Archive for May 2009

Cheaters law school.JPGTwo weeks ago, we reported on Syracuse College of Law changing its exam guidelines in an attempt to thwart cheaters. Fordham Law School also had some academic dishonesty issues. Fortunately, this new cheating phenomenon is not limited to New York State. The National Law Journal reports:

When a Florida Coastal School of Law student last year spotted notecards poking out of a fellow test-taker’s pocket during finals, she kept her head down and focused on the exam in front of her. “I’ve never been one to rat people out,” said the student, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
Her classmate was returning from a bathroom break during a final exam, and it was pretty clear to her that cheating was afoot. Like thousands of law students each year, the Florida Coastal student and her classmates had signed an honor code on their first day of school. Law schools rely on honor codes to keep students from cheating. The codes reflect the self-policing nature of law school academic integrity regimes, and they appeal to students’ sense of fair play to keep them in line.

Cheating at Florida Coastal? Noooooooo!
What is your friendly, neighborhood American Bar Association doing about the scourge of cheating at accredited law schools? We explore after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Is there an Epidemic of Cheating At Law Schools?”

Sonnenschein Salary Update

Salary Cuts.jpgLast week, we told you that Sonnenschein would be cutting its associate’s salaries. At the time, Sonnenschein pointed out the hit to first year salaries:

Our first year Associate base salary under the new approach will be set at $145,000 in most of the cities in which we operate, and the salary levels for the balance of our Associate classes vary by year and geography consistent with our standard practice.

What does “consistent with our standard practice” mean? Above the Law has received word on what the salary cuts will look like for the rest of Sonnenschein’s associates. Tipsters report:

* 2002 and above = 15%
* 2004 = 15%
* 2005 = 14%
* 2006 = 14%
* 2008 = 10%

Did anybody expect Sonnenschein to ask its more senior associates to take a larger pay cut than its junior associates?
More news from the firm after the jump.

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SCOTUS speculation small.jpgYours truly is covering the White House press conference, over on Twitter.
For more detailed discussion of the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, see our prior post.
Earlier: Breaking: Obama To Nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.) to Supreme Court

Morning Docket 05.26.09

lunchbox lunch box.jpg* Silence from the SCOTUS justices is a good sign for your case. [New York Times]
* A South Carolina judge has issued a TRO protecting Craigslist from criminal prosecution by the state’s Attorney General. Let the whorish ads continue. [ZDNet]
* Ready your rainbow posters. The California’s Supreme Court will rule on Prop 8 today. [Wall Street Journal]
* More experts weigh in on the future of Biglaw. [Philadelphia Business Journal]
* GM’s bankruptcy is bankrupting the ranks of bankruptcy attorneys. [New York Times]
* We’ve heard of parents forcing kids to make inventive use of empty bottles during road trips, but this is the first time we’ve heard of a teacher forcing a student to juice up a lunchbox. [Courthouse News Service]
* The biggest news of the morning is Sonia Sotomayor’s proposed move to One First Street. See our early morning post for more on this. [Above The Law]

Asia Chronicles logo.jpg5.28 kinney rev.jpg[Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past two years. You can reach them by email: asia at kinneyrecruiting dot com.]
Evan here. Apologies for the delay in getting another post up. We have been extremely busy the past couple of weeks with extensive travel and also a great run of new placements in Hong Kong / China. Yes, after going from February through April having just one placement in Asia (after 3 in January), we had a nice run last week, with four US associate, one US counsel and one US partner placement, all in Hong Kong. Further, Robert made a partner placement in Texas and I made one in Florida in the past week. We expect 4 to 5 new Asia placements (all in Hong Kong), including one partner and counsel, in the next few weeks. The practice areas involved with the current recent and expected Asia placements are M&A, cap markets and fund formation.
Next week, Robert, Daniel and I will be again in Hong Kong and Yuliya will be traveling back to Russia. Yuliya will be in Russia for three months. Of course, Alexis is in Hong Kong, per usual, as that is her home base.
The slow down in placements in Asia the past few months (up until this past busy week) has of course been market related and although we are seeing a lot of positive signs for a rebound, especially in China, we expect a still very slow (relative to ’06 to mid ’08) lateral associate hiring market in Asia for the foreseeable future and well into ’10. February and March were the first months in over two years that I had no Asia placements, so things were really dead there for a while and there has been steady improvement since then.
Keep in mind though that our increased placement numbers recently are in large part due to our adapting to the current tough climate, rather than the market heating up significantly. Further, numerous US firms have hiring freezes globally, including Asia markets, and many US firms in Asia are quite overstaffed, due to focus on the busy and lucrative IPO market the past several years (hard for some US partners in Asia to get clearance for needed hire, when plenty of cap markets associates are available on site for re-tooling). Thus, while M&A and other practice areas in Asia, especially in China, look to be on the rebound, it will take a) IPO work in Asia to rebound, as wells as b) US markets to rebound, before the Asia lateral markets can return to the previous sizzling levels. The former is important in order to get entire offices busy, not just a certain practice group, and the latter is important to slow down the flow of US candidates from US markets.
***More after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The Asia Chronicles: News of Asia Placements, Some Openings and State of Market”

