Jones Day Slams Its Competitors
Jones Day has escaped a lot of the worst side effects of the recession. The firm hasn’t had massive layoffs, it hasn’t cut associate salaries, it hasn’t canceled its summer program. That is something to be proud of.
And Jones Day seems very proud. Above the Law has obtained an internal newsletter from Jones Day that was aimed at its California office. The message was written by partner Joe Sims and it’s slated as a “midterm report” about the firm. Much of the letter is the kind of standard stuff you are used to seeing from slick, firm sponsored content:
The reality is that we are feeling the same reduced demand that is facing all law firms; I think it is clear — and as the results from other firms become visible, it is going to be even more obvious — that we are dealing with those circumstances better than most. So we have our challenges but, ironically, this difficult economic climate is also producing the best opportunity we have ever had in California to really separate ourselves from most of our peer competitors, and to move toward the position we aspire to — being universally recognized as one of the leading firms in California.
But what makes this newsletter extraordinary is that the message gets very specific about just why Jones Day is poised to separate itself from its peer competitors. And the newsletter offers Sims’s analysis of precisely where the firm’s California competitors went wrong.
More details after the jump.
The newsletter doesn’t call out any particular competitor by name, but it’ll be pretty easy to figure out who Joe Sims is talking about. Overall, Jones Day believes that its firm culture is a key reason why JD is weathering the storm better than other peer firms:
First, who we are, what we do, and how we do it has served Jones Day (and JD California) well during these hard times. Our geographic and practice balance; our one-Firm attitude; our belief that our real focus has to be on the long run, while managing the short-term problems that we face; and the fact that we understand that, in addition to our clients and our partners, the Firm has a responsibility to deal with our staff and associates in a way that recognizes that they and their families depend on this institution—all of these mean that we will come out of this crisis stronger than we went in. We have been able to avoid the drastic steps that many other firms have resorted to, in part because we are better positioned to minimize exposure to economic stress, and in part because our partners are committed to the principles that created our better position, even if it means some short-term burdens that they must bear.
So, point one is that Jones Day will survive and thrive because the firm cares about its associates and staff. We haven’t heard a lot about short-term burdens the partners have been willing to bear lately.
But it’s not just that JD will be stronger, it’s that other peers will be weaker:
Second, many of our peer competitors will come out weaker, not stronger. They may well protect their short-term financial metrics (although it will be interesting to see how we fare vs. the firms that slashed and burned), but they will pay a long-term price. Some of it is obvious: Firing staff and associates, or freezing associate salaries, or doing away with summer programs entirely makes it very clear to those groups that either that firm was not efficiently organized and managed before this crisis, or its first interest is protecting the owners’ incomes, not the various constituents that depend on the firm. While that is hardly un-American, it does tend to focus people’s minds on the fact that their firm clearly does not have their interests at the top of its agenda.By contrast, while we have been forced by the circumstances to take some relatively minor steps to reduce our personnel expenses, we have not taken the easy way out by protecting partners’ incomes on the corpses of associates and staff…. The contrast with many other firms could not be clearer.
“Corpses of associates and staff,” and “how we fare vs. the firms that slashed and burned.” Are the Latham trolls now writing firm copy for Jones Day?
But wait, there’s more:
But there are some other, less obvious reasons why many of our peers will come out of this recession weaker rather than stronger. To list a few examples, the partners at many firms are now much more focused on the relative stability of their firm and other firms, and that focus will lead them to be more interested in opportunities at firms like Jones Day that are clearly very stable.At some firms, the leading partners and practices appear to have protected their financial interests at the expense of younger partners or smaller practices, and the latter know it, and again, this will lead those lawyers to be more receptive to overtures from firms like Jones Day.
Finally, clients have seen that some of their legal service providers were just that—simply another vendor reacting to business problems with textbook business solutions, and very short-term focused.
That is the first time I’ve heard anybody tie laying off associates and staff directly to poor client services. Jones Day is asking clients to look at how the firms handle the recession internally, and then ask if those firms should be trusted to handle the recession on behalf of their clients.
It’s the kind of talk you hear with a glass of scotch in your hand, not in a firm newsletter.
And just in case JD hasn’t made the point yet, it becomes stunningly clear:
Finally, I believe that, by the time this is all over, we will see more Hellers and Brobecks, and not just in California. The late-to-the-party firms, which don’t have any comparative advantage but have nonetheless taken on debt and stretched to rapidly make late investments to try to go national or global, are all under great stress, and some will not survive. And many of those peer firms that do survive will be relatively weaker, especially in the areas where we want to compete, because, to one degree or another, they will have eaten their young.
My friends, if we ever get to the point where firms are actually competing for top talent again, you have just heard the sales pitch Jones Day will be peddling. Jones Day = decent, other firms = eat their young. We’ll see if it works.
(256) 
Comments
JD to asian girls, kash, and FIRST employer to offer me!
Second f'n first today!!!
Partner Emeritus has outted himself.
omg FIRST BITCHES!!!!
Doh. Fail.
A little American History is called for here.
Wow. And all along I thought Partner Emeritus was just a law student. I stand corrected.
Let's see if he'll stay true to tacky form and comment on a story about himself.
Some of you already know this, but Partner Emeritus ("PE") no longer will be posting on this website. It is very complicated, but PE feels that this is something that he must do to pay for the sins of the "naifs" and "cretins" (his words) that have been frequenting this website and have failed to heed his many advisories. He frankly feels that he has done as much as he can at this point, and the chips now must fall as they may. PE has asked me to reassure the readers here that his recent days in Saratoga Springs have been long and bountiful, and his evenings sultry and mildly sensuous. PE apologizes for the informal nature of this notice, but this simply is the way that it must be. Thank you for your continued respect.
