1) 1:03 = lame.

2) NY to 160... er, unemployment.

3) Chicago to salaries and steady work.

First to say do not attend Chicago-Kent for law school.

First to say do not attend Chicago-Kent for law school.

The new digs are awesome.

N. Wacker Stud

I'm a Chicago lawyer -- and not to bursts everyone's bubble -- I'm skeptical of this report. Many firms are moving into new offices. But, as any person with a G.E.D could probably tell you, law firms do not decide to move into new office space one day and move the next. These decisions are typically made many years in advance, and I would guess that many firms made the decision to upgrade their office space back in 2006/2007, when the economy was much better.

Still, as an appellate law clerk with one year left in my term, I certaintly hope this is true.

As a rising 2L hoping to practice in Chicago, it's nice to finally have a bit of good news. I hope it lasts through OCI.

First to say that 1:07 obviously attended Chicago-Kent and has no job. But hey, at least your school is relatively nice inside, albeit f*cking impossible to get to (yes, there are those of us who, despite having the means, choose not to waste money on a car).

Also, first to say 1:07 doesn't deserve said job because 1:07 can't figure out how to read.

Can you say "After submitting a comment it may take several minutes to appear. Please only submit your comment once." ?

Can Elie make any comment about Chicago without saying that the Chicago legal market has been hit hard? FYI, Elie, EVERY legal market has been hit hard.

First to say that 1:07 obviously attended Chicago-Kent and has no job. But hey, at least your school is relatively nice inside, albeit f*cking impossible to get to (yes, there are those of us who, despite having the means, choose not to waste money on a car).

Also, first to say 1:07 doesn't deserve said job because 1:07 can't figure out how to read.

Can you say "After submitting a comment it may take several minutes to appear. Please only submit your comment once." ?

There are hundreds of recently laid of associates in Chicago. Not many of them have a book of business, which is what at least two of these firms will require.

The NLJ article actuallly states Cozen O’Connor is looking for corporate lawyers and commercial litigators with a book of business.

Nixon Peabody wants to add some new practices , which requires attorneys to bring business with them.

Elie you really are a dipshit.

First, most of the expansion into new facilities was a done deal before the recent 'downturn' for law firms. what do you expect them to say, something like "we committed to expansion before everything went to hell."

Second, all of the expansion depends on lateral partner movement, and most of that is in the direction of the mid-size firms and away from the biglaw firms. These firms are looking at partners with lower books than they would have considered historically, and that means that there will not be as much need for associate hiring until they build up their practices.

Third, recommending that people should "blast out" their resumes to every biglaw firm is a sure way for them all to be rejected and have everyone lose out on opportunities when something actually does open up.

Finally, no disrespect to Amy, but when was the last time a recruiter said that there are no opportunities? There will always be something for the right candidate, it is just that 99.9% of those interested right now are not the right candidate.

Maybe Chicago is not as bad as some other outposts, but if you call around, you will find that there are a ton of good people out of work here and those who still have jobs are just hoping that they don't find themselves out of work before too long.

8 and 10 = douche

There are hundreds of recently laid of associates in Chicago. Not many of them have a book of business, which is what at least two of these firms will require.

The NLJ article actuallly states Cozen O’Connor is looking for corporate lawyers and commercial litigators with a book of business.

Nixon Peabody wants to add some new practices , which requires attorneys to bring business with them.

Suck it NYC

There are hundreds of recently laid of associates in Chicago. Not many of them have a book of business, which is what at least two of these firms will require.

The NLJ article actuallly states Cozen O’Connor is looking for corporate lawyers and commercial litigators with a book of business.

Nixon Peabody wants to add some new practices , which requires attorneys to bring business with them.

There are hundreds of recently laid of associates in Chicago. Not many of them have a book of business, which is what at least two of these firms will require.

The NLJ article actuallly states Cozen O’Connor is looking for corporate lawyers and commercial litigators with a book of business.

Nixon Peabody wants to add some new practices , which requires attorneys to bring business with them.

There are hundreds of recently laid of associates in Chicago. Not many of them have a book of business, which is what at least two of these firms will require.

The NLJ article actuallly states Cozen O’Connor is looking for corporate lawyers and commercial litigators with a book of business.

Nixon Peabody wants to add some new practices , which requires attorneys to bring business with them.

i just had lunch with a V5 partner in NY and he expects firms to move to 190 in no time. He thinks that CSM will probably lead the charge

About time NYC solidifies itself as the legal powerhouse that it is.

http://skadden.com/recruiting/content/quicklinks/HNL61009.pdf

8 & 10=John Marshall alumnus

Chicago smells like sausages and PBR.

