* Marc Dreier pleaded guilty yesterday. “He has disgraced the honorable profession of law,” said Judge Jed S. Rakoff. [New York Times]
* Dreier’s $400 million swindle obviously supported quite a lavish lifestyle. Check out his 2500+ sq. ft. Southampton beach house to be auctioned off next month. [David R. Maltz & Co.]
* The Legal Intelligencer has launched a series looking at the way the legal industry is changing. First part of the series gives kudos to Eckert Seamans for recognizing that first-year associates are worthless. [Legal Intelligencer]
* Judge lets Rod Blagojevich use his campaign fund for his defense costs and lets him have all the lawyers his little heart desires. [Chicago Tribune]
* The SCOTUS nomination process continues to generate massive speculation. Today, the Washington Post says there’s a strong push for a Hispanic justice. But the article has this insightful tidbit: “The White House is constructing its appointment strategy on the belief that this will not be [Obama's] only appointment to the court and that he need not reach his goal of changing the racial, ethnic and gender balance on the court with just one pick.” [Washington Post]
Archive for May 2009
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Posted in:
Lawyer of the Day, Oral Sex / Blow Jobs, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals, Stanford Law School
Disbarred Stanford Grad Trades Counsel for Coitus
And is now trying to set up shop in South Carolina?
By Kashmir Hill
When we first got a tip that a Florida lawyer had been disbarred for making a client pay her fees with sexual favors, we thought, “Ho hum. Another crazy Florida lawyer.” Then we Googled the pro boner attorney, James Harvey Tipler, and found out that the low-life lawyer has a sterling Stanford degree.
According to his Justia profile and his listing on the California Bar Association website, Tipler is a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law School. We hope this doesn’t make Stanford fall even lower in the U.S. News rankings.
Tipler is not the first Stanford Law graduate to get mixed up in sex work. But making an 18-year-old client pay for legal work on her parental custody case with sexual favors is a new low.
From the Florida Supreme Court order disbarring Tipler:
Tipler charged his client a fee of $2,300 and entered into a fee agreement with her that allowed a “credit of $200 for each time she engaged in sex with Respondent” and a “$400 credit if she arranged for other females to have sex with him.” For his misdeeds, Tipler was charged with racketeering and four counts of prostitution. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of solicitation of prostitution.
Fellatio in exchange for filings was not Tipler’s only offense. He’s gotten into trouble in many other ways, and not just in Florida. He’s got a record in California and Alabama, and we suspect he may be trying to set up shop in South Carolina now. More after the jump.
* A couple of the cheerleader hopefuls for the Indianapolis Colts are law students. Isn’t that nice? I especially like Ashley, who lists “my education” as her most prized possession. Because you know what is really sexy? Irony. [Indianapolis Colts]
* Negotiating your salary upwards? In this market? Without taking your clothes off? Well, now I’m intrigued. [Let's Talk Turkey]
* Are you looking to get a spouse? Try showing up at a local A.A. meeting. I wish I were joking. [Law and More]
* I didn’t like going from law school classes (that I didn’t attend) to BarBri classes (that I didn’t attend). But it was better than going from college (did they even have classes by the end?) to the cold reality of having to support yourself. [Courtoons]
* This week’s Blawg Review looks back on the first 100 days of the Obama administration. He’s had it pretty rough, but at least he’s not the elephant in the room. [HealthBlawg via Blawg Review]
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Posted in:
Drinker Biddle & Reath, Salary Cuts
Salary Cut Watch: Drinker Biddle Cuts Salaries AND Rates
By Elie Mystal
Sorry to go all caps on you. But we finally have a firm that is using the crisis to seriously rethink the nature of the first year experience, instead of just firing them, deferring them, cutting their salaries, or generally acting like first years are solely responsible for ruining the Biglaw model with their entitled insistence on being employed after three years of legal education.
The Legal Intelligencer and AmLaw Daily reports that Drinker Biddle will actually allow first years to start in September:
Rather than immediately assign the incoming lawyers to client matters, the firm will enroll its hires in a new training program that will provide courses on taking depositions, writing briefs, and meeting client needs. The instructors will include Drinker attorneys, professional development staff, and firm clients. The 37 first years also will shadow partners’ client meetings and court appearances. The associates may handle some client work, but at significantly reduced rates.