JD is TTT
Apparently firms having a modicum of success, and sharing that success with their associates, is frowned upon here at Above the Law.
At my last firm, all of the firm's newsletters took jabs at their competitors.
It was no big deal.
kudos to JD. If more firms would have taken this approach, there would be far fewer jobs lost
SaraTTToga
"Peer competitors"?! PE so wrote this.
Jones Day is the best law firm in the world. I've temped at many different firms in New York. Based on the collegiality of the workplace, congeniality of employee interactions and cleanest office, Jones Day tops them all.
So...Jones Day thinks Jones Day is better than most other firms. I guess I'm confused about what's so bad about that. In other fields, I believe that is referred to as "competition."
So...Jones Day thinks Jones Day is better than most other firms. I guess I'm confused about what's so bad about that. In other fields, I believe that is referred to as "competition."
This would never happen at Latham.
-LW Secure
LATHAM NY laid off 45% of associates after Bob Dell's "no layoffs" promise. Latham NY's morale and culture have gone to shit. Once lateral opportunities open, people will flee, and Latham NY will have to go slumming to find laterals.
Is this the firm with the office that stinks like sharts?
Whatever Jones Day is selling, I'm sold!
Deferred Associate
Cash do Clunkers scam beware!!!! Some dealerships are bumping up prices on cars to maximize on their profits! Research Edmunds.com to get the real price before you buy!
The reason why Jones Day is doing well is that it is substantially cheaper (per hour) than any other law firm in the Vault law 50 (or whatever it is called). We lost business to them many times over because they were, quite frankly, cheaper and basically of the same caliber of attorney.
The rate increases, which still are going on, are what will be the death of many of these big firms. Clients get tired of negotiating 10-20 percent discounts when they could get the same or better work 25-30 percent cheaper at Jones Day.
How can I get a job there?
Former Seton Hall Summer at Orrick
Yeah, what's the big deal here? JD is a well-managed firm. Conservative growth might have made them TTT in 2005, but it isn't 2005 anymore, is it? In a crappy economy, there are opportunities for those who have the means to take advantage of them.
-- not a JD employee
This would never happen at "squeeze the lemon and discard the rind" Paul Hastings. Uncle Paul just cannot wait to throw more of their people under the bus.
Dear Jones Day:
Hubris Begets Nemesis.
TTT? I suppose I would rather work for TTT JD and still have a job than work for the illustrious Cadwalader and be pounding the pavement in this market.
Latham NY laid off 90 associates on one day. They were notified on a Friday and told to pack their shit up by Sunday. They weren't addressed by the OMP or anything. Now, don't you want to work for Latham NY?
Jones Day rescinded offers to clerks but has avoided any media attention. How about a story on that?
Finally a firm has the cajones to get out there and tout itself. If a firm doesn't have to cut salaries or fire associates and does anyways they are the most short-sided firms ever. Retention of associates is one of the bigger problems for clients because if they pay a couple hundred grand while the associate learns their business and legal issues and then leaves, that is wasted money. JD is making sure they protect their clients and its smart. Now when the economy turns around, they'll not only keep their current talent, they'll poach the hell out of any "peer firms" that cut salaries, bonus, or associates. Game on. JD to 190!
Do you still have to wear a suit at JD?
Also, I hear in the Cleveland office, you can shit in your garbage can!
Jones Day can say all this because its PPP is like 700k or something. Their partners make nothing, they've been used to this sort of thing.
Also, JD is so incredibly secretive, it surprises me that Elie/ATL would make the claim that JD hasn't had massive layoffs, staff cuts, or salary cuts. We just can't be sure.
Laid off Latham first years also got $100k - you guys are such whiners it's pathetic. A lot of people got laid off. It's been six months, get a life.
I am in the bottom half of my class at TTTT Suffolk- can I get OCI at JD?
It's probably worth making clear (because Elie doesn't) that this memo wasn't intended for public consumption. Of course, Joe Sims is a smart enough guy (generally recognized as one of the top antitrust practitioners in the country) to know that this was at least a possibility. And, of course, everything he wrote is true.
Instead of a "Wall of Shame" list, we should just have a list of firms that didn't screw over its associates - it will be a lot shorter.
(1) Jones Day
(2) ???
(3) ???
33--they've had layoffs. I know of a first year in the ATL who was given the stealth layoff. Not surprising. Every single firm has done stealth layoffs.
What's interesting is that a firm has not done public layoffs. From what I've seen from other firms, a public layoff basically indicates that a rate that is roughly .5-1.5 of the stealth layoffs.
Latham NY laid off more than half the first year class, half the second year class, and a third of the third year class.
Latham LA laid off a third of the first year class, and some second and third years.
Latham also conducted mass layoffs in the 80s and 90s after expanding into things like junk bonds. It was very similar to what happened in 09, but the 09 slaughter was on a larger scale.
the ship be rising
Very shrewd. Part of me thinks that this memo was intended to leak. This sort of tack should resonate with anyone who has paid a sliver of attention over the past 18 months.
This memo is like the "Jerry Maguire Memo." Very inspiring.
34 after taxes that massive Latham severance was half the sticker value, which isn't much. It is nowhere near what getting laid off by Latham or any large firm as a first year will cost you over a lifetime. Over your career it easily costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more.
Is anyone else out there waiting to hear back from clerkship interviews? What's the usual turn-around time for mid-summer interviews?
the guys over at jones day are animals. they don't even wear shirts and trousers to work.
