that the firm isn't attracting top talent given the large number of associates who failed the bar (particularly NY and MA).

93 said "Also, no pro bono or any other alternatives offered. Proskauer is definitely the cheapest and most ruthless of the BigLaw firms"

This is not true. Proskauer is offering two alternatives: do public interest/pro bono for a year with a 60k salary or take a 6 month unpaid sabbatical. You're guaranteed (whatever that means in this economy) a job when you come back.

115: you are completely off the mark. I work in the NY office and have a school buddy in the Boston office. There was one person in Boston that failed the bar - the first in the office I heard - and apparently he was in the office every weekend billing before taking the bar again. That's more than I can say for most mid-levels with the dearth of work. And they didn't fire anyone that passed.

To your point about almost firing first years, how you "almost fire" anyone, let alone do it every year. Do you think about it real hard and then decide not to? Except for this past year, first years have always been safe.

Proskauer's got it's problems, but they're no worse than any other firm.

They kept people in the NY office that failed the bar, while letting go of many corporate first years from top 10 law schools that passed the NY bar.

116 - Was this package offered to those who were laid off in December? Were first years affected again this time around? Has the Firm publicly acknowledged the layoffs yet or are these "stealth"?

118 - Yes, Proskauer has publicly acknowledged these layoffs. Not sure why people have such a huge boner about hating Proskauer. They have been entirely transparent, and have decided to keep hundreds of corporate associates that are billing low (and I mean less than 1500) in the hopes we get a turnaround. Less than 10% headcount has been laid off. Compared to Latham, Orrick, etc., they are virtually angels.

As a non-attorney who has been at Proskauer for several years, this is the cheapest place I have ever worked. They froze staff salaries and reduced our bonuses but gave the associates raises and big bonuses. Everytime something has to be cut, it's taken away from the staff, never the attorneys. This place just sucks the life out of you, no matter which office your are in or what position you hold.

No one ever has anything good to say about this place. Does anyone know why they were expanding new offices like crazy over the last few years? And I heard that they're expecting their largest summer class ever in 2009. Sounds like really poor management that could have saved a lot of jobs if better executive decisions were made. It's just unfortunate that people started paying attention when partner profits took a hit.

117, 116 here. re: first years, I was talking about what my buddy said about the Boston office.

120: I'm not unsympathetic, but it's hard to say they gave attorneys "big bonuses" when they were the same bonuses other firms gave and the "raises" were only normal class increments.

As for freezing your salary, the cold reality is as a non-attorney, you're not bringing in money into the firm. Even if you are a paralegal and your time is billed, it is significantly less than attorneys. When it comes down to it, staff are less valuable to the firm than attorneys. It sounds mean to say, and does not mean staff is not valued, but from a bringing-money-in standpoint, it is the truth. If they are going to freeze salaries, it is going to be staff first, then attorneys. Sorry.

Proskauer needs to fire the dead weight in the non-legal staff like the corporate paralegals, esp. that guy doing one of the secys in his office while his wife thinks he working late.

Forget Proskauer Rose. It should really be called Proskauer Blows.

so, did anyone get laid off yesterday?

so, did anyone get laid off yesterday?

so, did anyone get laid off yesterday?

Fuck Proskauer Rose, particularly the Boston office.