Archive for August 2009

Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 31 – 40 (2010)

By Elie Mystal

comparing.jpgAs we roll through the next segment of the 2010 Vault rankings, we get into some firms that have been caught testing the stealth layoff waters. To refresh your memory, here is the next list of firms:

31. Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy
32. Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker
33. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
34. Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
35. Winston & Strawn
36. Allen & Overy
37. Willkie Farr & Gallagher
38. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
39. Baker Botts
40. Munger Tolles & Olson

Check out the big move by Munger. It’s up 11 spots on this year’s list. And let’s not forget about the firm’s #1 A-List ranking by Am Law earlier this year. Munger’s managed to do all of this without laying off a massive number of associates. Hopefully other Biglaw firms (and current 2Ls) will take note.
We know people have strong opinions about some of the firms on this list. Let’s get into them after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 08.31.09

By Elie Mystal

Chief illiniwek lawsuits stop.JPG* Don’t look for Chief Illiniwek on University of Illinois sidelines this fall. [My Law Life]
* Maybe becoming a law professor is just the tonic for the recession blues. [Tax Prof Blog]
* I had to duck out of the office this afternoon to continue the fight for a student loan bailout. I inadvertently slammed SEC lawyers in the process (sorry guys). There’s plenty of room left on this student loan bandwagon. [Fox Business]
* Lower associate salaries are a good thing? I suppose, if by “good” you mean “slightly better than cleaning car windows on the Long Island Expressway.” [TechnoLawyer]
* Companies are now soliciting resumes on Twitter. That knock you hear at the door is the Visigoths. Proceed with caution. [Young Lawyers Blog]
* On the one hand, this has nothing to do with the law. On the other hand … everybody should know that these 39 seconds of video exist. [Dealbreaker]
* Memes > Themes. [The Inspired Solo via Blawg Review]

New Managing Partner At Morris Manning

By Elie Mystal

Morris Manning logo.JPGThe well-known Atlanta based firm, Morris Manning, will be under new management in 2010. Louise Wells will be taking over the firm, making her the first woman to lead Morris Manning. The firm’s press release is understandably positive about the future of the firm:

The firm’s succession plan is being implemented to ensure that the firm is positioned to capitalize on ever-evolving market conditions for the continued success of its clients and the firm. As a critical component of the plan, the firm created an Executive Committee that will work closely with Wells. The Executive Committee members include litigation partner John P. MacNaughton, corporate partner David M. Calhoun and real estate partner Thomas S. Gryboski.

“I am honored to accept this responsibility,” Wells offered. “As a result of the firm’s unique culture and entrepreneurial spirit, we have been responsive to the challenging market conditions. We have made smart strategic decisions that build upon the firm’s solid platform, better positioning us to succeed and drive forward in the coming months and years,” she added.

Mmm … peaceful transition of power …

The current managing partner, Robert E. Saudek, will step down at the end of the year, but he will still be active with the firm.

Good luck with the transition.

Earlier: Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Morris Manning Salary Cuts Based on Practice Group

Lawsuit of the Day: Don’t Like Your Grade? Sue Your School.

By Elie Mystal

Alice Clarke Sues Cardiff.JPGA former Cardiff (U.K.) law student sued her school for giving her low grades on two oral exams, and she won. The Times Online reports:

Alice Clarke was given low marks in two assessments for her Bar Vocational Course that all lawyers have to pass to practise as a barrister.
She claimed that the low marks for her oral examinations in advanced criminal law and legal negotiation were because of disagreements with her tutors and asked Cardiff University to reassess them. When it refused, she pursued her claim through the High Court.

Wow, it’s not too late for me to get my Sears Prize. It was unfairly denied me because my graders were too focused on form and substance instead of poorly thought out witty remarks!
Of course, to win a lawsuit and force your law school into court ordered grade inflation you need a couple of things: time and a complete inability to make sound economic decisions with your litigation dollar.
After the jump, it appears Alice Clarke had both.

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Florida is Looking At Your Facebook Character and Fitness

By Elie Mystal

Facebook logo MySpace Friendster Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgIs your Facebook page ready for your character and fitness exam? If you are applying to the Florida state bar, you might want to update your profile. Over on True/Slant, Kash examines employers who want to use Facebook against you:

[N]ot all legal types respect Facebook privacy. The Florida Bar Examiners, the group that decides who gets to become a lawyer in Florida, is considering forcing some wannabe lawyers to be subjected to a thorough social networking investigation prior to their being knighted esquires.

