Marking a new low for the legal industry, there was only one practicing lawyer in the NYT weddings section this week. We were able to round out our contestant list with a 3L and a non-practicing JD, but LEWW remains alarmed about this decline in our profession’s visibility. We hope there is no truth to the rumor that couples are staying out of the NYT to avoid exposure on ATL. If that’s the case, we may have to cast a wider net for material — in fact, many commenters have suggested we do just that. We’ll keep you posted.
Here are the three finalist couples:
1. Christie Love and J. Lee Hill Jr.
2. Kathryn Fleming and Garrett Ederle
3. Monica Lesmerises and John Leibovitz
Get the scoop on these newlyweds, after the jump.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 3.1: Love, Sweet Love”
Last month, Simpson Thacher announced a new public service fellowship program. The move was widely praised as a creative, public-spirited way of dealing with the downturn.
Some commenters wondered whether it reflected work slowness at Simpson. If STB is willing to let 15 junior associates go off and do public interest work for a year, could it mean that there isn’t enough work to go around?
In the corporate department, maybe; but apparently not in litigation. Check out this email from litigation department head Barry Ostrager (he of the poor bathroom etiquette):
In this slow economy, billing over eight hours a day might seem… harsh. Is it fair for STB litigators to stay at work until 10, while the private-equity folks leave by 6?
If you’re a Simpson associate, however, you should refrain from complaint. Instead, after getting staffed on doc review for some stupid reinsurance case, email Barry O. and say: “Thank you sir, may I have another?”
Update (5:40): King & Spalding has confirmed this report. Read the statement after the jump.
We’ve heard all kinds of things about King & Spalding over the past week. We now believe that layoffs are in fact happening at the firm today.
The preliminary numbers we are hearing are that about 80 people will be let go today across all King & Spalding offices. But the Atlanta office should be the hardest hit, with half of the layoffs taking place there.
Update (5:45): The firm has now confirmed the news to Above the Law. The official numbers: 37 associates, 85 staff.
Most of our tipsters are surprised that the firm has managed to avoid layoffs for this long.
We understand that laid off attorneys are being offered a three month severance package. However, people are being told about the layoffs individually over the phone. Our sources do not expect an official firm wide announcement to go out. As one tipster put it:
We are told in person, not by email, so you’ll just see someone walk by crying. It’s scary.
After the jump, read the full K&S statement.
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: King & Spalding Is Making Cuts (But Not Talking) “
Admit it, you knew this was coming. We’ve got a firm capitulating to the market realities and cutting first-year associate salaries.
McGuire Woods chairman Richard Cullen left a voice mail (!) to his attorneys last night. He let everybody know that the firm was cutting 10% off of first-year salaries, from $160K to $144K.
UPDATE: There is some variation in starting salaries by office. New hires are making $144,000 in Northern Virginia, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, while new hires in Richmond, Charlotte and Atlanta are making $130,500.
But that is not the only cut future McGuire Woods juniors can expect. Cullen also told the firm that the 2009 summer program is being scaled back to an eight-week affair.
Salaries for all the other associates at the firm have been frozen at 2008 levels.
But, and this is important, no layoffs at McGuire Woods.
Richard Cullen did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
For weeks, the ATL commenters have been claiming that “no first-year attorney is worth $160,000!!!!!!!!!!” At McGuire Woods, that is now true. And there are a lot of laid off first years who would gladly take a $144,000 a year job.
We’ve seen a lot of contraction in the legal industry. But now we could start to see serious deflation in the industry.
The T.V. people are saying that there may be a plea deal in the works for Bernie Madoff:
Prosecutors have filed a motion indicating a Bernard Madoff plea deal is in the works, according to the Associated Press.
I hope the deal includes an opportunity for all the people he swindled to slap him in the face. If you charge people for it you could probably get enough for the next bank bailout.
Prosecutors indicate Madoff plea deal in works [MSNBC]
We are hearing a lot of chatter about Kirkland & Ellis, perhaps in response to our post last week about possible layoffs there.