I think Partner Emeritus is writing the JD newsletter
33 most not have any life experience beyond living in mommy and daddy's basement. I'm sure that most people would agree that making $700K is not "nothing."
Also, as other commentators have pointed out, JD apears to have done a great job of offering clients top-quality services at a much lower rate than other large law firms, which has allowed them to remain profitable. In the business world, we call this sound business planning.
But, oh yeah, most practicing attorneys forget that they are actually in a business. That's right.
Attorneys were already taking note of the fact that Jones Day has become a very good firm in this economy. I'm glad they've sent out this memo and slammed the likes of Latham.
38 - letting go of one associate from an entire office sounds to me like it might be something other than purely an economy-driven layoff. That's one associate for the whole office, and lots of factors could have been at play.
At last: a lawyer with a clear, incisive prose style.
33 - 700k is "nothing"? What planet do you live on? It's this kind of greed that got the country into this mess, and you obviously haven't learned anything.
JD DC office rescinded offers to federal clerks. No story?
"There will be no layoffs."
*lays off half of Latham NY*
hehe
-Bob Dell
41 ftw
33 - how do you know what the PPP are? JD doesn't publicize them, and AmLaw just makes up the number that it publishes out of pique.
33 - how do you know what the PPP are? JD doesn't publicize them, and AmLaw just makes up the number that it publishes out of pique.
That... memo... is... AWESOME!
This is the fucking shit. Total 180. Jones Day is boss. I want to work there right, fucking, now.
52--pretty much every firm I heard of rescinded clerk offers.
Are their offices nice?
Looks like JD might be the first to fail. By not cutting costs in this increasingly brutal economic climate is suicidal and you would only do it if you believed that the end if nigh and it would not matter anyway. 'Lawyers' who expect firms to pamper them are like whores who expect their johns to make love to them instead of just fucking them. It is unreasonable and unforgivably naïve, but this crowd manages to put on this sickening pout all the time. Keep your hopes and dreams up boys and girls, all the better to crush you with I say.
Looks like JD might be the first to fail. Not cutting costs in this increasingly brutal economic climate is suicidal and you would only do it if you believed that the end if nigh and it would not matter anyway. 'Lawyers' who expect firms to pamper them are like whores who expect their johns to make love to them instead of just fucking them. It is unreasonable and unforgivably naïve, but this crowd manages to put on this sickening pout all the time. Keep your hopes and dreams up boys and girls, all the better to crush you with I say.
42: It was just a Mission Statement:
http://www.thisisawar.com/PurposeJerry.htm
I meant "nothing" as in "nothing compared to JD's peer firms" - and I am absolutely right. Of course 700k is a lot, but it is a lot less than 2 million.
I'm more concerned with posts like 37 that assume that because of a memo like this, JD hasn't done anything to screw over its employees. You sir are foolish.
47 - you are an idiot. If I lived in mommy and daddy's basement, lawyer pay would be A LOT!!!! Because I'd have no rent or food expenses, see? But for those of us with actual "life experience" - rent, loans, paying for things ourselves - lawyer pay is not as great. Your obviously warped perspective leads me to conclude that it must be you who has no life experience and no idea what living in California would cost. And see above - I was merely stating that JD partners make far, far less than their peer firms. Sorry if you didn't know that, hth.
-33
64--
You have no idea how much JD partners make.
Good for Jones Day. I work in-house, but we have the same mentality here. Most businesses/law firms are run in the same crappy, ham-fisted manner - more people, less people, more people, less people, etc. when a little foresight, while not as profitable during the runs becomes FAR more profitable during the rough seas. The goal is to maintain a pleasant working environment where all aboard WANT to be aboard, are compensated well for it, and feel secure in their companies leadership and managament.
56: like all US firms with a London office, JD is required to make parent firm financial information public in connection with required local office financial disclosure, per Law Society Rules. That is one of the ways that AmLaw confirms PPP figures.
I laud JD's attitude. Last week at the Loyola Patent Law Interview Program, JD was attracting a lot of buzz for recruiting so aggressively.
How about a thread on the Loyola PLIP?
Summary--not hard to sustain a PPP of less than a million.
I think a thread on the Female Bostonian Sharting Epidemic is in order.
there are thousands of 08 and 09 grads who wish they'd gone to jones day
No question Jones Day is head and shoulders above most of the firms in California. Latham et. al. are a disgrace.
my experience with JD lawyers is that they are not very good. You get what you pay for.
You had a better chance of surviving the plague in 1300s Europe than you did as a 2008 grad at Latham NY.
It stinks like sharts in here.
41 is right. Stealthily designed for mass dissemination.
41 is right. Stealthily designed for mass dissemination.
What is this? A declaration of war? Or trash talking? I dont see a purpose in this memo. If JD is really thriving, then why the need for this memo? If JD is NOT thriving, then this explains why we are seeing it.
Last time I heard JD was a TTT firm. This letter doesnt not make it any better. JD can vouch for its own business. But at the end of the day, secrets get leaked out. Whether JD is safe under the current economic climate will remain to be seen when PPP numbers come out.
Congratulations JD! I only wish the bozo "leadership" at DLA Piper had as much vision and integrity. I hope you get all their clients and more. Well done.
JD doesn't need to cut too many costs because they have a cushion worth hundreds of millions, if not more. Meanwhile other firms are in debt up the wazoo. Way to go, JD. This memo is brilliant.
Ask JD why they are forcing at least 6 Pittsburgh associates out the door (probably happening at all their offices) but claim to not lay anyone off...
Jones Day wins. This memo is awesome.
"Tough love" from Jones Day.