21 - I thought I already said that - 13

22 - meant to talk to you about that, your mom is getting a bit ripe. Please ask her to enhance personal grooming. Also, you might want to go with Old Style instead of PBR - PBR is fairly scarce here.

Best,

Concerned Chicagoan

12's comment is spot on.

I don't think these are "peer" firms.

At least one Chicago elite lit boutique is interviewing a ton. Biglaw work and pay with none of the Biglaw BS.

The NLJ article is misleading and crappy and there is very poor analysis in this post, but I suppose that I should have expected the latter.

First of all, of course Amy McCormack is going to say that recruiting is still going, because that is her business. I have not looked for a job, because I am lucky to still have a job, but there has been a precipitous drop-off in calls about open positions, and there are very few postings for good firm positions. Very few large firms are doing any hiring at all, even in "busy areas" and fewer in-house positions than usual are available. When they are, they are crappy in-house positions with pay of under $150k and unrealistic demands. The poor market makes crappy companies try to fill the positions that they could not previously fill with quality people at what they wanted to pay.

Second, I know many laid-off associates, and only the mid-levels and senior associates have had success in finding jobs. Junior have had very little to no luck. National firms often bring associates in from their other offices, and, even when they don't, they not hiring that many people. Nixon and Cozen aren't really Biglaw anyway. Those associates who have found jobs (and a few who have actually left of their own free will when they found something good) generally have to move out of Chicago - to the West Coast, DC or smaller markets.

My view is, Chicago has not been hit as hard as New York and LA, but things are definitely very not good here. So some firms have moved offices or opened new offices - those decisions were made three years ago - and a few other places are trying to be positive and general in the press. So what? Maybe those firms mentioned in the article are adding 50 associates total, although I doubt even that. How many layoffs have there been in Chicago, a few thousand? And deferrals? There are tons of people on the street right now, and finding a job is very, very difficult. To suggest otherwise is dishonest or entirely clueless.

skadden secure. 8-)

Check out that Kirkland slide show - the offices look awesome.

http://www.illinoislawyernow.com/2009/06/12/kirkland-ellis-photo-gallery/

-10

You are a retard. I took BarBri at Kent and it's easy to get to from just about anywhere. Metra, CTA, River Shuttle, Cab, walk. You're a MORON who is either not from the area or just a fucking whiny baby. Either way it's called color coded map available at any public transportation hub or on the internet.

-Don't have a didn't have a problem

which firm 27?

The fact that 22 seems to think that smelling like sausages and PBR is a bad thing tells me all I need to know about him/her.

Robert Post as YLS Dean...YLS still kneels at the MIT phallus.

Yeah... they are looking for experienced people in certain specfic niches: mainly b'ruptcy, structured finance, or with a book of business that jives with their bread and butter... I.e. NOT the average ATL reader.

Besides, there are already enough lawyers here in Chicago. The weather sucks (it's June and highs in the mid-60's - get out!), taxes & C.O.L. have been going up for years now and traffic is miserable.

Stay the F away.

Too bad Elie screwed up so we can't comment
on the most recent YLS post.

There is nothing better than giving Mystal's moobs a pearl necklace after lunch.

first to say KenTTT...also loyola and depaul are shitholes too...and john marshall sucks my nutz

I can't wait to be unemployed in Chicago. At least the river's green every St. Patrick's Day, never mind the fact that it's hot and humid in the summer and fucking cold in the winter.

And there are tons of walking sausages that pretend to be attractive women throughout the Chicago area. Can you say moo?

Yep, Chicago has a lot to recommend it. If I were a laid off Chicago associate, I'd think strongly about applying to a firm like Thompson Hine. They're apparently hiring.

6-
no one cares that you work for some small state appellate judge.

27,

im curiuos as to your characterization of "biglaw bs."

The fundamentals of the economy are sound.

Bizarrely, Skadden's new digs do not have napping rooms--how am I supposed to be a Skadden attorney without a place to take naps while I'm billing for 72 hours straight??!!!

This marks the end of the recession.

K&E's space doesn't look that great. I'm only a GS-15 with the government but my office is larger with a better view. And what's with the men's room? Floor to ceiling closet-like wooden stalls? What are they doing that they need that much privacy?

40, this is 6

Who said that I work for a state appellate judge?

