News For Incoming Associates at Kirkland and Sidley Austin(And a New Start Date Round-up)

Incoming associates at Kirkland & Ellis got good news today. They get to start in 2009! November, to be exact. We’ve added the firm to our start date round-up, after the jump.
New associates heading to Sidley Austin, on the other hand, got “optional deferral” news. The firm e-mailed incoming associates yesterday announcing the “Pro Bono Assistance Program:” a January 2011 start date with a $75,000 stipend attached. Says one tipster:

very unclear to what extent each office is effected, what happens if you DONT choose the option, etc. etc.

It looks like at least 17 New York associates will be taking the year off to do good works. From the e-mail that went out yesterday:

The economic downturn has led to a slowdown in workflow for most law firms. As a result, many law firms, including Sidley, are seeking challenging professional alternatives for a number of the lawyers in the class of 2009 – alternatives that will provide a worthwhile experience for our new lawyers and much needed service to the community at large. For this reason, the Firm and the Sidley Austin Foundation are establishing a new Pro Bono Assistance Program (the “Program”). We anticipate establishing between 17 to 20 of these positions under this program in New York. Our other offices will be participating in the Program as well. The Program will enable incoming Sidley attorneys to spend approximately one year working full time for a public interest organization while deferring arrival at the Firm. Participants will be paid a salary of $75,000 per year and will receive benefits from the organization by whom they are employed.
It is anticipated that participants will work on a full-time basis commencing sometime in November of 2009 (subject to adjustment by the employing organizations) and would be welcome to rejoin the Firm effective January 3, 2011, if they choose to do so.

That “if they choose to do so” is a little ominous.
We’re not sure how many associates will be deferred in other offices, as Sidley has not yet responded to our inquiries. If you know more, e-mail us.
Check out the full memo from Sidley, and our updated start date and deferral table, after the jump.