45 - That I would like to see especially if this image is representative of the men at JD: http://jonesday.com/kbespinola/
Ask half the first years, half the second years, and a third of the third years from Latham NY if Latham eats its young.
Elie, what the hell do you find wrong with this memo?
Everyone knows JD is a sweat shop. Why a self-aggrandizing memo makes them tempting is beyond me.
Put this to a vote --- all in favor of JD's approach vs the rest.
Poll it now and see how many of you are in favor of perpetuating the status quo. These are the greedy bitches in the room that need to be reformed.
Several months ago, I was on a flight and overheard a man (probably in his 50s) saying he worked for Jones Day. He was in coach. Given his age, I presume he was a partner. I was surprised to see that a partner was in coach and not first class. Now, I can understand JD's prudence a bit better now. Goes to show just how controlled overhead can pay off.
The truth hurts
Lots of Atlanta work that last year was going to other firms is now going to JD Atlanta.
87, all the large firms are sweatshops, but JD is a much safer, better managed sweatshop.
JD has a. been laying off people weekly for the past 4-5 months, b. froze salaries, c. basically not paid bonuses, and d. hid all of this because they don't have the balls to admit that they are struggling.
78, why should associates care about PPP? most people don't make partner, especially at the high PPP places. what matters to associates right now is SECURITY. i'd take the safer, lower PPP firm over a higher PPP firm that has conducted MASSIVE LAYOFFS to protect its PPP any day.
This is an indictment of DLA Piper. There could not be a worse place to work.
At least Latham gave 6 months severance to laid off first years. Latham >>>>>>> McDermottt
Jones Day actually realizes that a law firm is built on the backs (and not the corpses) of its associates.
There isn't an associate at my slave driving, associate firing shit-hole, THOMPSON HINE, that wouldn't leap on an offer from Jones Day.
Thompson Hine is a crap firm full of bloated partners that, near as I can figure, don't give out quality work assignment because they don't have any.
Thompson Hine partners don't teach cutting edge practice techniques, because they don't know them.
And Thompson Hine doesn't take care of its associates (or staff!) because the firm is on poor financial footing and can't afford to.
(note to the partners - Y havnt ewe fownd mi yet? R U relly so stoopid and inkompitint? Thnx for the peychex!)
92 -- Actually, not all large firms are sweatshops -- I know because I work at one. Jones Day is notorious on this point. Do a little research.
JD=TTT because PPP<1M. Enough said.
a very happy JD NY 3rd year here. and one who is very proud of his firm today. i love this place!
a very happy JD NY 3rd year here. and one who is very proud of his firm today. i love this place!
Did McDermott layoff half the 08 grads after only 4 months in any of its offices? To my knowledge very few firms have pulled a Latham, though they may have laid off a couple first years.
One Firm to rule them all,
One Firm to find them,
One Firm to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Cleveland where the Shadows lie.
Stop sensationalizing, ABL staff, I think this is an excellent newsletter and a great way for Jones Day to make its strengths known. I'm headed to a different firm on the East Coast, but I think this Jones Day pitch is spot on. Kudos to them!
Williams & Connolly = NO LAYOFFS
26 - Hopefully Uncle Paul will at least have the decency to give the soon to be laid off PH associates a reach-around!
Latham always went into crappy things like junk bond and sub-prime mortgage. Latham need a better managing partner.
Middle-of-the-class rising 2L at an Ivy here thanking my lucky stars I ranked JD #3 in my OCI bids.
Anyone who would choose Latham NY over any JD office is listening to the infants who still think in terms of "TTT."
I will laugh so hard if this place folds in a year.
69 put this more eloquently than I did. I wouldn't say this makes JD TTT, as 99 said, but 69's summary at least puts things in perspective.
-33
Anyone who is more concerned over a firm's PPP instead of how well it treats, trains and compensates its associates is a moron (or a shit-sucking trolling partner).
If that's you, then come work for Thompson Hine. You'll fit right in.
This memo should be taken for the propoganda piece that it is. JD's California offices have been dragging the firm down for years under his leadership. And JD has reacted to current conditions the same as other firms. Some associates have in fact had their salaries frozen. No staff raises this year firmwide. They operate as a two tier partnership while continuously denying this fact. Newly minted partners make less than senior associates. Most of their U.S. offices relocated between 2000 -2005, so they are saddled with high fixed costs.
This place jumped the shark after Brogan became managing partner. He runs the place like Kim Jong Il, and has the same cult-like status among the paranoid middle managers that run the firm for him.
I am a 3rd year associate at JD who has billed very little this summer and I still have my job, so as far as I am concerned JD is the bomb. Has its ups and downs like anyplace, but you gotta respect them, ummmmmm, not laying peopel off at the first sign of trouble like my old firm did.
I can't believe anybody would be dumb enough to ask "what's the point of this memo?"!!!!!
The point was so it could be leaked and read by two groups of people:
#1 - partners at less stable firms with a portable book of business
#2 - high-quality senior associates who are looking to lateral into a more stable environment
Jones Day is about to go huntin' - and they're sizing up which parts of the weakest members of the herd are worth poaching.
Wait, so you mean MASS LAYOFFS are indicative of poor management? But I thought these managing partners were just poor victims of THE ECONOMY.
The skill level of a NY JD corporate partner I worked with was appallingly low.
116 = white and case partner
33/64 --
You're original post said "Their [JD] partners make nothing . . ." without any reference, whatsover, to partners at other law firms. If you really meant to compare what JD partners make compared to partners are other comparable firms, THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU DO SO, by you know, providing actual data as opposed to your own personal idea of what partners at JD make. God I hope you're not a practicing attorney yet.
