March 2009

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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: […]

[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 […]

* 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] […]

* 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 […]

Is it right for a law school to discourage students from transferring? Is it right for a law school to deny services to students who are considering transferring? Because it looks like that is what happening at Loyola (L.A.) Law School right now. Loyola has moved up its on-campus interview season; it now starts in […]

[Ed. note: To catch up on the latest round of the tournament, check out the March Madness 2009 category thread.] The NCAA basketball tournament starts up this week. If your team is already out, or you’re only half-heartedly rooting for your team (Sigh. Go Duke.), we are offering you a different contest to take part […]

There is a report in Bloomberg today, about the attempts some firms are making to end lockstep associate salaries: The firms are responding to the plunge in corporate, real estate and finance work by overhauling compensation for associates, who often total as many as two-thirds of a firm’s lawyers. Some, like Orrick, are beginning to […]

Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to the inaugural installment of “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. […]

The American Lawyer reports that Dewey & LeBoeuf is taking money out of the pockets of under performing partners: Dewey & LeBoeuf has confirmed that 66 partners — about one in five of the firm’s 350 partners — have seen their compensation reduced by as much as 80 percent over the past 15 months. The […]

[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.] The trend for this week is returning to the well. We’re seeing a number of firms that have had previous layoffs trimming further. White […]

* Okay, I don’t want to jinx anything or anybody. I really don’t. But, as clear as I can tell, today is the first business day this month that no major law firm announced layoffs. In fact, I believe that it is the first day since Monday, February 16th that no major law firm announced […]

We have extensively covered the comings and goings at Pillsbury Winthrop. Last Thursday, we told you that 14% of the firm’s associates has left — either voluntary or involuntarily. Unlike many of the firms that have laid off people this month, Pillsbury left open the question of what would happen with its incoming first years. […]

Just two lawyer weddings show up on the Legal Eagle Wedding Watch this week, but both are vigorous, Ivy-licious contenders. There’s even a juicy clerkship in the mix to herald the approach of spring! Here are our finalists: 1. Allison Podell and Bradley Saft 2. Dina Mishra and Benjamin Shultz More about these couples’ qualifications, […]