Florida bar examiners will look for evidence of substance abuse in applicants with a history of those problems, and will of course check to see if you would like to overthrow the government.
Click on the link below for Kash’s picture thoughts.
Should it be illegal for employers to check job applicants’ Facebook profiles? [True/Slant]
Earlier: What’s Up with the Flori-duh February Bar Exam?

Small Law Firms: Is the Grass Really Greener?

By David Lat

grass always greener other side.jpgAs super-big law firms suffer through the recession, many midsize and small firms are thriving. Back in June, we discussed these firms as a viable alternative to Biglaw. (A number of smaller firms — e.g., Stone & Magnanini, Silver Golub & Teitell, and McKool Smith — are even hiring, with the help of job postings on Above the Law.)
But are smaller firms all they’re cracked up to be? We try to present both sides of the story. Check out this letter, from the ATL mailbag:

I’m an Ivy League law grad with a couple of years in big law. I got laid off and eventually found a job at a smaller firm. Like, way smaller. Unsurprisingly, I know a couple of people to whom this has happened (and a couple who haven’t found jobs as well, of course).

The commonly held wisdom is that the trade off in big law is money for your time and soul, while smaller firms pay less, but ask less. I’m not finding this to be really true, and neither are my friends.

So what exactly are we talking about, in terms of hours and compensation at small firms?

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The Hours Follow-Up: If you’re looking at less than 1600 in 2009, you’re not alone.

By Kashmir Hill

billable hours for 2009.jpgMany of our Biglaw friends have been biting their nails over hours this year. Lawyers are not worried about making bonuses at the end of the year. They’re worried about keeping their jobs. Last week, we invited you to share your hours’ outlook for 2009 and to see how you compare with fellow anonymous ATL readers.
One astute commenter pointed out:

Has it dawned on anyone that people billing solid hours aren’t taking the time to take ATL surveys?
This survey will be less reliable than my balls.

We’re not sure how reliable that reader’s balls are, but the poll results might shrivel them. The percentage of those looking at less than 1600 hours for the year is staggering. Check out the results after the jump.

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A Fish Out of Austin: Fish & Richardson Closes Austin Office

By Elie Mystal

Fish Richardson logo.jpgAs a New Yorker, people often tell me that Austin is “the oasis of Texas.” I think they mean that Austin is a culturally progressive blue city in middle of a red state.
I hope they don’t mean that Austin is a great place to practice law.
On Friday, Fish & Richardson announced plans to close its Austin office. This marks the second major law firm to get out of Austin this summer. Weil Gotshal has already announced plans to close its Austin office.
The Austin Business Journal described the importance of Fish & Richardson to the local legal market:

Fish, which opened its Austin office in 2005, currently has 28 attorneys and a total staff of approximately 68 locally. A spokeswoman in the firm’s Boston headquarters confirmed the firm will close the office on Dec. 31.
According to Austin Business Journal research, Fish & Richardson is the 16th largest law firm operating in the city, ranked by number of attorneys. Fish reported firmwide revenue of $420 million in 2008. Some of the firm’s clients include Microsoft Corp., Google and Freescale Semiconductor Inc.

Are Austinites ready to make the move to “regular Texas”?

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Nationwide No Offer Watch: Look to the Left, Look to the Right, One of You Will Not Be Working At Cadwalader

By Elie Mystal

no offer factories.jpgLate last week, offer calls went out to those who summered at Cadwalader. We now have the firm wide offer rates. Compared to some other firms, it’s really not so bad.
Here is the information from a firm spokesperson:

Cadwalader made offers to approximately two thirds of our 2009 Summer Associate Class.

Cadwalader went through its layoffs early and often. People who summered at CWT had to know that the firm isn’t one to defer associates. Instead, Cadwalader recently asked some of its laid off associates to comeback … as contract attorneys.
Given all of that history, a 66% offer rate seems pretty good. In fact, even some of the CWT summers that were no offered didn’t sound too angry about the situation. One no offered summer described it this way:

The hiring partner was very nice about it, and offered to serve as a reference when I pursue other jobs, and I was repeatedly told that it was for purely economic reasons … I was upset, but I understand what the economy’s like right now, and I’ll be ok, may just take a while.