As for life experience, I stand by my comments. I live/practice in one of the most expensive cities in the country (and am originally from NYC), though probably not as expensive as California. Like you, I have loans, bills, etc. Unlike you, I have a mortgage as well. If you believe that someone needs to make 2 million to be comfortable, and can't be comfortable on 700K, then yes, you have very little life experience.
47
Hey, Raped Associate-- no one cares.
The reason why there is soooooooooo much dead weight partners surviving this recession is two fold.
1) Income partners are basically contract lawyers. Most, if not all, have a partnership agreement that basically governs their employment. These agreements usually include fairly expansive terms regarding the termination of employment. It usually takes 1-2 years to either re-negotiate the agreements or trump up enough cause (i.e. non-origination) in order to shit can these people. That would have required firms to act on the recession in the summer of 2007, which we all know they weren't.
2. Partnership credit agreements can go into default if too many partners leave. Having seen these agreements in my life before law, I definitely recall there being no major distinction between share and non-share partnership, but that may have been remedied over the past 8 or so years.
I'm at one of the firms that JD is taking shots at, but I think this is just fine rhetoric from JD. Firms need to stop pussy footing around each other and really competing - if that takes trashing a firm like Latham or trying to pick off talented partners from firms in turmoil, I'm all for it. I would hope my firm would be doing the same in similar circumstances.
106: You know PHJW management is absolutely sweating right now (Hi Seth & Greg!). The new lay-off list is ready to go, but management (being the chickenshit cocksuckers they are) cannot bring themselves to go first. Meanwhile, client billings continue to spiral down, down, down (notwithstanding the July rate increase).
I love that they are paying me as I write these posts. Thanks partners! What a country!
Jones Day has been laying people off since December. They froze salaries the day the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved. A lot of people in NY are very slow. I am not sure why Above the Law decided to publish this JD propoganda without checking its facts first, but JD HAS/IS LAYING OFF PEOPLE AND HAS FROZEN SALARIES.
If stealthily laying people off is not backhanded enough, the way they froze salaries was especially cowardly. They claimed that they were freezing salaries until June 2010 because they wanted their lawyers and staff to be on the same fiscal year and since the staff's fiscal year ends in June, then the lawyers won't see an increase in their pay this year.
I am not sure why Above the Law has decided to reward Jones Day with free (well, maybe it wasn't free) publicity for stealthily laying off employees and undercutting pay in a dishonest fashion. This seems more like an advertisement for JD than news....How much did ATL get paid for this?
I don't understand the logic. How is JD supposed to seduce junior partners from other firms when partners make crap in JD?
JD Chicago here and absolutely love this place - been here 4 years and can't imagine working anywhere else. Wonderful group of people.
I second (third?) 100/101. I came into JD as a lateral from a V5 firm, and I love it here. JD is very, very good to its people, and I actually think the quality of the work and training I have received is superior to what I got at my (supposedly more prestigious) prior firm.
Also, in response to 98, I suspect the extent of your research is the old "Jones Day, nights and weekends" canard. Believe me, I used to work at a sweatshop, and JD is pretty good by comparison.
Je ne comprend pas. Je suis de Cleveland.
On a JD salary you could at least pay back your Brooklyn Law School loans.
BLS tutition for 2009-10? $44,000
I know a literal retard law student who was picked up by Jones Day. His writing was pathetic.
JD HAS been laying people off since December and HAS frozen salaries.....GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!
I sense a bit of a racial overtone here.
Whether or not JD is actually healthy or not, they are doing right by representing strength. On all the outward measures - partner retention/recruiting, no layoffs, no paycut, high SA offer rate - JD looks solid. While JD may be quietly pushing people out the door or effectively lowering pay by cutting bonuses, their dirty laundry isn't getting aired for everyone to see.
Believe it or not, corporate counsels actually read this blog and even if it doesn't make or break relationships, it's all part of a firm's public image to their clients. Price and quality of work definitely trump everything else, but when I see a firm that I work with mentioned on ATL for laying off or no-offering, it raises doubts about the strength of the firm. Again, if I'm already working with them, I probably wouldn't stop giving them work. However, if they were pitching me on hiring them, those doubts would definitely come into play.
105- Williams & Connolly- doesn't that place have about 15 attorneys in 3 offices? if they laid off some associates, who would lock up at night, get the paper in the morning, or answer the phone when the receptionist was at lunch?
Not sure what this is about taking care of clients: I have been up against Jones Day on a number of cases and they had senior partners defending nothing depositions and never let associates do anything (they gave the 3rd year associate jobs to an of counsel). If that's any example of how they bill, I wouldn't hire them. More like they don't have enough work and everyone's holding on to it.
I'm seeing some indications in the comments that this memo isn't exactly truthful with respect to stealth layoffs and the like. If that's the case, then this self-congratulation is completely hypocritical and utterly deplorable. There's nothing I'd like to see more (except new openings for lawyers) than firms being outed for touting how well they treat their associates/staff when they're actually just stabbing them in the back and avoiding bad press for it.
I've worked at JD for many years. The "sweatshop" reputation, wherever it came from, is unfounded.
There are good folks at lots of firms. But JD has a lot of them.
And for all the talk of PPP, forget not that JD has long attracted and RETAINED lateral partners at a much higher rate than most large firms. These partners know life at other large firms, and they nonetheless opt to stay at JD. These are the facts.