In New York, at least four associates were recently let go. And conference space has been blocked off by partners today and no one knows why. There was a time when partners booking conference space was no big deal, but after Latham’s and Orrick’s conference room-facilitated mass layoffs, the mysterious booking is freaking people out. Writes a tipster:
Everyone at the NY office is talking about the rumors of layoffs coming this Friday. The rumor is that 1st/2nd years will not be targeted (no one can substantiate that though). Conference rooms have been booked through the week by Thomas Yannucci and Jeff Hammes (both on the Firm Committee — one in lit, one in corporate) and are the only bookings without a client-matter #. Another room next to Hammes is booked by Adam Carnese, the office manager in the NY office for Friday afternoon. Those who get fired are escorted from the building by Adam and his staff (at least in the past).
Does anyone know what’s happening in Kirkland NYC today? Are the conference room booked for some kind of happy announcement, or is Kirkland Latham-styling?
Kirkland spokespeople have no comment on this.
The conference room schedule for the day, along with rumors circulating in Kirkland’s D.C. office, after the jump.
Continue reading “What’s Going On at Kirkland?”
We’ve been hearing talk of interesting developments at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, the litigation powerhouse founded by the legendary David Boies, which seems to be doing well despite the downturn (see their bonuses). If you have info to share, please feel free to email us.
Here is some news that we can confirm. The BSF office in New Jersey — located in the upscale community of Short Hills, home to the fabulous, high-end shopping mall — is breaking off from the mother ship. Partners David Stone and Robert Magnanini are hanging up their own shingle, at Stone & Magnanini. (The official press release is available here.)
As one might expect of Boies Schiller partners, Stone and Magnanini are highly experienced and impressively credentialed. David Stone (above right) — a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he worked with such heavyweights as Alan Dershowitz and Laurence Tribe — has developed a robust practice in complex civil and criminal litigation. He has been particularly successful in handling False Claims Act cases, where he has scored some major victories (including a $163 million settlement in the Medco case).
Bob Magnanini (at right), a graduate of Columbia Law School, has similarly extensive experience in complex civil and criminal cases, especially False Claims Act matters. He’s also a Lieutenant Colonel in the New York Army National Guard, serving as the senior division staff officer from the 42nd Infantry Division at the World Trade Center for the two weeks following the 9/11 attacks
They’ll be joined by Eric Jaso, as counsel. Jaso, a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, is a former Justice Department official and federal prosecutor, who also worked at Latham & Watkins and Cravath. (Disclosure: Jaso is a friend and former colleague of your above-signed scribe, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.)
We chatted on the phone with David Stone — no relation to Eli — about the new firm. Read more, after the jump.
Update (4/7/09): As of now, the firm is hiring. Details here.
Continue reading “Boies Schiller Spins Off NJ Office: Say Hello To Stone & Magnanini”
* I can think of nothing funny about the February jobs report. [CNBC]
* Dr. Sanjay Gupta doesn’t want to be Surgeon General. Word on the hill is that Patrick Dempsey is still available. [CNN]
* It’s okay Mr. Mayer, just tell us the truth. “Well, Spidey said that mommy wouldn’t mind. And then, he gave me bad touches. It was so sticky.” You’re a brave little boy Mr. Mayer. [Courthouse News Service]
* Residents of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village have won a lawsuit against their landlord. Sadly, they still have to live in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. [New York Times]
* Honestly, with fantasy baseball drafts coming up all over the country, “when should I draft Alex Rodriguez” is going to be the dominant story today. [ESPN]
* Was something happening with Prop 8 today that I missed? I guess I was too busy chillin’ on the right side of history. [Law Dork 2.0]
* Twenty people here, two hundred people there, pretty soon you’re talking about an awful lot of layoffs this week. [ABA Journal]
* Is the Grim Reaper sexist? [Althouse]
* Has anyone else noticed that internal law firm memos are starting to look more like press releases? Wonder why? [Legal Blog Watch]
* The re-branding of James Sokolove is officially underway. [Useful Arts]
* Here’s some promising news for bloggers worried about their liability. [Underdog]
* Drug and Device Law is getting props around the blogosphere just for being mentioned in the Wyeth case. Nice job guys. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog]
* Architects know all about prestige too. [Edificial]
* As the Boss might say: “Now don’t it feel, like you’re a rider, on a downbound train.” [What About Clients?]
A friend of ATL brings us a surprising report from a recruitment event at Northwestern University School of Law on Wednesday night. Despite the rough economic times, rampant layoffs, rescinded job offers, and general end of the legal employment world as we know it, many students decided to skip out on the chance to mingle with recruiters from Biglaw, the DOJ, and the SEC. Says our source from a New York Biglaw firm:
Went to “meet the employers night” at northwestern last night — there was practically no turnout.