sonia sotomayor above the law.jpgAs we once wrote about Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the Second Circuit, paraphrasing the lyrics of another high-powered Latina who made it from the South Bronx to the pinnacle of fabulosity and fame, “Don’t be fooled by the robes that she’s got; she’s still Sonia from the block.” Despite her high station as a federal appeals court judge, the down-to-earth Sotomayor has her clerks over to her apartment, for card games and drinks.
It now looks like “Sonia from the Block” might be taking up residence on a new block — One First Street, in Washington. From The Caucus:

President Obama has chosen Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the Federal Appeals Court as his nominee for the Supreme Court, officials said on Tuesday, and has scheduled an announcement for 10:15 a.m. at the White House.

Ms. Sotomayor, 54, will be the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court if her nomination is approved by the Senate.

The president reached his decision over the long Memorial Day weekend, aides said, but it was not disclosed until Tuesday morning when he informed his advisers of his choice less than three hours before the announcement was scheduled to take place.

The president narrowed his list to four, according to people close to the selection process, including Federal Appeals Judge Diane P. Wood of Chicago, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Solicitor General Elena Kagan.

Congratulations to Judge Sotomayor. She will be a tough nominee for Republicans to defeat, due to her compelling personal story. To read about that story — which took her from the housing projects of the South Bronx to Princeton, Yale Law School, the legendary New York D.A.’s office, private practice, the S.D.N.Y. trial bench, and the Second Circuit — see the New York Times profile or her Wikipedia entry. It also won’t hurt her confirmation prospects that she (1) would be the first Hispanic justice and (2) was appointed to the district court by the first President Bush (even though she was really the pick of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, not the Bush White House).
Will SS thank Jeffrey Rosen in her nomination acceptance speech? Professor Rosen, with his attack piece on her, sparked a backlash — in the blogosphere, from Latinos, and in liberal circles more generally — that may have helped her nomination in the end.
There’s extensive discussion of the Sotomayor nomination over at SCOTUSblog, where Tom Goldstein was analyzing the nomination dynamics as early as 7:30 this morning. Goldstein is of the view that her confirmation is almost certain, absent any major surprises, and we tend to agree. The potential roadblocks — her involvement in the controversial Ricci v. DeStefano affirmative action case, her unfortunate quip about courts making policy — just aren’t big enough to stop her (and her history-making nomination).
(According to SCOTUSblog, the AP publicly reported the news of her nomination first. But in this day and age, in which news spreads almost instantaneously, scoops tend not to last for longer than a few minutes.)
This should be an interesting confirmation. Stay tuned.
Obama Chooses Sotomayor for Supreme Court Nominee [The Caucus / New York Times]
The Dynamic of the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor [SCOTUSblog]
Sonia Sotomayor [Wikipedia]
On a Supreme Court Prospect’s Résumé: ‘Baseball Savior’ [New York Times]

This Week in Layoffs: 05.25.09

Law Shucks layoffs layoff tracker.jpg[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.]

No! So close! We had this whole piece written on the optimistic assumption that this would be the first full week without a layoff since the end of 2008.

Then Ropes & Gray went and ruined it for everyone.