This list comes from a variety of sources, including tipsters, firm memos, and firm spokespeople. Still, we consider it an “unofficial” round-up. Feel free to send us corrections at tips@abovethelaw.com with the subject “Nationwide Start Date Watch.” We prefer e-mail to receiving tips in the comments.
We’re providing these start dates by firm name, and by date. We’ve got the chronological listing first. Scroll down to see the alphabetical list. And scroll ALL THE WAY to the bottom for the Sidley Austin memo to New York incoming associates.
START DATES, ORGANIZED BY DATE
Ed. note: Some firms appear on multiple dates, as they’ve offered a mix of dates and deferral options
2009
* Covington & Burling – Any Monday after the bar exam
* Irell & Manella – Any Monday after the bar exam, November at the latest
* Munger, Tolles & Olson – Any Monday after the bar exam
* Quinn Emanuel – Any Monday after the bar exam
SEPTEMBER 2009
* Akin Gump – September 14, 2009 for some Houston associates
* Allen & Overy
* Cleary – staggered options: September 14/ October 12/ November 9, 2009 or January 11, 2010
* Davis Polk – September 14, October 19, or November 16, 2009
* Debevoise – September 21, October 12, October 26, or November 16
* Fitzpatrick Cella
* Linklaters
* McGuire Woods
* Paul Weiss
* Simpson Thacher & Bartlett – September 21, October 26, and November 30, 2009
* Sonnenschein
* Wachtell – September 14 or October 12, 2009; November 2, 2009 for clerks only
* Willkie Farr – September, October, or November, 2009
OCTOBER 2009
* Baker Hostetler
* Cadwalader – October 5, 2009
* Cravath – October 2009, November 2009 or January 2010
* Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
* Dechert – “Fall 2009”
* Faegre & Benson – October 2009, for some
* Jones Day
* Kramer Levin
* Skadden Arps
NOVEMBER 2009
* Arent Fox
* Baker Botts – Houston office
* Dorsey & Whitney
* Finnegan
* Gibson Dunn
* Hogan & Hartson
* Hunton & Williams – D.C. office
* Jenner & Block
* Kirkland & Ellis
* Morrison & Foerster – for some
* Sidley Austin
* Sullivan & Cromwell
* Vinson & Elkins
* White & Case
DECEMBER 2009
* Latham & Watkins
* McDermott Will & Emory
* O’Melveny & Myers
* Shearman & Sterling – December 2009 “at the earliest”
* Snell & Wilmer, LLP – $5,000 stipend
JANUARY 2010
* Akin Gump – $10,000 stipend
* Alston & Bird – $10,000 stipend
* Andrews Kurth LLP – $10,000 stipend
* Arnold & Porter – $10,000 stipend
* Baker & McKenzie – no stipend
* Bingham McCutchen – $10,000 stipend
* Blank Rome – “deferred until at least January 2010”
* Bryan Cave – $10,000 stipend
* Cahill Gordon
* Chadbourne & Parke
* Clifford Chance – $10,000 stipend
* Cooley Godward Kronish – $25,000 stipend, including bar stipend
* Dewey & LeBoeuf – $5,000 stipend
* DLA Piper – $10,000 stipend
* Faegre & Benson (Minneapolis) – $7,500 stipend
* Fried Frank – $10,000 stipend
* Fulbright & Jaworski
* Goodwin Procter
* Greenberg Traurig
* Holland & Knight
* Hunton & Williams
* K&L Gates
* Kenyon & Kenyon – $10,000 stipend
* King & Spalding
* LeClair Ryan
* Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell – no stipend
* Mayer Brown – $5,000 monthly stipend and subsidized medical benefits
* Milbank Tweed – $10,000 stipend
* Mintz Levin
* Nixon Peabody
* Orrick
* Paul Hastings – $10,000 stipend, optional health insurance coverage
* Pepper Hamilton
* Perkins Coie – $7,500 stipend
* Proskauer Rose – $10,000 stipend
* Quarles & Brady
* Ropes & Gray
* Schulte Roth & Zabel – $20,000 stipend
* Squire Sanders – $10,000 stipend
* Stroock
* Sutherland – $7,500 stipend
* Troutman Sanders – no stipend and no health insurance
* Venable
* Vinson & Elkins – $10,000 stipend
* Weil Gotshal – $15,000 deferral stipend
* Wiley Rein
* WilmerHale – $10,000 stipend
* Wilson Sonsini – $10,000 stipend
* Winston and Strawn – $15,000 stipend + health insurance
FEBRUARY 2010
* Arent Fox – $5,000 stipend
* Buchanan Ingersoll
* Foley Lardner – $10,000 stipend
* Katten – $15,000 stipend
* Winstead
MARCH 2010
* Akin Gump – $15,000 stipend
* Arnold & Porter – $15,000 stipend
* Dechert – $17,500 stipend
* Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge
* Goldberg Kohn – “Indefinitely deferred,” March 2010 at the earliest
* Orrick
* Proskauer Rose – $20,000 stipend
* WilmerHale – $15,000 stipend
APRIL 2010
* Kilpatrick Stockton — $17,000 stipend
* Morrison & Foerster – $5,000 per month stipend, starting in November
“FALL 2010”
* Dechert – $75,000 stipend
* Fried Frank – $70,000 stipend
* Schulte Roth & Zabel – $70,000 stipend with public interest work
* White & Case – $45,000 stipend, or a $75,000 stipend for some to pursue volunteer or community service
* WilmerHale – $75,000 stipend
SEPTEMBER 2010
* Ballard Spahr – $45,000 stipend
* Shearman & Sterling – $65,000 deferral stipend
OCTOBER 2010
* Clifford Chance – Stipend of $3,335-$5,000 per month
* Goodwin Procter – $60,000 stipend with pro bono work
* Holme, Roberts & Owen – A one time payment of $15,000; or $30,000 in installments, contingent on accepting a public interest job
* Latham & Watkins – $75,000 stipend
* Mayer Brown – “can defer up to Oct. 2010” with a $5,000 monthly stipend
* Morgan Lewis
* Sonnenschein – $5,000 stipend
* Wiley Rein – $5,000 monthly stipend
“WINTER 2010”
* Orrick – $60,000 “honorarium”
December 2010
* Hogan & Hartson – $75,000 stipend (See ABA Journal)
JANUARY 2011
* Morrison & Foerster – Option to defer with $5,000/month stipend, and $15,000 for working at a non-profit
* Proskauer Rose – $60,000 stipend with pro bono work
* Sidley Austin – $75,000 stipend
* Sonnenschein – $10,000 stipend
* Stroock – $50,000 stipend
* Weil Gotshal – $75,000 stipend with public interest work