Things could be worse. Good luck with 3L recruiting, CWT friends.
Earlier: Cadwalader Is Hiring — Kind Of

Prior ATL coverage of no offers

The Asia Chronicles: Hiring Outlook 2nd half ’09 / List of Some Openings

By Kinney Recruiting

Asia Chronicles logo.jpg8.17 Kinney.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. Although not all US practices in HK / China are currently very busy, many have seen deal flow pick up dramatically in the past couple of months. The outlook is good for most US practices to stay fairly busy through the end of this year and beyond. Some groups are becoming understaffed. The China economy is on a full-fledged rebound, notwithstanding the drop in exports. It is a domestic consumer driven recovery that has taken much of the world by surprise. The Shanghai Index has risen already about 90% this year and had doubled since its November ’08 low.
This is about the point in this Kinney-sponsored post where you probably expect me to go on and on about all the hiring that is about to happen, to call Kinney and an apartment broker in China, right? But I can’t quite take you on apartment hunting trips to Asia, because the lateral hiring, although it has picked up from the dead period earlier this year (we continue to be put on more attorney searches in Asia, especially in HK / China each week), is just not there for most junior to mid-level US associate candidates. Hiring likely won’t be even close to what we started in 2007 to consider “normal” until at least late ’09 to early ’10.
Why? Here are some factors that are coming into play:
- Many US firms are understandably very concerned about their profit per partner numbers for ’09. It has obviously been a brutal 18 months in the US economy and of course we all know that US biglaw has been very negatively affected. One substantial factor in successful senior partner recruiting and partner retention is of course PEP numbers. Unfortunately, layoffs, de-equitizing partners, and hiring freezes are effective in propping up PEP and in such a climate it is not easy for even very busy US partners in Asia to simply get clearance for all the associate hires they want / need. At some US firms there is a lot of pressure for continued lay offs in the fall, further making new lateral hires overseas a complex issue.

***More after the jump.

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Prelude to a Kiss

By Legal Tease

sweet hot justice logo.jpg[Ed. note: The following piece was authored by The Legal Tease, of Sweet Hot Justice fame. Check out her other musings from Sweet Hot Justice here.]
I may not be a doctor, but I can spot a good epidemic when I see one. No, I’m not talking swine flu. Or Mad Cow. I’m talking about a bug that’s more contagious, more debilitating. A bug that seems to be tearing through scores of Big Law associates faster than you can say “stealth layoffs.” As much as I’ve tried to find one, there’s just no immunization you can get to ward this one off-and it looks like my fellow Big Law drones haven’t found one, either. The plague in question? Young female associates getting themselves embroiled in ridiculous sexual situations with vile, insane partners. And as far I can tell, a cure is still a long way off.
If you’ve spent any time clicking through the annals of humiliation catalogued on this site, you’ve probably noticed that I’m no stranger to this particular epidemic. The latest episode, though, focuses on my friend, Kirsten, a Big Law mid-level employment litigator trapped in the body of a hot stripper. You may remember Kirsten from her recent and unfortunate dip into married territory-as a visitor, not a local, alas. After that inevitably disastrous affair wrapped itself up, Kirsten did what any heart-bruised, if not quite heart-broken, Big Law associate would do: She planted herself at the office 24-7 and figured, hey, if I can’t get laid, I might as well get hours.
And she did. As luck would have it, she also got the attention of a new lateral employment partner to her firm, Martin. Now, let’s paint a quick picture here: When I say Kirsten is hot, I don’t mean lawyer-hot; I mean fantasy-league, blonde bombshell, silicone-enhanced hot-hot. Martin, on the other hand, could pass for Ben Stiller’s pudgy older cousin-on a good day. Still, when he began stopping by Kirsten’s office every night to chat, some combo of charm, partnership units and daddy issues sparked a crush in her. More than anything, though, after dating a string of unemployed aspiring man-whores, she cherished the attention. And when she found out that Martin had recently been handed divorce papers by his starter wife, she was smitten.
After a couple of weeks, the office pop-ins turned into weekly after-work cocktails. This was more than just flirtation, she told me; this was a real connection. They would have long, soulful talks about everything from firm politics to past relationships to the devastation of rejection. The only problem, though, she said, was that Martin was a supervising partner in her small department, and she felt he was holding back on making a move because he was, well, her boss…and an employment litigator. But when he asked if she wanted to accompany him to a black-tie fundraising event that the firm was co-sponsoring, she knew that they’d reached a turning point. This was his way of testing the waters, of stepping out with her in a formal, open setting. This was big.
Think you already know where this is going? Well, you don’t. Unless “meat” and “blood” are part of your prediction. Grab a napkin and keep reading, after the jump.