The slowdown of law firm layoffs reflects the trend in the broader economy. Initial jobless claims were down 12,000 for the week ending May 16, to 631,000. Continuing claims increased by 75,000, the net of the 637,000 claims from last week. That was the 16th straight week of a net increase in unemployment, bringing the rate to 8.9%, a 25-year high. The level is expected to peak over 10% in the next year, and take five more years to drop down to 5%.

So even though the grand total for calendar 2008 broke the 10,000 layoff mark last week, the rate has dropped off dramatically. It was only on April 13, 2009 that the total from the current wave (counting from Cadwalader in January, 2008) broke 10,000. Despite the recent slowdown, it took just over a month to have as many people laid off from law firms as were laid off in all of 2008.

Even if Ropes hadn’t rained on all the barbecues, there were still going to be a number of caveats and clarifications to the "no layoffs" analysis. We address those, and other cost-cutting measures, after the jump.

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Morning Docket: 05.25.09

Memorial Day 2009.jpgToday is Memorial Day. Please take some time to reflect upon the sacrifices of the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
We hope that you’re not in front of your computer and/or in the office on this holiday. But for those of you who are, here’s your Morning Docket.
* If you are stuck at work today, maybe you’re at Weil or Dewey or Jenner or Honigman, working on the GM bankruptcy. [Am Law Daily]
* With an announcement expected any day now, President Obama drops some hints about what he’s looking for in a Supreme Court justice. [Washington Post]
* One area where a new justice might make a difference: executive power. [New York Times]
* The Times has been profiling possible SCOTUS nominees [FN1], and ATL gets a veiled shout-out (“a legal blog”) in the profile of Justice Leah Ward Sears. [New York Times]
* A downside to judicial service: threats to judges and prosecutors are on the rise. [Washington Post]
* More legal trouble for ex-NBA star Jayson Williams. [AP]
* Alaska prosecutors to retired teacher: Please don’t feed the bears. [USA Today]
* Over on the other side of the pond, Kilpatrick killed its London office — back in March. [Am Law Daily]
* Elsewhere in the EU, Scientologists go on trial in France. [The Independent via Drudge]
[FN1] Here are the other SCOTUS profiles: Jennifer Granholm; Elena Kagan; Carlos Moreno; Janet Napolitano; Sonia Sotomayor; and Diane Wood.

skirt above the knee.jpgFashion is always a hot topic here at Above The Law. Last year, a partner at Winston & Strawn got females’ panties in a bunch by questioning the length of their skirts. In the fall, our post on suitable interview suits generated quite the long thread.
We seldom tire of talking about short shorts and see-through blouses, and we’re not the only ones. The judges and lawyers of the Seventh Circuit weighed in on fashion faux pas at a conference in Indianapolis this past week, reports the New York Times:

The topic was first raised by a United States district court judge, Joan H. Lefkow, of the Northern District of Illinois as the panel discussed good and bad trends in courtroom practice. Judge Lefkow said some women should dress more appropriately in court. According to an article in the National Law Journal and from the accounts of others in the room, she said one lawyer had shown up for a jury trial in a velour outfit that looked for all the world as if she was “on her way home from the gym.”
While the lawyer won her case, Judge Lefkow suggested to the judges and lawyers in the room that unseemly clothing in court was the kind of issue that should be the subject of quiet conversation in law firms.

What? Winning isn’t all that matters?
Judge Lefkow’s remarks led to some not-so quiet conversation during the rest of the panel. The judges voiced their disdain for loud ties, short skirts, and other titillating attire.
Read about their opinions, and share your own, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Fashion Dos-and-Don’ts, Brought To You By the Seventh Circuit”

Non-Sequiturs: 05.22.09

Fallingwater photo by Lat.jpg* This is the best argument in favor of Roe v. Wade. [True/Slant]
* And here is an argument against extending copyright protection to architecture and fashion design. [Concurring Opinions]
* Is stare decisis fo’ suckas? [Southern Appeal]
* Is Elena Kagan “a great friend of conservatives”? Maybe not, according to Wendy Long. [National Review Online]
* “The Millennials: Generation Enlightened or Generation Lazy?” [WSJ Law Blog]
* Talk about a “sin tax”: teen who auctioned off her virginity may owe thousands in unpaid taxes. [The Sun via TaxProf Blog]

champagne glasses small.jpgLast week, the “normal-seeming” couple won our reader poll in a romp over the buttoned-up, hyper-achieving competition. No danger of that this week! All three of these contestant couples give off major type-A vibes and are firmly locked in prestigious-degree-accumulation mode. And oh, how we love them.
Here are the contestants:

