im da first and u r knot

Don't they know the Dow is up again and the recession is over?

I'm surprised more firms aren't offering this at least as an option.

Hey, that's funny about choosing between the two firms.
Give credit where it's due.

Why hasn't there been any news on Gibson Dunn?

Where is Partner Emeritus? I miss him.

Seems like a fairly reasonably option...

I think all firms that do this should offer the money whether or not you get a public interest job.

You'll learn more useful skills working as a cashier at Target than you will working for one of these "public interest" legal communes anyway.

Does this apply to needle and rosenberg (the atlanta ip firm bought by ballard)?

"Why hasn't there been any news on Gibson Dunn?"

What news are you looking for?

TTT

Anything yet on the CWT NY 05 female associates?

They should work with the government to create a 1 year peace corp option.

I was just selected as a PA Super Lawyer!

Suck on my prestige, bitches!

I second No. 7. Where are you Partner Emeritus?

11 - I'm a 3L who has accepted an offer with Gibson Dunn. I'm looking for start date info

Any word on the severance package for the 65% of Wachtell first years laid off this year?

What happens in September if they say, sorry no job for you?

Re #7: He no longer has access to his computer after the firm sublet his (rarely used) corner office to AccounTemps.

Wow. Washington isn't immune, but I'm glad I decided to leave Philly for law school. 6 area law schools, Wolf Block is dissolving, Ballard is delaying, and even the government isn't hiring.

Philly has to be feelin' the pain right now. Best of luck to everyone.

Philly Ex-Pat

Anyone hearing any Fried Frank rumors? Kirkland rumors? Anyone?

This firm will close in the next 6 months.

care?

I was just selected as a PA Super Lawyer!

Suck on my prestige, bitches!
_______________________

gay

Don't you all see? EVERY firm will do this eventually. But the one's who wait are fucking over their incoming class big time, because by the time they announce there will literally be no public interest jobs left.

Any word on how many Skaddenites have accepted the Sidebar offer?

19 - No soup for you!

What happens in September if they say, sorry no job for you?

__________________________________________

Hmmm . . . maybe . . . no job for you?

Why are these firms giving the $$$ contingent on public interest work? Can they write these expenses off?

It just seems that if they're giving incoming corporate associates money - why not tell them to go audit a few tax courses at a nearby law school? Or a few M&A courses at a local MBA program? What - other than a potential tax write-off - are you getting from the public interest?

What happens if the partner that hired me is eaten by his 3500 sq ft wife?

30 - Better PR, connections with people in the public interest world, and most importantly getting these people some practical legal experience rather than having them sit on their butt all year.

The contingency on public interest work is absurd. Just give the delayed starts the money.

True translation - "Since there are no public interest jobs, you get no money. But the firm looks decent and the deferred starts get to feel like they failed."
No cash for you.

Why are these firms giving the $$$ contingent on public interest work? Can they write these expenses off?

It just seems that if they're giving incoming corporate associates money - why not tell them to go audit a few tax courses at a nearby law school? Or a few M&A courses at a local MBA program?
__________________________________________

Yeah--why not pay them to go sit on their asses in a classroom for another year instead of actual practicing some law? We certainly wouldn't want a 1st year to walk through the door with the ability to actually DO something, would we?

Anyone know if volunteering for a political campaign gets you any firm money?

$45k? That's a preTTTy low amounTTT of money being offered to the incoming firsTTT years.

I used to have a nasTTTy spahr on my balls.

22 - Still nothing. I've doubled up my anti-anxiety medication.

All of the Philly firms are pushing back start dates, etc. What about Dechert? Any word?

31, is that you, our old friend Psychopath? Cannibalism is an interesting variation on your usual "slaughter the partner that hired me" topos. You should discuss it with your shrink.

32, 35 -

Both of you have to still be in law school.

Connections in the public interest world are generally useless, and the experience that they get would only have any remote application if they're litigating - but even that would probably be tangential (an immigration case looks nothing like any corporate litigation they'll ever see).

I would rather have them acquiring a knolwedge base than sitting around with a bunch of nominally employed attorneys doing domestic disputes or lord knows what else. For every "skill" they'll acquire, they'll pick up 75 bad habits.

Do any practicing attorneys ever read this blog anymore?

there's a non-flamey poster on autoadmit claiming the next shoe to drop in the biglawmassacrepwn is Fried Frank - possibly as soon as today - Elie it's 2:15, you've been eating for 2 hours - wanna do a little detective work this afternoon?

I am a practicing attorney @42, what say you?

PA Super Lawyer 09

Most practicing attorneys are too embarassed that they are not a PA super lawyer to post here.