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Morning Docket 08.31.09

By Kashmir Hill

Jerry O'Connell Jeremiah O'Connell law school law student.jpg* Stanford Financial Group investors have filed a class action against Proskauer Rose and partner Thomas V. Sjoblom, alleging that they helped mastermind a massive investment fraud scheme. [National Law Journal]
* Judge George Wu overturned the Lori Drew conviction in the MySpace cyberbullying case. [Volokh Conspiracy via ABA Journal]
* Two persistent and well-pedigreed ACLU lawyers + FOIA + six years = a $2 million investigation into detainee abuse. [New York Times]
* A prominent 81-year-old Mexican drug suspects’ defense attorney, Americo Delgado, was stabbed to death outside his home this weekend. [Los Angeles Times]
* A former in-house attorney for Toyota says the company withheld evidence about rollover deaths and injuries in a “ruthless conspiracy” to hide its vehicles structural shortcomings. [CBS News]
* Jerry O’Connell explains why he is heading to law school. [Celebrity Baby Blog]

Happy Blogiversary to… Us! Above the Law Turns Three

By Above the Law

third birthday three.jpgThree years ago yesterday, on August 30, 2006, Above the Law was born. Read the letter from the editor that started it all. (If you find this site occasionally immature, cut us some slack; we’re three years old.)

Reaching the three-year mark is a notable milestone for a blog. According to Jim Beck and Mark Herrmann, over at Drug and Device Law:

Legal blogs are like small businesses: Half of ‘em fail in the first year, and 90 percent of ‘em fail in the next five.

But we’re still here. Our traffic (and revenue) continue to grow, knock on wood. And we have you — our readers, sources, advertisers, and friends — to thank. So, thank you.

If you’d like to send us birthday gifts — a reader sent Roxana a lovely Starbucks card the other day, and the rest of us are jealous — our snail mail address is 262 Mott Street, Suite 102A, New York, NY 10012. The third anniversary — or blogiversary, as the case may be — is the leather anniversary. So you can give Lat a leather business card holder, Kash a leather laptop case (or a leather fringe bikini), and Elie the rest of the cow.

(You can also send us news tips or juicy documents by snail mail. They’d be a nice change of pace from our usual hard-copy mail: handwritten letters from prisoners, alleging they were framed.)

In any event, thank you for joining our ATL community. We deeply appreciate your visits, tips, and continued support.

Earlier: Happy Labor Day! (And Happy Blogiversary to ATL)
Happy Birthday to ATL — and Happy Labor Day to All!
Letter from the Editor: Welcome to Above the Law

If you’ll be in the Bay Area on Monday…

By David Lat

Please feel free to attend a presentation by yours truly. Details after the jump.

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The Douchiest Law School: Eight in the Douche Bag

By Kashmir Hill

douche.jpgYesterday we brought you ATL Douche Madness, a competition to crown the douchiest law school in the land. This was inspired by GQ.com’s list of the Top 25 Douchiest Colleges in America.
What is a douche? We know lawyers thrive on precision, but this term resists an exact definition. To paraphrase Justice Stewart, you know a douche when you see a douche. For example, that guy in the photo to the right.
We started the contest with a field of 16 law schools, taken from the top of the latest U.S. News & World report rankings. The first eight match-ups garnered over 7,000 votes each. The field has now been narrowed to the eight douchiest law schools.
Check out the douches, and vote in the next match-ups, after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 08.28.09

By Elie Mystal

Russia.jpg* Hypocrisy on stilts? The Pay Czar banked $5.76 million as a law firm partner last year. [ABA Journal]
* Law firm love anthems. [Am Law Daily]
* Really, we’re behind Uruguay now when it comes to civil rights? [The Stimulist]
* My home only has one bathroom. Does that explain everything? [Tax Prof Blog]
* Apparently it’s scatological day at law firms at home and abroad. [Roll On Friday]
* Has there been less-than-stellar legal advice given to the Stanford Financial Group? [Houston's Clear Thinkers]
* Don’t steal jokes from a comedian who is also a 1L at Cardozo. [Jeremy Schacter's in Law School]
* Child support is about the children, Ms. Heche. [Popsquire]