1. Alyssa Worsham and Bretton Dimick
2. Sada Jacobson and Brendan Bâby
3. Julie Ehrlich and Noam Elcott

Check out these couples’ credentials and photos, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 5.17: Be My Bâby”

kirkland ellis logo.JPGLaw firms are dealing with the Great Recession in many different ways. As we’ve chronicled in these pages, layoffs and salary cuts are commonplace, practically clichéd.
Some firms are cutting costs more creatively. From a source at Kirkland & Ellis:

We just got a memo from K&E about a massive increase in our health care premiums. I’m not happy at all…. By my rough math, my deductible tripled, but the cost increased $100/month. So they’re screwing us two ways. Again, if my math is right.

From a second tipster:

This change effectively reduces associate salaries by approximately $1,000-$2,000 per year, although made under the guise of a change in the health care plan (perhaps in attempt to avoid blog coverage of salary cuts?).

K&E’s health care coverage was already pretty poor compared to other biglaw firms. This change makes their health care for associates (and other employees earning more than $90K) even worse. Also disturbing is that part of the justification for the change is to “bring the amount paid for health care coverage for associates closer to the amount paid by partners of the Firm…..”

My (albeit limited) understanding of health care coverage for partners in partnerships is that by its nature it is always different from the partnerships’ actual employees (i.e., associates)…. Additionally, we all know K&E partners make a ton of money (as evidenced by their high ppp, which have not been reduced). While associates at Kirkland are definitely well compensated, they work brutal hours for that money, and enacting a salary cut in the guise of bringing partners health care cost “in line” with associates seems greedy and ill-advised.

Full memo, in all of its hyper-technical glory, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Reversed Perk Watch: Kirkland Claws Back Health Care Costs”

ropes gray logo.JPGThe “spring review process” at Ropes & Gray got underway this week, and early reports indicate the Boston-based firm is doing some heavy spring cleaning.
Sources tell us the firm has spoiled the Memorial Day weekends of 30 to 40 of its associates. Upon information and belief, approximately eight first-years [Ed. note: see update below] two first-years are among those whose three-day weekends will be spent firing up laser printers instead of barbecue grills.
The departed are being told it’s for “performance reasons.” An attorney in the Boston office indicates that the firings could continue into next week:

Stealth layoffs are going on at Ropes & Gray right now. Performance reviews started this past Monday and will be continuing through next Friday. So far, more than 10 associates, almost entirely first and second years, have been fired. Word on the street is that the layoffs are widespread, but the firm hasn’t acknowledged anything.
The firing takes place at the review itself. When associates who are getting laid-off show up for their reviews, there are two people there — the partner and HR.
People who have been laid off have 1 month to leave. No word on what kind of severance they’re getting.

The firm’s spokesman would not confirm the number let go, but says the firings are part of the “normal review process.” Ropes “understand[s] that associates who have received disappointing messages in this environment can readily interpret the reviews as layoffs,” said the spokesman, but the firm says that’s not the case, in its statement released to Above The Law this morning. Here’s an excerpt:

Ropes & Gray is completing its normal associate performance review process, just as we do twice each year in the spring and fall. Like our peers, we have an “up or out” system, so this process, as in the past, will result in the departure of some associates across all departments, primarily from the mid-level associate ranks.

The spokesman declined to confirm total number of associates fired or that first years were let go. He said that “very, very few, if any” first years were among those fired. But tipsters say otherwise.
UPDATE (1:30 P.M.): After the post went up, Ropes decided to release more information. Here’s the firm’s additional statement:

First, a total of two first-year associates received reviews resulting in the end of their employment, and the total number of first- and second-years receiving negative reviews is considerably less than 10. Second, there is no HR person in the room. These are reviews, not terminations. Third, it is not correct that “people who have been laid off have one month to leave.” The departure time is considerably more generous than that.

Full statement from the firm, and more from sources, after the jump.