Sponsored


START DATES, ORGANIZED BY FIRM
  • Akin Gump – January 2010 ($10,000 stipend), or March 2010 ($15,000 stipend); September 14, 2009 for some Houston associates
  • Allen & Overy – September 21, 2009
  • Alston & BirdJanuary 19, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Sponsored

  • Andrews Kurth LLP – January 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Arent Fox – November 1, 2009 for some; February 1, 2010 for others ($5,000 stipend)
  • Arnold & Porter – January 25, 2010 ($10,000 stipend) or March 15, 2010 ($15,000 stipend)
  • Ballard Spahr – September 2010 ($45,000 stipend)
  • Baker Botts – November 16th, 2009 (Houston office)
  • Baker Hostetler – October 15, 2009
  • Baker & McKenzie – January 2010 (no stipend)
  • Bingham McCutchen – January 28, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Blank Rome – “deferred until at least January” 2010 with no information provided yet as to a definitive date or stipend
  • Bryan Cave – January 19, 2010 ($10k stipend)
  • Buchanan Ingersoll – February 2010
  • Cadwalader – October 5, 2009
  • Cahill Gordon – January 2010
  • Cleary – staggered options: September 14/ October 12/ November 9, 2009 or January 11, 2010
  • Clifford Chance – 20 incoming associates will start in January 2010 ($10,000 stipend); About 30 others will start in October 2010 (stipend of $3,335-$5,000 per month).
  • Chadbourne & Parke – January 2010
  • Cooley Godward Kronish – January 4, 2010. ($25,000 stipend, including bar stipend)
  • Covington & Burling – Any Monday after the bar exam
  • Cravath – October 2009, November 2009 or January 2010
  • Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle – October 19, 2009
  • Davis Polk – September 14, October 19, or November 16, 2009
  • Davis Wright Tremaine – January 2010 ($7,500 stipend)
  • Debevoise – 2009, baby! September 21, October 12, October 26, or November 16
  • Dechert – Splitting new associates into three groups starting Fall 2009; March 2010 ($17,500 stipend) and Fall 2010 ($75,000 stipend)
  • Dewey & LeBoeuf – January 11, 2010 ($5,000 stipend)
  • DLA Piper – January 11, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Dorsey & Whitney – November 30, 2009
  • Edwards Angell Palmer & DodgeMarch 1, 2010
  • Faegre & Benson – October 2009 for some; January 2010 for others ($7,500 stipend)
  • Fenwick & West – has not yet announced
  • Finnegan – November 2, 2009
  • Fitzpatrick Cella – Associates can choose between Sept 21, 2009 and Oct 5, 2009
  • Foley Lardner – February 1, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Fried Frank – January 28, 2010 ($10,000 stipend); Fall 2010 ($70,000 stipend)
  • Fulbright & Jaworski – January 11, 2010
  • Gibson Dunn – November 16 and November 30, 2009
  • Goldberg Kohn – “Indefinitely deferred,” March 2010 at the earliest
  • Goodwin Procter – January 2010 for half of its 125 new associates; October 2010 for the rest ($60,000 stipend with pro bono work)
  • Greenberg Traurig – January 2010
  • Hogan & Hartson – November 30, 2009 or December 2010 ($75,000 stipend)
  • Holland & KnightJanuary 11, 2010
  • Holme, Roberts & Owen – October 2010 (Can accept a one time payment of 15K or 30K in installments, contingent on accepting a public interest job)
  • Hunton & Williams – November 2009 (D.C. office); January 2010
  • Irell & Manella – As early as the week after the bar exam; November 1, 2009 at the latest
  • Jenner & Block – November 2009 (Chicago office)
  • Jones Day – October 26, 2009
  • K&L Gates – January 4, 2010
  • Katten – February 1, 2010 ($15,000 stipend)
  • Kaye Scholer – January 11, 2010
  • Kenyon & Kenyon – January 19, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Kilpatrick Stockton — April 2010 ($17,000 stipend)
  • King & Spalding – January 19, 2010