To those that continue to judge a firm's stability and economic well-being from PPP... be sure to send me your Notes from the Breadline.
just a point of clarification -- Sims writes these memos monthly as part of a JD newsletter, and the themes he stressed in this memo are similar to those of earlier memos. So this memo was not written to be leaked; it was written for internal consumption. As far as I can tell this is the first of his memos to have been "leaked' on ATL.
81 - Sorry to hear about the layoffs. Any idea whether the incoming class of associates will start on time?
"Jones Day is asking clients to look at how the firms handle the recession internally, and then ask if those firms should be trusted to handle the recession on behalf of their clients."
Well put, Elie. I think you said it better than they did.
To the Latham propagandists saying that Latham gave a big payout to its layoff victims, nice try, but everyone knows you are deliberately ignoring the HUGE number of people who were stealth layoff victims there before the admitted public layoff.
Latham's business model, as clear from its repeated recession time layoffs, time and time again, is to staff up when business picks up, then fire associates en masse as soon as things slow down. Only an idiot would take a job at this place, because unless you can predict the future, your job security is absolutely zero - their entire business model is built on mass firings.
You are all fucking idiots
- JONES DAY SECURE
What is all this talk about PE outing himself? Where? Who? Please provide details...
OMFG. Jones Day dished the sh*t out gangsta-style.
"You can't handle clients' business 'cause you can't handle your own business."
!!!???!!!
Wobba-wobba-drop-it-like-its-hot.
JD started laying people off in December and has frozen salaries
Jones Day abandoned lock step years ago -- they are well known to be the first biglaw firm to keep its associate salaries secret, and we all know it's not because they are overpaying. In other words, the most drastic step the other firms are undertaking this summer was taken by Jones Day more than 5 years ago.
Why don't the people saying JD has been laying people off and has frozen salaries give ATL some evidence it can use.?
Even without evidence, if there is even a real suspician of this, I think it'd be up here. Lack of any evidence has never stopped ATL from running stories before. Look at all their Kirkland stories.
81--
A former lawschool classmate of mine works there. What class year(s) were affected?
This memo should be titled "why and how DLA Piper management screwed up . . . and why DLA's better partners should and will now jump to JD . . . ."
Bye Bye DLA.
JD are an arrogant bunch...always have been. Which is fine if they can keep the money rolling in and/or weather the recession, but if they fall there will be a lot of folks in their peer firms who will remember this conceited nonsense. There is something very satisfying in seeing the high and mighty fall.
jd dc doesn't pay bonuses. enough said.
Jones Day has a good reputation from a client perspective - who is looking at legal cost control. Are they the best and brightest? No. Are some deals and lawsuits a stretch for them? Yes. But not many. And the legal eagles at the big corporations know when to bring in a Wachtell or a Sullivan or a Cravath. They will do just fine - not spectacularly well but fine.
Most mysterious comment of the week:
80 - "JD doesn't need to cut too many costs because they have a cushion worth hundreds of millions, if not more...."
What on earth is this 'cushion'???? Downtown Cleveland real estate? Oil wells?
One word for you, 152: Chrysler.
jd ny does indeed pay bonuses
Just whistling past the grave yard.
As an incoming 1st year at JD in California, this is a relief (although job security may be moot after my performance on the bar exam). As for the comments about PPP being low compared to other "peer" firms, sure it is significantly lower - but really, come on. If your reaction to this memo is that JD has lower PPP and think that associates - especially junior or recent law grads - care at all about that, you are being silly. Ask any person who has been deferred or laid off if they care about PPP. That is so far off in the future that it has no bearing on anything I do today. When the time comes, hopefully, that I'm up for partner, if I believe that I am being under-compensated, I can look elsewhere. But I can't see any reason why 700k plus would be insufficient to maintain my lifestyle.
Funny he mentioned Brobeck.
I was an associate at Brobeck and heard Tower Snow tell us: "We are going to weather this storm (i.e., the dot.com collapse) by keeping all of our top talent while our competitors conduct layoffs. When things turn around, we will be better positioned with all of the top talent and we will be miles ahead of the pack."
How did that work out for Brobeck and myself? Not so good. They downturn lasted longer than expected and they couldn't wait it out long enough.
Good luck to these guys though. I wouldn't rely on these comments too heavily. This is the worst economy since 1930 and no one knows for sure what is around the corner...
158,
Jones Day didn't expand recklessly like Brobeck during the tech boom or like some firms during the most recent bubble. They're not slaughtering their juniors a) because they don't have to, and b) because they aren't raging dicks who immediately turn to layoffs
159
Virtually every law partner in Biglaw is a raging dick. QED.
158 = partner at one of the firms Jones Day just bitch slapped.
Sorry you were too stupid to see a recession coming and had to conduct mass layoffs because you expanded hastily during the boom. Jones Day will make it through this with their reputation in tact. You will not, if you make it through at all.
160, some biglaw partners are bigger dicks than others. see the partners at the firms that have laid off masses of juniors.
157: You're right. PPP isn't really about you, at least not directly.
It is about top performing partners at JD that may be lured away by higher PPP at other firms. JD claims that its partners are currently taking some of the hits and living with lower PPP's to save associates.
They are rolling the dice that their partners will not be enticed to make more money at another firm. Maybe they are right, but there is at least a risk there. As you start your career in biglaw, you will find that money drives a lot of the decisions that people make.
The scary part is, once the defections start, it becomes a viscous circle with lower PPP, more partners leaving, lower PPP, and you know the rest.
163
LOL at partners leaving Jones Day for California's unstable layoff whores with demoralized, overworked associates and understaffed departments.