There is a catch. For the first six months, first years will be paid on a scale of $105,000. That is a bigger reduction in salaries than we’ve seen at other firms. On the other hand, Drinker Biddle is also reducing the rates that clients are charged for first year work.
Anybody else notice that responding to client concerns about the value of first year attorneys by reducing billing rates makes intuitive sense? I think Drinker Biddle management would do very, very well on the LSAT.
After the jump, we see that Drinker is rethinking the entire first year experience.
Continue reading “Salary Cut Watch: Drinker Biddle Cuts Salaries AND Rates”
Last Monday, we reported that Milbank laid off 89 people. Milbank did not respond to our requests for comment for that story, but when one tipster asked firm management how many people were laid off from the firm, the tipster was told to “check the blogs.”
We take our responsibility on that front seriously, and so we have some additional information to report. In our initial report, we said that first years were not laid off by Milbank. Apparently, that statement was in error. We have since received numerous reports from sources claiming that first years were in fact laid off last Monday. Many of those reports were from laid off first years. this report is exemplary of many we received:
Screw you MysTTTal. Milbank did lay-off first years. At least 10 firm wide. Take the hot comb out of your hair and do some real reporting.
Once again, I’m a guy. And I only put natural juices and berries in my hair.
Another laid off first year reports:
The firm did in fact give us 3 months severance but today’s news came as a major shock and seem to have been prompted by the arrival of summer associates this coming Monday.
Laying off first years is one thing. But did Milbank also lay off a pregnant woman on maternity leave? Somebody cue up the Shinyung Oh music, after the jump.
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Posted in:
Musical Chairs, O'Melveny & Myers, Skadden Arps
Musical Chairs: O’Melveny Litigation Rainmaker Moving to Skadden
By Elie Mystal
Back in March, we reported that Skadden D.C. lost important members of its litigation team when Andrew Sandler and Benjamin Klubes left to start their own firm. Have those losses been replaced? Sources report Skadden is in the process of poaching a big name from O’Melveny & Myers. Apparently, John Beisner is leaving OMM for Skadden, and he’s taking Jessica Miller and Steve Harburg with him.
Beisner is based out of Washington, D.C. and is the chair of O’Melveny’s firmwide Class Actions, Mass Torts, and Aggregated Litigation Practice. A source says this about Mr. Beisner’s importance to O’Melveny:
Beisner’s cases are an unbelievable percentage of the entire litigation portfolio – this has been a huge fear now realized among associates/counsel.
After the jump, O’Melveny responds.
Continue reading “Musical Chairs: O’Melveny Litigation Rainmaker Moving to Skadden”
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Posted in:
O'Melveny & Myers, Quinn Emanuel, Reality TV
Biglaw Siblings Take Gold in the Amazing Race
By Kashmir Hill
Back in January, we interviewed siblings Victor Jih, a partner at O’Melveny & Myers, and Tammy Jih, an associate at Quinn Emanuel, who starred on this season’s Amazing Race. Little did we know in January that we were talking to this season’s race winners. Last night, the Jihs beat out some cheerleaders and a deaf kid and his mom to win the Amazing Race prize.
(For the uninitiated, the Amazing Race is a reality TV show where teams of two race around the world in the hopes of winning $1 million.)
Not everyone is thrilled for the Harvard Law grads. The Chicago Sun-Times is asking whether the Mandarin-speaking Chinese-American siblings had an unfair advantage in China. And the Associated Press called the finish of the race “heartbreaking:”
Luke Adams, 22, just graduated as the valedictorian of the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, and raced with his mother Margie, 50. They were in the lead heading into the last competition, which involved picking out surfboards with insignias representing every leg of their trip. Luke started fast but couldn’t get the last one right.
As he was frustrated, Victor Jih completed his task and headed into a taxi for the finish line.