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Job of the Week Lateral Link ATL logo.gifBefore you head off for the Memorial Day weekend, check out the latest Job of the Week, coming out of Texas. As always, the Job of the Week is brought to you by Lateral Link. Lateral Link has successfully placed dozens of attorneys at regional law firms. If you are a regional firm looking to hire a top attorney, please email Michael Allen at mallen@laterallink.com.
Position: Litigation Associate
Location: Dallas, TX
Description: Local boutique firm seeks an ’05 or ’06 associate for its litigation practice. Excellent academic credentials required. Candidates should be licensed in Texas or be willing to take the first available bar exam. This well-respected law firm is comprised of approximately 40 attorneys, many of whom are refugees from larger firms who tired of the big firm lifestyle.
For more information about this position or to apply, please see Position #10559 on Lateral Link. Current members can also contact their personal search consultant directly to discuss this position. Membership in Lateral Link is free and you can apply at www.laterallink.com.
P.S. The Harvard Law School Alumni Association is looking for at least four graduating students who are deferred by law firms and seeking interim positions in the non-profit field as part of their deferral. For more information, check out the Resources section of the Career Center.
Earlier: Prior Job of the Week listings

Pat Quinn Tax on Lawyers.JPGIllinois Governor Pat Quinn, the guy who replaced Rod Blagojevich, wants to institute public financing for judicial elections. He’s set up a commission and everything!
The latest proposal floating around the Illinois statehouse would require lawyers to foot the bill on behalf of campaigning judges. A tipster reports:

[Pat Quinn] has proposed public financing of judicial elections beginning in 2010. Of course, Illinois, like many big states, is deeply in dept, so the governor plans to pay for this “reform” by taxing each lawyer $50, as an extra charge on his or her annual bar registration fee. Needless to say, many lawyers see this as bad policy and a terrible precedent. Why should a government, which has no money, pay for the cost of judicial campaigns, or transfer the cost to lawyers?

I’m surprised the government hasn’t put more “sin taxes” on the legal profession already. Should lawyers have to pay for a judge’s campaign? Probably not. Are you going to get the general public to rally to the defense of lawyers? Certainly not.
But it’s not too late to act. More details about the plan after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Public Financing of Judicial Elections? Only if Lawyers Pay For It.”

Morning Docket 5.22.09

baseball.jpg* Republicans slam Obama for his “empathy” standard for his SCOTUS nominee, citing an earlier speech on the Senate floor emphasizing a different standard. [The Washington Post]
* Speaking of Obama, is he “the best lawyer to occupy the U.S. presidency since William Howard Taft”? [Foreign Policy]
* The Yankees held a moot court in a room off the clubhouse. Would you want to face a jury of Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon? [The New York Times]
* The Justice Department has arranged for the first Guantanamo inmate to be tried in a New York court. [The Washington Post]
* Shuttered Chrysler dealers may have a tough time fighting their closures in court, due to the freedom that bankruptcy laws give courts to tear up contracts. [The Wall Street Journal]
* Immigrants are being deported in the middle of their court cases. [The Los Angeles Times]

brunoforte above the law.jpgWhen you’re hanging out at Chic-A-Boom Room in Dunedin, Florida, late on a Monday night, you need to be prepared for trouble. So discovered Florida patent attorney Louis Brunoforte this week. But only after taking a punch to the face from a feisty 45-year-old woman from Indiana.
From the St. Petersburg Times:

As he headed to the restroom early Tuesday at the Chic-A-Boom Room, Louis Brunoforte left behind a Budweiser to mark his spot at the bar.
He returned to find someone sitting in his seat. A verbal dispute ensued and quickly escalated.
Words were exchanged, expletives were hurled and, finally, a punch was thrown, hitting the 6-foot, 240-pound Brunoforte right in the kisser.

Getting punched in the face, however, is not enough to warrant the honor of Lawyer of the Day. No, Brunoforte earned that honor by announcing to the Times that he plans to sue:

Brunoforte, 46, of Dunedin, is a lawyer and may proceed with a civil suit against Adams. He said he had back surgery in March and walks with the help of a cane and back brace. He wasn’t injured by the shot from the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Adams, but said that fact isn’t relevant.
“I was a boxer in high school so I guess I know how to take a punch,” Brunoforte said. “But I could have fallen down, and with the serious back surgery I had that could have been problematic.”

