Nice to call out Cadwalader. Those "sabbaticals" were a load of BS.

I am a Seton Hall summer at Orrick. Should I be scared?

Also,

I am firsty

1 - Roxana

Locke Lord Houston salary freeze.

cadwalader's green website background makes me want to puke

The ship be sinking...

I remember last year when Cadwalader came to campus interviewing, everyone treated them like they were the plague. Nobody with a choice wants to work for Cadwalader anymore, and as soon as people START to have a choice again, they're going to be in a whole different kind of trouble.

That said, slow news day Lat?

I agree with 8 - slow news day?

This is a weird post. What is the point of it?

I think the point of this post is to (1) announce the poll results and (2) take a swipe at Cadwalader (which deserves it).

PE was tracking cougars on the Upper East Side last night.

Latham's remaining associates are still cooler, more attractive, and much poorer than associates at other firms.

Uh, at least Cadwalader is trying to help its associates, unlike some other firms in the V50. Do you people seriously expect a firm to keep paying people who specialized in a field now obsolete?

The Recorder article (in the update) is worth reading. I am impressed that so many smaller firms pay at or close to Big Law levels.

Ditto to 13. CWT made some big mistakes over the past decade, but ensuring its own survival while being relatively upfront about it is not one of them. And from what I understand, the severance packages are among the best.

Stop fearmongering. This place used to stick up for associates.

As usual, about 50% of the comments add no value to the discussion.

Lat, when are you guys going to do something to clean up the comments? You realize that statements like comment #1 are likely to make people nervous about even reading ATL because of filtering software.

17 - Haven't you noticed the moderation around ATL these days? It has gone too far, in my opinion.

Co-sign 18. The comments are getting out of hand.

18 - Are you kidding me? I'm all for full and open dialogue, but what possible value does comment #1 add?

Comment removed by moderator.

#20 - You are fun and really brighten my day. Wanna hang out this weekend?

Louis Ziccareli Esq

Way to go closing comments on the racist "Polack" thread. Closing comments for content is obnoxious.

21 - Roxana

@13, capital markets don't exist anymore? That will be news to everyone who ever needs to raise money. I guess companies will just have to call their parents and ask for extra money when they need it.

Cadwalader made a disastrous decision to chase the money machine that was the securitization business. Now they are deciding what areas to stay in based on who is bringing in revenue right now, which will in the long run mean that Cadwalader will be out of business within two years. Not letting cyclical trends warp your business out of control like that is why other firms have lockstep partner compensation.

23 - The comments are open on that post.

@25, from what i understand, associates in cadwalader's former capital markets practice group specialized to an insane degree. in a sense, many of their specialties are obsolete, as 13 contends, and it is not entirely clear that they will all be worth practicing again anytime soon.

i would imagine that those who remain in the group are capable of handling a broader array of legal issues than those who were let go. if so, then cadwalader will have all the manpower it needs.

K&L GaTTTes has cut associate salaries. They're now being paid in fried chicken and coupons to Dairy Queen. Reputable sources say the annualized value of the compensation is roughly $13K.

23 : they reopened comments.

MOAR BAREBACK

“i would imagine that those who remain in the group are capable of handling a broader array of legal issues than those who were let go. if so, then cadwalader will have all the manpower it needs. “

Those who remain? Cwt went from like 200 securitization associates to about 4. Those who remain are just there to handle any administrative tasks that may come up from old deals.

Bryan Cave just lowered in St. Louis to $50,000 plus revocation of parking privileges.

Barnes & Thornburg is reducing 1st year salaries in Fort Wayne Indiana to $27,500.

WGM deliberately chose not to rely on real estate and securitization as the primary money generating machine to run the firm. CWT did, and there are not in big trouble. Just a matter of time before the partners turn on each other like they did in 1994.

Let's please not lose sight of the fact that cutting associate salaries does not save associate jobs, except possibly in the very short term. The problem isn't simply that firms are paying associates too much, it's that the firms don't have enough work to give those associates. After the salary cuts have gone through, you're still going to have associates billing 1400 hours a year unless the firms adjust billing rates downward to stimulate demand for discretionary legal spending among clients. So in six months, the same firms that are cutting salaries now will still cut jobs.