Maybe the AP would be happier for the twins if they realized how tough lawyers have it these days. Or maybe not. Regardless, we bet that $500k bonus feels pretty good to each sibling. We checked in with them via e-mail, but got just a brief reply from Tammy:
Thanks for watching the show! Sorry we could not respond earlier. I have not been on the internet, but I am assuming you have already written your article. Sorry for the delayed response, but we have had a busy last 24 hours, as I am sure you can imagine!
Actually, we’ve been delinquent in watching the show regularly this season, but we got reviews from folks who have. The reviews and a photo of the Jihs in (admittedly-conservative) beach attire, after the jump.
Continue reading “Biglaw Siblings Take Gold in the Amazing Race”
We’ve reported on two suicides that have happened in the legal community after attorneys have lost their jobs. The National Law Journal reports on another apparent suicide that occurred in December at King & Spalding.
Is the recession economy pushing lawyers over the edge, or is it the just the general stress of the profession?
It is difficult to gauge whether these three recent deaths indicate a rise in attorney suicides; recent statistics are hard to come by. And it has been more than 20 years since the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety released a study that ranked lawyers fifth among workers in the frequency with which they commit suicide. Psychologists and attorneys, however, say factors in the profession that may contribute to suicide have likely grown worse, not better. Lawyers, they say, may be primed for depression because of their heavy workload and legal training that accentuates the negative.
“We really, as lawyers, are dunked into a bath of stress,” said Dan Lukasik, a trial lawyer whose Web site Lawyers with Depression has seen a 50 percent jump in hits in the past six months. “You’re sitting there stewing in your own stress chemicals and that goes on for years.”
After the jump, the ABA offers some resources for those who are confronting depression.
Continue reading “ABA Offers Free Program on Preventing Suicide”
Vroom, Vroom, the party starter?
The people over at SubtleDig have put together a list of the top party law schools:
Though these rankings pages purport to rank the “party-ness” of the top 102 law schools, they might better be described as “quality-of-life” rankings. Why the misnomer? Sensationalism mainly. Don’t be too disappointed though, these “quality-of-life” rankings have far more utility than any strict “party” rankings could provide. Below you will find the top 5 and bottom 5 Party Law Schools. Please consult the navigation bar above for more.
This list seems totally appropriate given the state of the economy. There’s no point in going to law school if you’re looking for an actual job, might as well pick a school where you can have some fun for three years while you wait out the market crisis.
Here’s the top ten party law schools:
Can you come up with one other list that would show Alabama and Harvard tied for something? Anything? I have this vague idea of the most interesting law school mixer of all time, met on the neutral ground of Washington, D.C. or something.
Meanwhile, how the heck did ASU beat out Tulane? Tulane students party so hard they manage to cross the line in NOLA. “Say what you will about the tenets of nationalized socialism, but at least it’s an ethos.” Then again, all ASU law students do is beat the bag out of would be criminals.
We have to check out SubtleDig’s methodology, after the jump.
Continue reading “Party Time! Who Says Law School Isn’t Fun?”
[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.]
Indulge us at Law Shucks for a brief editorial. Two recent tragedies compel us to provide some context. We don’t write this series and maintain the Layoff Tracker because of some sense of schadenfreude. We do it because of frustration with the lack of transparency into the firms’ layoffs and the absence of any useful data to put those layoffs into context. If nothing else, we would hope that those affected have a better understanding of the larger events that factored into the layoffs of particular individuals. You are not alone and being laid off is not a reflection on your value as a person or your intrinsic self-worth.
On to the news (and the inevitable flaming in the comments).
In the broader US economy, unemployment hit a 25-year high, reaching levels not seen since September 1983. Fewer people were laid off in April than in any month since October, which somewhat tracks the trend we’ve seen in law firm layoffs. April was the slowest month this year for our little corner of the market (things didn’t really pick up at firms until January, which trailed the broader economy). Still, while layoffs are slowing, the unemployment level continues to set new records due to the lack of hiring.
Data and analysis begin after the jump.
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Inside counsel: Find more value for your legal spend.
Outside Counsel Alternatives (sm) – the database for innovative attorneys.