Interesting concept. I've never heard of a severance package being contingent on finding another job before. Usually you get the severance to tie you over in case you can't find another job. I agree with the others who say that public interest work is useless as experience for biglaw. It seems like it would make more sense to just cut their salaries to something like $100k and let them just hang around observing and learning on a non-billable basis and taking whatever billable work might come along.

Guys in my high school used to tell girls they would marry them, then changed their mind and said they would do it next year instead. It was no big deal.

I'd take another look at Michael Best. Significant partner defection from their Madison IP practice to Merchant & Gould.

http://www.jsonline.com/newswatch/41828762.html

Oh, and NALP doesn't list them anymore as of today. Whoops.

NY to $120,000!

I wish I was a Super Lawyer.

Just a Lawyer.

Fools. This is all just a ploy to delay having to announce that they will not hire these individuals for one year. These first years should not count on having a job in 2010.

So... they can get paying jobs, too, ostensibly?

"Infidels! I will turn you all into beasts of burden!"
-Damien

Well, I suddenly don't feel bad about not getting an offer at Ballard Spahr-Phoenix. They made a big splash when they first came to Phoenix, but apparently the Firm is having some growing pains.

I disagree 51. I'm sure that 2010 start is a hard date I'll bet the firm gives it to you in writing, and agrees that they are in breach, and you are entitled to all of your remedies at law and in equity, if there are any shenanigans.

55 -

The Firm has zero incentive to do that. They would be happy if this incoming class ac cepts some place else.

there's a non-flamey poster on autoadmit
__________________________________________

No there isn't.

Why couldn't they allow you to take the $45,000 to work for the year at Ballard Spahr--at least you would be gaining meaningful experience. It would suck to work biglaw for $45,000 but at least your career would be progressing during that year.

@ 52: Seems like it. Everyone here seems to be caught up in the utility of public-interest jobs, but this stipend would appear to be in addition to any salary obtained from a paying (even potentially non-legal) job. Given the current market, there are worse outcomes than a $50K bump for those who can find work to tide them over for a year.

Milbank email deferring star dates will go out this afternoon. You heard it here first!

Public interest work must be absolutely flooded by now. I have to agree that there's only so many of those jobs out there that will provide any useful skills. For sure firms are only saying "public interest' work so they can get a tax write off.

Deferred 1st years should also get some credit for other types of 'work' including additional education or providing other types of public service besides legal work.

Shop Smart! Shop S - MART!

Suck me, beautiful!

Ash

King & Spalding and Alston & Bird just deferred first years to January 2009. From what I hear, K&S has offered no stipend or advance, whereas A&B has. New "King" of Atlanta?

Ballard has given the pink slip, stealth-wise, to some of their non-equities as well, over the last few months. There's trouble in River City.

how is dechert doing?

31- The Management Committe looks down on such a partner as he should be eating what he kills instead of being eaten.

Maybe they'll change their minds and choose a better profession!

WILL YOU BLOW ME WHERE THE PAMPERS IS?

LOL@working for the year at Ballard Spahr being "meaningful."

If my firm offers me public interest work for a year, I am going to puke.

The ship be sinking...

The schtick be stinking. Move on.

Who you be 72?

Stern? That you?

ballard spahr had really nice offices the last time i visited. i went to the bathroom on one of their floors and pissed all around the toilet and, upon going back into the bathroom about an hour later, it was already cleaned up. noting this, i took a huge and massive shit, missing the toilet bowl pretty much the entire time. i mean, this shit was pretty much all water that squirted out of my butt. it was cleaned up as well.

otherwise, great place.

You spoiled rots! This firm is offering 45K for attorneys to not work for them! I think that's extremely generous! Wish someone would offer me 45K to not work for them! If you all weren't so idioticly spoiled sick, you'd recognize it as a blessing not a blister. Good grief. This is why the people need to rise up against you fiendish lawyers!

btw, elie, 74 here. dont bother blocking this IP address. its a proxy that will be changed in 3...2...1...

75:

Yes, after seven years of school and almost $200,000 in debt, I should be so happy that my firm is giving me 45k to go away. Now, I only have $155,000 in debt and absolutely no chance of finding a six figure job (which is the only reason I allowed myself to take on so much debt and spend so long in school). Sorry for complaining about it on a site designed for LAWYERS to vent to other LAWYERS.

75 - you are out of line. shut the hell up. no one wants to read your stupid comments. hell, no one wants to read my stupid comments. the only thing that I have going for me is that I am not you.

piece of shit.

I double teamed a summer associate from Ballard Spahr this one time, she was really dumb.