The event was aimed at 1Ls, but open to all students. One recruiter complained that “it was f***ing full of LLMs and no one else.”
There were lots of firms there (even Latham), but everyone was shocked at how few students showed up. We talked to maybe 5 the whole night (2 hours). I had a bunch of friends there from other firms — they all had the same reaction — expecting tons of students, shocked at how few showed up…. All said turnout was noticeably lower than in previous years.
Hey Northwestern kids, what’s up with that?
The firm folks speculated as to the reason for the low turnout, and here are the theories they came up with:
1) they’re resigned to not getting jobs
2) they’re more worried than usual about saying something stupid
3) they’re more worried than usual about studying
Northwestern’s head of placement was perplexed, says our source. The firm representatives were perplexed. We are perplexed. What’s the explanation here?
“Northwestern kids are surprisingly confident in their ability to secure jobs this fall,” hypothesized our source, a bemused, but proud, Northwestern alum.
The layoff news keeps rolling in. The latest is from Bingham McCutchen. Unlike some of the recent cuts we’ve seen, the firm did not lay off a massive number of associates. That will be small consolation for the people let go today.
We’ve received word that Bingham is laying off 39 people today: 16 lawyers and 23 staffers. A tipster provided us with the firm wide email that just went out to all employees:
I want all of you to know that today we have conducted a reduction in force affecting 16 Corporate associates, counsel and of counsel (of our 1002 total lawyers) and 23 staff members (of our 1091 total staff members).
Bingham had already instituted a salary freeze for 2009, but apparently the cost savings from that move was not enough.
At the end of January, Bingham was ranked as the “best” paying law firm (among the top 100 companies that were rates “best places to work“) by Fortune.
Is any firm realistically going to escape the layoff bug?
Read the full memo after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: Bingham McCutchen Cuts 39 Overall”
While a lot of the California firms have been laying off people in Washington, D.C., it’s been a little while since a D.C. based firm laid people off. But sadly, today Arent Fox had to let people go.
Managing partner William Charyk released this statement via a firm wide email:
During the early months of 2009, the adverse affects of the global economic downturn have continued to ripple through virtually every industry and business, including the legal profession. The sobering economic forecasts have forced many law firms — now including Arent Fox — to undertake a comprehensive and careful re-evaluation of market conditions and business structures, including actual and projected demand for services by clients in the coming year. After careful analysis and consideration following this review, we have made the difficult decision to downsize our associate, legal support and administrative ranks, resulting in the reduction of 13 associates and 15 staff members. These reductions will impact each of the Firm’s three offices.
In January, Arent Fox instituted a “solid ice” pay freeze, and eliminated bonuses for those who billed less the 1950 hours. But these are the first layoffs we’ve heard about from the firm.
Good luck to everybody in the D.C. market. I hear the government is still hiring.
Read the full Arent Fox statement after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: Arent Fox Is Down 28 People Today”
As many of you know, part of the problem firms are facing during these challenging times is that clients won’t pay their bills. Lawyers can’t get paid unless clients pay.
Whether or not clients are willing or able to pay, it certainly won’t happen unless they are billed. Hence, as most associates already know, the days of delinquent time entry are at an end.
But Fried Frank is taking it to a whole new level. Instead of making sure your time is up to date every month or every couple of weeks, Fried Frank wants attorneys to accurately close out their time every single day. This is from a firm-wide memo that went out last week:
The importance of accurately billing and recording time – both from an economic and an ethical standpoint – cannot be overemphasized. Accuracy is essential both for the Firm and its clients. To ensure accuracy, it is Firm policy that attorney time must be entered and released on a daily basis. This memorandum covers the Firm’s current client billing policies and guidelines.
Most of Fried Frank’s billing policy is pretty standard and common sense stuff (you can download the full policy after the jump). But there are some significant changes.
Continue reading “Fried Frank Promotes Renewed Emphasis on Billing Policies (And cuts back on some perks.)”
After Latham laid off 440 people, the firm announced that they would be offering a deferral stipend to incoming first year associates. Latham offered $75,000 to people wiling to defer their start date until the fall of 2010. When Orrick laid off 300 people, the firm also offered $75K to associates willing to delay for a year.