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Posted in:
Gender, Marc Dann, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Samuel Kent
Morning Docket 05.11.09
By Kashmir Hill
* We are not the only ones talking about the problems women have with each other at the office. The New York Times says women bully women. [New York Times]
* Ex-Judge of the Day Hall of Famer Samuel Kent, the first federal judge to be charged with a sex crime, will be sentenced today. He could have gone to the big house for up to 20 years, but his two decades on the bench have made him sentence-savvy. He’ll face three years max thanks to a plea agreement. [Houston Chronicle]
* Former Ohio AG Marc “the Dannimal” Dann has found a new niche. [Legal Newsline]
* A cobbled-together article suggesting that suicide is a trend for stressed attorneys. [National Law Journal]
* Every move you make, every turn you take. A Wisconsin appeals court says the police can slap a GPS tracking device on your car. No warrant needed. [CNet]
* SCOTUS, SCOTUS, SCOTUS. Trying to get into President Obama’s head when it comes to his judiciary thinking. [New York Times]
* White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may be heading up the SCOTUS nominee search but Vice President Joe Biden is enjoying his grand poobah role in the process. [Washington Post]
* The gambling odds on the nominees. Sotomayor’s the favorite with odds of 13-8. Michelle Obama’s odds? 500-1. [Fox News]
* A guide to the YouTube moments of potential SCOTUS nominees — gaffes and brilliance. Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s clip is the “best” of the bunch — short, concise, and damaging. [Slate]
* The New York Times wants readers to pick Souter’s replacement. Vote Lat! [The New York Times]
* Jeffrey Rosen’s New Republic attack piece on potential SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor continues to cause waves of anger in the blogosphere. The journalistic ethics in Rosen’s piece — quoting an anonymous source who calls Sotomayor “not that smart,” for example — were highly questionable. [Talking Points Memo]
* … and Rosen’s response to the waves. [The New Republic]
* This is why you’ve had a Kash-ful day today. Elie is in D.C. to speak at the ABA Taxation Meeting, and they’re making him wake up by seven on a Saturday. [American Bar Association]
* Justice Clarence Thomas, pwned? [Popehat]
* Another lawsuit against online defamation. A Houston paralegal with herpes goes after Dirty.com. [True/Slant]
* Career Alternative for Lawyers: iPhone application genius. [iPhone JD]
* Brooklyn Law School speaks out about its U.S. News ranking, which is facing some uncomfortable scrutiny. [Law School Headlines]
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Posted in:
Advertising
Adventures in Lawyer Advertising: Texas is a galaxy far, far away
By Kashmir HillWhen you go to the main website for Texas law firm Korn, Bowdich & Diaz, it looks rather bland. But once you click through the welcome screen, things get interesting, such as this Star Wars-esque flash intro. Click to watch the “KB&D Wars” or here’s a still shot:
According to their home page, the self-proclaimed “alliance of rebel attorneys” warring against “Corporate Arroganz” are inspired by the Bible, a 14th Century samurai, and a forgotten boxing great:
Korn, Bowdich & Diaz* provides clients allegiance, learning, skill and industry. The Firm’s mission draws on many philosophies.
“Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.” – Proverbs 20:18
“By no means does the outcome of battle depend upon numbers, but upon the united hearts of those who fight it.” – Kusunoki Masashige
“I’ll moider da bum.” – Domenick Anthony “Two Ton” Tony Galento
Appropriately, the lawyers have cartoon sketches of themselves on their bio page. May the force be with them.
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Posted in:
Deferral Stipend, Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley Austin, Start Dates
News For Incoming Associates at Kirkland and Sidley Austin
(And a New Start Date Round-up)
By Kashmir Hill
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.
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Posted in:
Cleary Gottlieb, Georgetown Law School, Harvard Law School, Katten Muchin Rosenman, New York Times, Shearman & Sterling, Skadden Arps, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 5.3: One Word: “Awesome”
By Laurie Lin
Six impressive lawyers headline our survey of this week’s NYT wedding pages. Even more impressive is that four of them are still clinging to Biglaw jobs — assuming, of course, that bad news does not await any of our returning honeymooners.