And even if I did, I wouldn't consider that a bad gig given the current legal market. I know TONS of people that clerked on the Appellate Court of Illinois and have moved to do great things in the Chicago legal community, both with big law firms and in other private sectors.

Your unfounded assumptions and lack common sense lead me to conclude you're either:

(1) an immature law student with no clue of reality;
(2) a bitter big law associate who was recently laid off or deffered with no clue;
(3) an unemployed recent graduate who was rejected for clerkship with no clue.

Would you care to enlighten us as to which of the above categories you fall into?

46,

Im an immature big law associate who is currently employed. I realized that the assumption was without base. However, I also realized that anyone (i.e. you) that would make a completely gratuitous reference to being an appellate clerk would also overreact and make a big deal out of someone possibly believing that they didn't work for a federal appellate judge.

So, I guess my baseless assumptions were just a means to point out that being a federal appellate clerk is great, but having to brag about it on an anonymous blog is weak.

Thanks a lot ATL, I'm blaming the incoming flood of douchebag on you. NYC: your pizza sucks and no one gives a shit about the yankees

47 --

I'm not quite sure where you got the sense that I was bragging. I merely said that I have one year left on an appellate clerkship term, and I hope the Chicago legal market recovers by then. If you somehow think that constitutes bragging, I hope you're firm hasn't cut you're benefits. You apparently have some sort of an ego complex and should probably go see someone.

Further, I might have taken your initial response seriously (and thus not bothered to reply) if you would have said something like "no one cares you're a law clerk." Instead, you had to build up your own sense of self worth be denegrating state appellate law clerks (some of which are my friends). In other words, you're the one that found it necessary to brag on an annonymous blog, not me.

You're right about one thing though -- you are immature.

Chicago is full of thundering herds of fat cows that think they can compete with the tanned blondes of the West Coast and the emaciated pencil-thin stick models of NYC.

Chicago is full of thundering herds of fat cows that think they can compete with the tanned blondes of the West Coast and the emaciated pencil-thin stick models of NYC.

Anonymous bragging is for morons.

Smaller firms in Chicago may be hiring. Vault firms (with the exception of Skadden) are generally not hiring, and are definitely not hiring laid-off associates who don't bring their own business. These places are still shedding folks left and right.

In re the new digs, ord is that many of the Bezerkland & Ellis partners are irritated with the finishes and furniture at the new building and miss their old, personalized set-ups. Also, the food court in the Aon Building was solid. Nothing good over on the new side of the river until you get to Mr. Beef.

52 - I take issue with your assertion that there is nothing good to eat near K&E's new digs at 300N. Try Bluprint, Fultons, Sidebar, English just to name a few.

hey 8/10-

Apparently you are the moron that cant read, or follow one's own advice. You rip someone for double posting, and the proceed to double post yourself. Whoever you are, you are the definition of retard.

6:

1. You bragged. You didn't need to state that you were an appellate clerk, but you did. That's called bragging.

2. You still have not said you are clerking for a federal judge. Since you do not, I will go with the odds and assume you are clerking for a state judge.

3. Either way, you are a schmuck.

(not a previous poster)

Hey, lay off the Chicago women. I used to practice in Chicago before moving to Denver. Believe me, the women are just fine in Chicago. I see more hot women in Midway airport than I do for an entire year in Denver. You're all lawyers, you're not getting hot chicks anyway.

52 is right. Food in the new building is terrible; but 53 is right, because the new building is much closer to much better dining options outside.

Cookie-cutter, iPod layout of the new building is shiny, but not terribly warm or unique.

K&E's new building wins begins it's considerably closer to Perry's than the Aon center is.

For Pete's sake, Ricobene's is right across the river and a block over. Get off your ass and walk a couple blocks (before consuming 1,500 calories of delicious italian beef and chicago style pizza).

That's a good news for people who wants to live in Chicago and work in law firms.

How To Get Taller

Spot on, 56. (But if LoDo's not doing it for you...there's always Boulder. Unless you're over 30.)

6 has been effectively owned on this thread. There's nothing wrong with being a state appellate clerk, but there is something wrong with bragging.

In fact, in the present environment, clerking for a state TRIAL judge might be the best route to a job, though not for a Biglaw job. Trial judges have connections and you see lawyers all day long.

Federal courts interact with more prestigious firms, and federal appellate clerkships are coveted by hiring big firms-- but if they ain't hiring, or deferring people for a year, that's not gonna help you any.