When O’Melveny laid off 200 people yesterday, there was no mention of any deferral plan. The firm’s silence caused a lot of worry among 3Ls heading to O’Melveny.
Some 3Ls called the firm. Recruiting personnel told them: “We haven’t decided that yet,” and “It’s not likely.”
So what kind of stipend can 3Ls expect from O’Melveny? The firm responds after the jump.
Continue reading “Additional Information For 3Ls Heading to O’Melveny”
As we told you yesterday, Pillsbury management had booked a few conference rooms today to let people know the state of the firm’s layoff plans. The firm promised to release the numbers of associates who took the voluntary departure program.
It doesn’t look like the firm has released the splits (between voluntary and involuntary) but we do know the overall number of people Pillsbury is looking to lay off:
55 associates, 10 paralegals, 90 staffers.
Once again, it looks like all of the partners, even the loud ones, have been spared.
We understand that 55 associates represent about 14% of Pillsbury’s total associate complement.
Again, the firm has not yet released the breakdown between associates that will be laid off involuntarily, versus the associates that accepted the voluntary departure offer. Of course, a tipster tells us:
I don’t know of any attorneys that took it.
Neither do we.
Update (12:17): After the jump, we have the full text of Pillsbury’s layoff memo.
Earlier: Pillsbury: Attorneys Brace For ‘Involuntary’ Departure Program
Pillsbury’s ‘Voluntary Departure’ Plan
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to New York (Or: Pillsbury associates, brace yourselves.)
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: Pillsbury’s Voluntary Departure Numbers”
AmLaw is out today with a carnage top ten. They list the firms that have conducted the deepest layoffs by percentage of total associates.
Orrick leads the way, its two rounds of layoffs (in November and on Tuesday) nailed nearly 20% of the firm’s associates.
But is Orrick’s position in the top spot a little unfair? There is every indication that Orrick tied every single one of its layoffs to the economic crisis. Many firms (most firms?) simple cannot say the same. Take a firm like Latham, which ranks fifth on AmLaw’s list, laying off just over ten percent of its associates last week. But the 190 attorneys cut last week doesn’t take into account the stealth layoffs we’ve discussed. The firm has still not directly denied these “stealth” moves to Above the Law, despite our numerous inquiries.
The whole performance based or “stealth” layoff question reminds me of the great debate going on in Major League Baseball over performance enhancing drugs. Everybody is a suspect because so few people will admit the obvious.
More from the layoff list after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: A Top Ten List, Some Things We Missed, Other Sundries”
* Adam Cohen sounds like a long-time reader of Above The Law. He mentions Jerry Springer’s Northwestern commencement speech and Clarence Thomas’s love of Egg McMuffins in this editorial on recessions being good for blogs. Yes, the layoff news means our traffic is insanely high these days, but we miss the time when Lawyers of the Day outnumbered Nationwide Layoff Watch posts. [New York Times]
* Married legal correspondent Jeffrey Toobin, of CNN and The New Yorker, has been beset by rumors of an affair with Yale law grad Casey Greenfield. He hasn’t commented or responded to our inquiries, but he has updated his Facebook status. [Gawker]
* A second state is now pro-suicide choice. Washington okays law allowing doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to the terminally ill. [New York Times]
* That’s dedicated counseling. Ira Lee Sorkin gets death threats for representing Bernie Madoff. [Reuters]
* California Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox was attacked and stabbed by an accused murderer yesterday. Fox is fine, but there will be no closing argument in this case. [Los Angeles Times]
* Dahlia Lithwick; a Skadden partner; and law professors from Yale, Chicago, and NYU had a little book club discussion about The Great Decision, Cliff Sloan’s new book on Marbury v. Madison. [Slate]
* Diverse 1Ls encouraged to apply. Cooley invites first-year law students with diverse backgrounds to apply for a fellowship which includes $15,000 for tuition and a summer associate gig with the firm. [Cooley Godward Kronish]
So, you know how we at Above the Law love to bring you something a little bit later in the day for our west coast and late night readers? I bring this up lest you think I have masturbatory ulterior motives for the timing of this post.
So, this lady is apparently a law student somewhere in Miami:
Click below the fold for the rest of this story. (Arguably not safe for work, children, Jesus, reasonable people, Princess Leia, or PETA).
Continue reading “Umm … So, There’s This”