  • Kirkland & Ellis – November 16 or 30, 2009
  • Kramer Levin – October 26, 2009
  • Latham – December 2009; October 2010 ($75,000 stipend)
  • LeClair Ryan – January 2010
  • Linklaters – September 2009
  • Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell – January 2010 (no stipend, no health insurance, no salary advance)
  • Mayer Brown – January 19, 2010 ($5,000 monthly stipend and subsidized medical benefits during the deferral period); Also offering October 2010 deferral, with a $5K monthly stipend
  • McDermott Will & Emory – December 1, 2009
  • McGuire Woods – September 2009 (but salaries have been reduced from $160K to $145K)
  • Milbank Tweed – January 25, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Mintz Levin – January 11, 2010 ($15,000 salary advance)
  • Morgan Lewis – October 2010
  • Morrison & Foerster – November 2, 2009 for some; April 2010 for others ($5,000/month stipend); OR defer to January 2011 ($5k/month + $15,000 if you work for a non-profit)
  • Munger, Tolles & Olson – 2009! (Any Monday after the bar exam)
  • O’Melveny & Myers – December 2009
  • Orrick – January 2010; March 2010; or Winter 2010 ( $60,000 “honorarium”)
  • Nixon Peabody – January 2010
  • Paul Hastings – January 19, 2010 ($10,000 stipend, optional health insurance coverage)
  • Paul Weiss – September 14, 2009
  • Pepper Hamilton January 19, 2010
  • Perkins Coie – January 4, 2010 ($7,500 stipend)
  • Pillsbury – has not yet announced
  • Proskauer Rose – January 2010 ($10,000 stipend) or March 2010 ($20,000 stipend), or pro bono deferral option with start date of January 2011 ($60,000 stipend)
  • Quarles & Brady‏ – January 2010
  • Quinn Emanuel – 2009, any Monday after the bar exam
  • Ropes & GrayJanuary 2010 (no stipend)
  • Schulte Roth & Zabel – January 28, 2010 ($20k stipend); Limited number of public interest deferrals until Fall 2010 ($70,000 stipend)
  • Seyfarth ShawOctober 19, 2009 “2010”
  • Shearman & Sterling – December 2009 at the earliest, or September 2010 with a $65,000 deferral stipend
  • Sidley Austin – November 2 or November 16, 2009; OR deferral to January 3, 2011 ($75,000 stipend)
  • Simpson Thacher & Bartlett – September 21, October 26, and November 30, 2009
  • Skadden – October 2009
  • Snell & Wilmer, LLP – December 2009 ($5,000 stipend)
  • Sonnenschein – 20 associates have start dates between September 2009 and Fall 2010 ($5,000 stipend), but nine have been deferred to January 2011 (a paltry $10,000 stipend!)
  • Squire SandersJanuary 19, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Steptoe & Johnson – has not yet announced
  • Stroock – January 2010 or January 2011 ($50,000 stipend); OR $75,000 to just go away
  • Sullivan & Cromwell – November 2, 2009
  • Sutherland – January 2010 ($7,500 stipend)
  • Troutman Sanders – January 2010 (no stipend and no health insurance)
  • Venable – January 2010
  • Vinson & Elkins – November 2, 2009 or January 4, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Wachtell – September 14 or October 12, 2009; November 2, 2009 for clerks only
  • Weil Gotshal – January 2010 ($15,000 deferral stipend); January 2011 for others ($75,000 stipend)
  • White & Case – November 2009 for 40% of new associates; 2010 for the rest (with a $45,000 stipend, or a $75,000 stipend if they pursue volunteer or community service during the deferral period)
  • Wiley Rein – January 11, 2010 for some; October 2010 for others with $5K/month stipend
  • Willkie Farr – September 14, October 12, or November 23, 2009
  • WilmerHale – January 20 or March 17, 2010 ($10k stipend for Jan,; $15k stipend for March); also offering $75,000 stipend with fall 2010 deferral option
  • Wilson Sonsini – January, 2010 ($10,000 stipend)
  • Winstead – February, 2010
  • Winston and Strawn – January 19, 2010 ($15k stipend + health insurance)