77 - you go get em. 75 is a piece of shit. btw, man, $200k in debt. please dont tell us that you went to anything other than a T10 or T14 school.

Okay, any undergrads reading this board, if you dont go to a T14 school, dont pay a CFT of tuition. once you go below the top 14, you are really in a regional play situation, i.e. you are looking for jobs in the region. go to the best public school in the area you plan to practice then transfer to a higher private school if one is available. you will save yourself a shit ton of money. plus, if you do well enough in your public school and stay, you will likely do just fine against rich pricks going to private schools on their mommy and daddy's dime.

law schools have been pushing this $160k bullshit for too long, enticing unknowing and ignorant undergrads into paying bloated tuition to pay medicre lawyers who cant practice law a lot of money. everyone gets paid is a lie. as you go below the T14, the chances of you landing that high paying job exponentially decreases as you go down the rankings.

77 here,

Georgetown undergrad, Duke Law.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

6, 17 - I've heard rumors of start dates at GDC being pushed back to at least January 2010, and possibly February or March 2010.

Goodwin Proctor's summer program cut to 8 weeks. Please investigate.

81 -

Duke law. That was your mistake. A poser of a law school in an obscure part of the world. Fuck, you'd have been better off going to Geo. Washington, Geo. Mason, or even Geo. Hamilton since you were already in DC...

@60 - nice try

81 - Didn't anyone ever tell you that track was for rich spoiled brats?

- Rich spoiled brat

77 - ever heard of taxes? and it gets worse, as Ballard is not letting people take decent paying jobs in the meantime, even if they can get them.

at least latham, which started this bullshit, let people take regular jobs if they could get them, in addition to a $60k check on top of the usual bar stipend.

why don't they pay them around 80k and have them work for ballard spahr? if they bill 500 hours at $200/hr, that is $100,000. The rest can be pro bono and training. firm makes more money than paying people not to work, first year gets some training and makes more than $45,000. then again, these are lawyers making the decision, and i guess there is a reason they became lawyers and business people.

while all of you argue over the rankings of your school and the subsequent salary and position that you are soooo entitled to because you managed to game the LSAT have you ever considered, even once, the extreme generosity of ballard in this situation? in an environment where thousands are laid off weekly and countless people with far greater proven credentials than any first year could hope to have are jobless, the idea that you would complain about $45,000 to not work and have the opportunity to do something ... something ... something worthwhile for a year and get paid for that too; and that you would complain about it ... well that proves what is wrong with so many people that join your would-be profession. go cry to the people laid off or jobless with no $45,000 subsidy instead of to one another. see how that plays.

89 is Mortimer Ballard or Seymour Sphar. One or the other.

40 and 65: Dechert's 3Ls are still starting this Fall. Looks like it is the only Philly firm in good shape.

91 - just because Dechert hasn't bothered to call/email you yet, doesn't mean they don't plan on deferring your start date. EVERY firm will defer at some point, but the one's who wait will screw their incoming associates the hardest.

Yo, assholes, this motherfucker's dead!

"Incoming first years are encouraged to find employment at host of places, doing legal or non-legal work in certain circumstances." What does this mean? Can you just get a job working as a bartender?

Everyone should listen to Kirk Lazarus. He ain't bullshitting.

Seriously, any incoming associate who thinks they still have a job waiting for them in September of 2010 should really reconsider. I say this because most of those folks were summer associates in 2008 and were expecting to start in fall of '09. Now they're going to start in fall 2010? What would make any reasonable person believe that the firm's ability to forecast has improved? $45k? Make like the Gambler and know when to fold 'em or like Steve Miller and take the money and run. I imagine most of those folks have already figured this out. Just saying.

63, you are correct. I have been waiting for somebody to drop this info. when will we see those emails tho? the ks one is priceless, at least AB has more meat.

these firms are diving head first in to a pool of concrete. at full speed.

63, you are correct. I have been waiting for somebody to drop this info. when will we see those emails tho? the ks one is priceless, at least AB has more meat.

these firms are diving head first in to a pool of concrete. at full speed.

63, you are correct. I have been waiting for somebody to drop this info. when will we see those emails tho? the ks one is priceless, at least AB has more meat.

these firms are diving head first in to a pool of concrete. at full speed.

91, you may want to rethink that

89 = Arthur Makadon.

91: i don't know that a firm is "in good shape" when its Lit associates are billing less than 50 hours/month and have time to form a book club.

91, oops.

http://abovethelaw.com/2009/03/dechert_125_layoffs.php

89 here. I am not Mortimer or Seamor or even Arthur. Wish I was. Don't work at the firm either. Just a bemused observer.

Ballard's a true TTT.