This corroborates what 95% of JD associates already know.. JONES DAY is KING. The selection process is geared towards maintaining what makes the firm tick, I felt this very much during my interviews. Individuals who definitely got better grades than me were rejected, accepted by firms with a handful of better metrics, and have since been summarily laid off (executed) by said firms.
However, we'll remain humble and quiet, try to keep improving. The firm is not perfect. The muckraking will never end. Yet unlike most firms in this times, JD is forever.
You know what's interesting?
Whenever there is an ATL post about Jones Day, there is always a strong contingent of JD people in the comments applauding/defending their firm.
When I bash the hell out the shit hole I work at, Thompson Hine, the only thing TH people do when they comment is laugh/agree/say they want to buy me a beer.
Why? Because Thompson Hine is a very poorly managed firm, with dim and unpleasant partners with raging senses of entitlement, and all of the associates there hate it.
I'm just saying, good firms have defenders.
Thompson Hine? *crickets*
Thank God I'm at Gibson Dunn. Only a couple of staff layoffs and no attorney layoffs. We don't have to compete with JD.
165, well put. Blatant PPP whores have been the first to die in this economic climate because they chose firms based on little else. JD has more than sufficient prestige, plus something lacking everywhere -- a fucking sense of human decency.
Haha ... Is there single person in the world who wouldn't take Gibson, Irell, or Munger over Jones Day? I don't think so . . . those firms seem to be doing fine ... They are in a class above JD in California, and they will remain that way
169 = moron
Unless you are a partner, PPP doesn't matter.
Associate training, compensation, and job stability are where it's at. That's why JD has the edge on Top Legal Talent.
i commend jones day for not fucking over its juniors like some firms
RA,
I'm at Thompson Hine, and I'll tell you why I don't speak out in its defense - IT FUCKING SUCKS!!!
159: I'm an optimist so I hope you are right. Brobeck was a horse of a different color. However, its downfall was caused largely by inaccurate predictions of future business and needs. Read the memo above--it is talking about "short term burdens" and "long term needs." We'll see if JD is able to accurately predict the turnaround of the worst economy since 1930 and how long it is willing to be such a nice guy in a tough business.
160: Yep.
161: I did my time in biglaw and decided to move on. I have a lot of respect for what those people do, but I did not want to live the rest of my life in 6 minute increments. I am now a business owner and I see the effects of the recession everyday and work hard to not have to lay anyone off, but I also have to live in reality. From the tone of your comments, you should have a great life...6 minutes at a time.
158
170 --- JD loser who didn't have the credentials to get hired at GDC, MTO, or Irell
174,
You're absolutely right... these grapes are totally sour. They only look sweet, juicy and delicious.
Enjoy your layoffs.
174 -- funny, never that much defense of GDC, MTO, Irell on these boards. in fact, they're rarely mentioned.. likely too busy slaving away, drool running from the corners of their zombified mouths. Jones Day is all about balance.
JD is BOSS. Not simply because of the memo, which is brilliant, but because of the facts within the memo. No lawyer layoffs, no staff layoffs, no lawyer salary freeze, no summer program cancellations, etc.
We can debate all day, but let's poll: Do you feel your career is more secure at JD or at "other" firms?
Let's make sure to especially listen to those beating the pavement in the worst recession since the great depression.
Also, all the JD haters really amuse me. Firms are collapsing and slashing associates and freezing salaries, and these queens are talking about PPP. First off, PPP is not the same for every partner, so you don't even have your facts correct (do you really think top talent parents are lateraling and not being compensated? And they are, "search" this website and read up on the big players moving to JD). Second off, most associates do not make PPP, and as such the conversation is a non-starter and moot.
Rock on JD!
176: If you're about balance, you're in the wrong profession --- Those firms are rarely mentioned because they are handling the recession very well. Furthermore, they don't need to defend their prestige. Their selectivity and the quality of their attorneys says enough. JD, on the other hand, feels the need to tell people that it's not a TTT --- that is a classic sign of being a TTT.
178: I understand where you're coming from. The problem is, I have nearly a dozen friends in the other firms you mentioned (plus family relations), and compared to the happy JD legion, they are worked like draft horses.
At the end of the day, taking into account every focal factor (the tone and purpose of a memo not being very high on the list), Jones Day has worked and will continue to work for many satisfied attorneys. Including the youngbloods.
1) This memo is AMAZING
2) Jones Day rules
3) Haters, enjoy your layoffs
-JD associate
As a JD associate, I commend our team for not rubbing it in toooo much. Let's stay humble, peeps. Humble despite the glee -- there's work to be done.
Thompson Hine as much as it sucks is much better than Jones Day.
Jones Day only looks better because of the fog and obfuscation that it throws out about its PPP, stealth layoffs, and long-term survival strategies (read -- none).
btw, reminder to all, this was a leaked INTERNAL memo. wasn't meant to flaunt anything to outsiders.. that isn't how JD rolls. Someone from within just got uncharacteristically, though understandably, (trigger) happy.
I worked at both JD and one of those baby-eating firms. While JDers now have jobs, during the fat years they hardly got bonuses. It all evens out in the end.
184
No. Latham NY laid off half the first year class. These people never saw a bonus, and their careers have been raped.
Latham NY also laid off half the second year class, and a third of the third year class. I bet these people would kill to go back and time and take an offer from Jones Day.
Latham LA laid off a third of the first year class, and first years were also laid off in other offices.
182, Mmm, have you looked into the members of the JD Appellate team (laden with SCOTUS/Appeals clerks)? Or M&A, or Bankruptcy, or Labor?
Try asking them why they stick with a firm which so obfuscates everything and mistreats them.
Something tells me that you are adhering to the equivalent of the Republican party line. The haters = Limbaugh, but lawyers. What a fucking tragedy.