  • SIDLEY AUSTIN MEMORANDUM
    TO: New York Office Entering Class of 2009
    FROM: Lee S. Attanasio
    John J. Kuster
    RE: Pro Bono Assistance Program
    The economic downturn has led to a slowdown in workflow for most law firms. As a result, many law firms, including Sidley, are seeking challenging professional alternatives for a number of the lawyers in the class of 2009 – alternatives that will provide a worthwhile experience for our new lawyers and much needed service to the community at large. For this reason, the Firm and the Sidley Austin Foundation are establishing a new Pro Bono Assistance Program (the “Program”). We anticipate establishing between 17 to 20 of these positions under this program in New York. Our other offices will be participating in the Program as well. The Program will enable incoming Sidley attorneys to spend approximately one year working full time for a public interest organization while deferring arrival at the Firm. Participants will be paid a salary of $75,000 per year and will receive benefits from the organization by whom they are employed.
    It is anticipated that participants will work on a full-time basis commencing sometime in November of 2009 (subject to adjustment by the employing organizations) and would be welcome to rejoin the Firm effective January 3, 2011, if they choose to do so. The Firm contemplates that returning attorneys will be treated as members of the Class of 2009 and will be compensated commensurate with members of that class upon their return, provided they have performed substantive legal work during their participation in the Program.
    The advantages of the Program are many. The organizations will obtain first-rate legal help from recent law school graduates at a time when the need for legal services for those who are disadvantaged has never been greater, and participating attorneys will be exposed to the many challenges and rewards of pro bono work and will receive valuable hands-on-training. Sidley is deeply committed to supporting many different pro bono activities and has received many awards for the work of our lawyers. Most recently, Sidley was named as one of four recipients of the National Law Journal’s Pro Bono Awards in recognition of our Veterans’ Benefits Project (a campaign to secure medical benefits for war veterans). In 2007, the Firm received the ABA Pro Bono Publico Award, specifically citing our firmwide Capital Litigation Project, in which lawyers represent prisoners on death row in Alabama.
    There are a number of organizations that would be interested in employing incoming Sidley attorneys. Attached is a list of public interest organizations that may have positions available that the Firm has worked with in the past. Additionally, local law school legal clinics, as well as bar associations and foundations, may have information regarding additional opportunities that can be explored. Some of the law schools have indicated that they would be interested in providing a research or teaching assistant position for Sidley attorneys on the same terms as set forth above for the public interest organizations. You may have other ideas of agencies or pro bono organizations you would like to assist; if so, please let us know what alternatives you would like to explore. Selection of any such organization would, of course, be subject to compliance with the Firm’s pro bono guidelines. We are happy to assist you in identifying and exploring opportunities.
    If you would like to participate in the Pro Bono Assistance Program — and we encourage you to do so — please contact by e-mail John Kuster or Lee Attanasio. Please let us know if you are interested in this opportunity by May 22.


    Earlier: Previous Start Date Coverage on ATL