Some Random Friday Fun

By David Lat

Mainly we’re posting this because it’s a Friday afternoon and rainy (at least here in New York). We figure you need some entertainment to launch you into the weekend.
But there is a legal angle to this music video. It might have spawned intellectual property litigation, if Disney — and Miley Cyrus — didn’t have such a good sense of humor. Enjoy!
(If you like, feel free to discuss “fair use” issues in the music video context in the comments.)

Disney Allows a Gay Miley Cyrus Knock-Off Video to Flourish Online [Media Decoder / New York Times]
Finally, an Excuse to Post This Video of Fire Island Gays Lip-synching to Miley Cyrus [Daily Intel / New York Magazine]
Fire Island Gays Get the Attention of Miley Cyrus With ‘Party’ Video [Towleroad]

Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.17 and 8.24: Astrophysical

By Laurie Lin

champagne glasses small.jpgLEWW is fascinated by ATL’s Douchiest Law School contest. Official results haven’t been announced yet, but based on our preliminary read, Yale seems to have notched a decisive first-round victory over the University of Texas, and it looks like Harvard has trounced UCLA. Stanford Law School, however, appears to have been decisively out-douched by lowly Georgetown. Conclusion: The relationship between douchiness and prestige is not linear.
This week’s weddings feature two YLS grads and two SLS grads, so these lawyer newlyweds are undeniably prestigious. But are they also representative of their respective institutions’ reputations for d-baggery? We’ll let you make the call.
Here are the couples:

1. Wendy Katz and Matthew Waxman
2. Megan Wall-Wolff and Joshua Younger
3. Julia Kripke and Matthew Kellogg

Read all about these couples and vote for your favorite, after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Follow-Up: More Numbers From Baker Botts

By Elie Mystal

Baker Botts logo.JPGThanks to all of the tipsters who are helping us put together numbers on the Baker Botts layoffs. Even though the firm doesn’t want you to know how many people it is letting go, our sources have been relentless in helping us expose the information.
Yesterday we reported that Baker Botts laid off at least twelve associates in Houston. Today we can report that at least seven other associates were laid off in Baker’s Washington office. One tipster has a colorful description of the action in D.C.:

Baker Botts DC canned 7 associates. They handled it so poorly that one found out from a secretary. … They laid off associates who had a lot of hours and were strong performers, so it was even more ridiculous. None of us feel safe now. Apparently, this firm has no loyalties to anyone but the dollar.

According to NALP, there are 65 associates in Baker Botts’s D.C. office. So the cuts represent around 10% of the associates in that office.
After the jump, we learn that the timing of these layoffs couldn’t have been worse for one Baker Botts associate.

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Sidley D.C. Wants Some Incoming Associates to Start … Early!

By Elie Mystal

Sidley Austin new logo Sidley Austin Brown Wood ATL Above the Law blog.jpgYesterday, we learned that Morgan, Lewis & Bockius came up with only one offer for the 17 second-year law students who summered in the firm’s D.C. office.
At Sidley Austin’s D.C. office, the news is very different. Above the Law has learned that Sidley D.C. is calling some of its incoming associates and asking them to start early. A Sidley-bound tipster reports:

Everybody in the D.C. office who expressed an interest has received a call from the D.C. office to start early — right after the Labor Day. Yay! Yay! Yay!

Sidley offered a voluntary deferral option to its incoming associates. The firm reports that about a third of their incoming class voluntarily decided to start in November 2010. The rest of the class is slated to begin work in November 2009. But a few people in D.C. will have the opportunity to start earning money even earlier. A Sidley spokesperson released this statement to Above the Law:

[A]bout 100 associates will start with the firm on November 16, 2009. Due to the needs of certain practice groups, a handful of fall associates will join the firm before November 16, 2009.

This is good news. Cherish it, my friends.
Earlier: News For Incoming Associates at Kirkland and Sidley Austin
Nationwide No Offer Watch: Zero Offer Extended At Morgan Lewis D.C.