Here are the finalists:
1. Neda Karamouz and Stephen Vander Stoep
2. Danielle Cohen and Bradley Friedman
3. Leslie Tobin and Nathan Ostrander
Click on the link below to get the story on these newlyweds’ degrees, jobs, and china patterns.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 5.3: One Word: “Awesome””
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Posted in:
Lawyer of the Day, Prostitution
Lawyer (Turned Escort) of the Day: Nina Baccala
By Kashmir Hill
Times are tough, and sometimes those with JDs have to find sources of income beyond their legal pursuits. Sometimes they try to increase their cash flow through illegal pursuits. Such as prostitution. (This isn’t the first time we’ve covered the phenomenon.)
Putting your life in the hands of a random John has bigger potential downsides than handing your body and mind over to Biglaw. From the Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly:
In a story similar to that of the so-called Craigslist killer, a Massachusetts lawyer claims she was the victim of an attack at knife point in Providence last week after placing an ad offering escort services.
A Providence Journal story states that Nina C. Baccala met William V. Lapierre after advertising escort services in the Providence Phoenix. When Lapierre allegedly tried to rob Baccala with a large kitchen knife, she reportedly fended him off with a chemical spray.
Baccala passed the Mass Bar last year and clerked for Superior Court Judge Raymond J. Brassard, says the Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly. She has a JD and an MBA, and still had to go the lady-of-the-night employment route. This economy really sucks. More on her background and how she fought off her attacker, after the jump.
Continue reading “Lawyer (Turned Escort) of the Day: Nina Baccala”
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Posted in:
Job of the Week, Sponsored Content
Job of the Week: Deferring? Don’t Just Travel Somewhere Cool, Work Somewhere Cool
By Above the Law
Have your Biglaw dreams been deferred? Well, here’s a call for associates considering a Year-Long Deferral program. As always, the Job of the Week is brought to you by Lateral Link.
Has your firm offered you a paid leave under a program such as Dewey’s “DL Pursuits” or Shearman’s “External Development Program”? If so, Lateral Link can help you find in-house positions, many of which will supplement the package paid by your firm. Lateral Link has been busy sourcing openings in Fortune 100 companies, media companies, hedge funds and renewable energy for attorneys taking advantage of these programs. To date Lateral Link has placed several attorneys who opted for their firm’s deferral program in positions with major technology companies and a Los Angeles-based real estate company.
For example, a position that Lateral Link is currently assisting with is at a renewable energy
company that is seeking an infrastructure, tax or corporate attorney with 4+ years of experience.
The attorney must be interested in developing expertise in tax equity structures that underlie
renewable energy project development. This company is open to hiring the attorney on permanently at the end of the deferral period.
For more information about such opportunities, please click here. Current members can also contact their personal search consultant directly. Membership in Lateral Link is free and you can apply at www.laterallink.com.
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Posted in:
Simpson Thacher, Summer Associates
Simpson Thacher Dishes Out Summer Associate Meal Policies
By Kashmir Hill
We’ve been talking for months about how summer associate programs will be scaled back this year. It’s a recession, baby. Frugality is the new black.
Last month, Cleary issued a humorous memo about how to treat its summer associates. It encouraged associates to take SAs out for value meals at McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, or better yet, to invite them over for a home cooked meal (“Pair hot dogs with frozen fish fillets for a surf and turf treat.”)
This week, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett issued its real Summer Meal Program memo as its first SAs start at the office on Monday. Things are dramatically scaled back in comparison to prior years, says a tipster:
summer 2007 – unlimited summer lunches
summer 2008 – 15 summer lunches per associate (entire summer) no limits on how many lunches summers attended
summer 2009 – one lunch a week (for associates AND summer)
More details, and the memo, after the jump.
Lots of firms are starting to let associates know the budget for SA entertaining this year. We encourage you to dish on the policies at your firm in the comments.
Continue reading “Simpson Thacher Dishes Out Summer Associate Meal Policies”
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Posted in:
Craigslist, Job Searches, Pranks
Graduated Top of Your Class at Harvard? This $28K Job May Be For You
By Kashmir Hill
A few readers have sent along the link to this Craigslist ad for an “ASSociate Attorney” based in midtown Manhattan:
Small, congenial law firm needs top notch associate attorney to join our exceptional team. Please do not apply if you do not meet the following requirmenets: [sic]
1. Top half of the class at Harvard, Yale, UPenn, U Michigan, or Georgetown; top 10% at U Chicago, Boalt or UCLA. Top 1% everywhere else.