Oh, Bruno, for the sake of your self-respect, you should have stopped talking after “take a punch.”
Brunoforte claims the Hoosier woman “threw a punch like a man would throw a punch.” But rather than hit her back, his cool head prevailed. He started planning his civil suit against her and asked the bartender to call authorities.
Dunedin lawyer says Indiana woman punched him after bar dispute [St. Petersburg Times]

Non-Sequiturs: 05.21.09

Okama Gamesphere.JPG* Pringles are potato chips. I never knew this was in doubt. [TaxProf Blog]
* Somebody really needs to do something to make law school useful. [Courtoons]
* I don’t think school bus drivers get a whole lot of respect on a day-to-day basis. [Underdog]
* The recession is hurting fake lawyers too. [Law and More]
* Do you have a picture of a towel that you’d like to share with a legal blogger? I’m just trying to get my Okama Gamesphere back. [CyberLaw]

Sonnenschein logo.jpgJust a few months ago, Sonnenschein was doling out seven-figure paydays to partners from the dissolving Thacher Proffitt & Wood. Today, the firm is cutting associate salaries.
But the firm has decided to take a major swing at lockstep compensation in the process. The official statement from managing partner Elliott Portnoy starts out with the highest ambitions:

Long before the current economic upheaval that has gripped our clients and profession, survey after survey consistently confirmed a common theme: law firm associates have become increasingly unhappy in their work. Indeed, an entire industry has arisen in the blogosphere, where websites detail — often hour by hour — concerns from associate lawyers around the country and in firms of all sizes and stripes.
And yet, despite these warnings, the fundamentals of how most law firms recruit, develop, and compensate their associate lawyers have remained largely unchanged for too long — to the detriment of the current structure’s sustainability and, more importantly, to the professional reward and promise of our Associates.
As I discussed with you during today’s monthly Firmwide Associate Meeting, Sonnenschein is committed to meaningfully redesigning our relationship with our Associates. I am writing to outline the specific steps we will take together over the next eighteen months to translate our vision, and the key role Associates at Sonnenschein will continue to play in our shared future, into reality.

Hey, don’t blame it on the “blogosphere.” The industry was built this way when we found it.
More visions from Portnoy, after the jump.

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Career Center AboveTheLaw Lateral Link ATL.jpgOur new Career Center, brought to you by ATL and Lateral Link, continues to gain momentum. Traffic to the center has been growing steadily since its launch last month.
Recently we shared with you the top ten most-viewed profiles. We update that list after the jump. As you’ll see, there hasn’t been much movement in the top 10 since last week. Quinn Emanuel retains the top spot — perhaps not surprisingly, in light of recent events. Check out how Google searches for “Quinn Emanuel” have spiked in the past week.
Today we’d like to highlight a different feature of the Career Center: Firm Comparisons. Accessing it requires registration, but registering is free and easy. You can then compare law firms on various metrics, including compensation, the associate experience, billable hours, vacation policy, and partnership prospects.
Let’s use partnership prospects as an example. Here is how the top nine firms, ranked by how often their profiles are viewed, stack up:

Quinn:
# 57% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 42% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
Skadden:
# 64% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
# 21% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 14% There is virtually no chance, don’t even try
O’Melveny:
# 50% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 50% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
Cravath:
# 66% There is virtually no chance, don’t even try
# 33% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
Kirkland & Ellis
# 40% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
# 40% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 18% There is virtually no chance, don’t even try
Jones Day
# 66% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 33% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
Sullivan & Cromwell:
# 88% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
# 11% There is virtually no chance, don’t even try
Cleary Gottlieb:
# 50% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 33% There is virtually no chance, don’t even try
# 16% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
Akin Gump:
# 45% It is a longshot no matter how hard you work
# 45% It is an achievable goal if you work for it
# 09% There is virtually no chance, don’t even try

There wasn’t enough data for the missing member of the top ten — our former firm, Wachtell Lipton. But with a one-to-one partner to associate ratio, WLRK partnership prospects are pretty decent (by Biglaw standards).
An updated list of the most popular firm profiles, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: Partnership Prospects
Which firms offer the best chance of making partner?