2. Law review and/or moot court experience a MUST.
3. Federal Clerkship REQUIRED.
4. Must be willing to accept $28,000 per year. $10,000 bonus for billing over 2500 hours a year. The bonus is pro-rata more, so it is worth the extra billing.
5. Must be willing to make coffee every hour, on the hour. The position is open becuase [sic] our last associate sustained severe burns from the hot plate in which the coffee post rests. We had to discharge him as he required too much “leave” time.
6. Insurance after two years, with employee contribution at 50%.
7. Must be willing to share a desk with a paralegal. She said you can have the top drawer.
8. Must be in the office by 8am, and remain until 10pm. On Fridays, you can leave by 9:30pm.
9. Must be a team player.
Please send resume to the link above. Good luck- hope to see you soon!
We ASSume this is a joke. It’s not the first time an attorney frustrated by the job search has used Craigslist humor to vent.
We’re curious, though, about the law school biases. You only have to be top half at U Penn to meet their requirements, but you have to be top 1% at NYU or Columbia. What’s up with that?
UPDATE (12:16 p.m.): The man behind the ad steps forward. It’s not his first appearance on these pages. And he gives us hope that the job market may just be improving, after the jump.
Continue reading “Graduated Top of Your Class at Harvard? This $28K Job May Be For You”
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Posted in:
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, Sponsored Content, This Is an Ad
The BarMax Manifesto: “We Are Not Sheep”
By Above the Law
In 2009, a small group of Harvard Law School students noticed an absurd monopoly in the bar prep space, held by an unchallenged leader with a non-evolving product. In response, these students teamed up with Harvard Law alumni to launch BarMax on January 14, 2010.The mission: democratize bar prep by embracing new technologies to provide the very best bar exam review courses at a fraction of the cost normally associated with these courses.
Since then, with the encouragement of thousands of students and an unwavering commitment to their success, BarMax has established itself as a comprehensive alternative to the stagnant, over-priced status quo.
As we continue to expand, we do not want to lose sight of the basic premises that led us to create BarMax in the first place. If you are a law student who believes that there is something fundamentally wrong with being forced to take out yet another loan to pay for a $4,000 bar exam prep course, you are not alone.
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Posted in:
Advertising, Asia Chronicles, Shameless Plugs, Sponsored Content, This Is an Ad
The Asia Chronicles: In-House Openings at Hedge Funds In Hong Kong / State Of The Market / 7 New Kinney ’12 US Associate Placements In HK / China
By Kinney Recruiting
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 five years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.comHappy Chinese New Year! We were extremely busy the past few months, including most of our US based team working from our Hong Kong offices during November and December.
As a follow up from our recent post, which listed our 62 US associate and counsel placements in Asia last year (vast majority in HK / China), please note that thus far in January ’12, we have already made seven US associate and counsel placements in Asia. This is an especially impressive number, considering the biglaw lateral hiring market in Asia is down right now (see state of the market brief overview below). These new placements are of new hires in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, who were interviewing with their new firm for a month or more and they are spread out among different practice areas, including project finance, litigation, fund formation, M&A and cap markets. We are close on four additional new associate placements, in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, that we expect to close soon. We do not discuss partner placements in these articles, but the pace of partner recruitment in Asia (a large part of our business) has continued.
Hedge Fund In-House Openings in Hong Kong
We are seeing a small run of new in-house openings in Hong Kong at hedge funds. We are currently filling three different in-house positions at three different hedge funds in Hong Kong, two of these searches we are handling on an exclusive basis. All three will most likely be filled by a US associate, with about 4 to 6 years of experience. Mandarin not required. Candidates from NYC and London will be considered, but at one of these funds the new hire will likely come from Hong Kong / China or Singapore (with HK being the strong preference).
Please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com if you are interested in these hedge fund openings. As you probably would expect, the competition for these spots will be fierce and the funds will be very selective when choosing which candidates to interview.
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Posted in:
Careers