184,
ROFL! That is the funniest math I've ever seen. Crunch the numbers again and tell me how it all "evens out." Also, this is assuming JD doesn't pay bonuses, which is not true of all offices. I get bonuses (which are built into our pay as opposed to a lump sum).
-JD associate
How does this whole comment thread not have any PoFlaWas about who's responsible for the state of the economy? How did that happen? There's no way it happens on this blog without heavy moderation. If it somehow did, I'm astounded.
Also, PE fucks farm animals, just wanted to throw that out there
People had already been noticing that Jones Day has been doing really well during this downturn. They'll definitely come out ahead at the expense of the layoff whores.
Somewhere PE is thinking long and hard about paying someone to beat him with a large black rubber dildo as a symbol of the tough love he preaches.
PE once did his entire JD is not a peer firm thing. It ain't him.
50
Concise--thought the dude was going for a 900-word sentence a al Proust.
47/118,
You're a moron. I know this because only a moron would need specific mention of a normal BigLaw partner's take home to understand that the term "nothing" was meant to be relative to market compensation. You then reinforce my conclusion by interjecting some subjective measure of cost of "comfort" into a discussion of objective measures of compensation, which subjective measure is patently irrelevant to the point 33/64 was making: busting your ass for 10 years at Jones Day Night and Weekends should get you more than $700k per year. Keep to yourself whatever immorality you associate with earning income, communist.
Yours truly,
Not 33/64
I love love love this string. Keep it coming, boys and girls. (Especially those of you with lots of "sabbatical" time on your hands -- I'm sure this is a great distraction from watching repeats of 'Oprah!')
-- JD partner
Full of fist and fury signifying nothing--
did they have a multi-media presentation with a Darth Vader voice reciting the memo--with smoke and thunder.
Need the DVD--memo to self re. memo to self--send out dvd's to our client--Gob smacked
194 -
If you are a partner at JD, JD is in trouble. No partner at a real firm is on this board.
-Someone with common sense.
"You know what's interesting?
Whenever there is an ATL post about Jones Day, there is always a strong contingent of JD people in the comments applauding/defending their firm.
When I bash the hell out the shit hole I work at, Thompson Hine, the only thing TH people do when they comment is laugh/agree/say they want to buy me a beer.
Why? Because Thompson Hine is a very poorly managed firm, with dim and unpleasant partners with raging senses of entitlement, and all of the associates there hate it.
I'm just saying, good firms have defenders.
Thompson Hine? *crickets*"
Substitute Paul Hastings for Thompson Hine and you have the same effect, *crickets*
Rogue PHAssociate
This pretty much showcases JD's essence. Hard-hitting, cold when necessary.. yet always against the backdrop of being Family.
There are plenty of firms eating their young, and JD roundhouses them in the face.
GO JONES DAY!!! GO TO HELL MOFO!!!!
Query if an attorney is "of counsel" or "special counsel"
does that mean that he did not make partner and never will or?
Saw some classmates on a couple firms listed and curious.
152--how is your assertion empirically justified?
There is so much intra-firm variation of work quality as well as inter-firm variance at any given firm.
Your self-serving generalizations fail
Partner E
if your uncle, jack was stuck on a roof--would you help jack-off?
thanks in advance for playing grown up.
177: JD froze salaries in May...the same day the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved (a nice thank you to those bankruptcy associates billing 350 hours a month for 4 straight months). This was done by an email from one of the partners in Cleveland. JD tried to say that this was being done to put the associates on the same fiscal year as non-lawyer staff, but that is complete BS.
Also, they have been stealthily letting people go since December...not enough work to go around. Although Chrysler brought in a lot of work, some of the practice groups outside bankruptcy have been struggling.
JD has been de-equitizing some partners over the last few months. Last year the firm was doing well, but this year the recession is beginning to catch up.
JD NY DOES pay bonuses. They have been lump sum bonuses in the past, but this year they are being paid out over the year. Other JD offices (like DC) don't get bonuses.
I am so glad that Latham laid off so many...especially first-years. What a pleasure to hear them squeal so loud and long. It truly is music to my ears. So very many overachieving morons who so rarely measured themselves by anything but their grades and compensation brought low by their own inability to perform in the real world. And now they simply cannot face the fact that when it came time to unload the dead weight, over the side they went. Keep cursing fate morons and please never ever face the fact that you just couldn't cut it.
203's info = nicely written, largely inaccurate.
You would have to be a MORON to send a memo like the above when stealth layoffs have been occurring at greater-than-average frequency or when there's been a defacto firmwide salary freeze, because everyone calls BS + it does more harm than good. There is no firm which doesn't conduct some amount of stealth LOs.
Swell touch adding the bit about NY's bonuses, as if in gracious concession -- trust me, more offices than NY pay bonuses. Don't spout misinformation when you don't know the details.
203, wiseass, JD coordinates from DC, not from "one of the partners in Cleveland." On the off-chance that you're a malcontent JDer (rare but they must be out there), not surprised that the ratting type is on the fast track to Iceland.
Jones Day has shown 99% of us nothing but loyalty. Respect.
I was a JD California summer associate in the summer of 2009 who was cold offered. The NALP form says they gave out 100% offers last summer in my office, but they gave out about ~85% offers if you include cold offers. They need to get off their high horse.
207 -- NY last year had 1 cold offer (according to the grapevine), and that offer was actually accepted. All is well. Again, tell us something new. You think the V10 never does cold offers?
And next time, do be competent, and work harder. We don't ask for Einsteins.
206: You are a F&&^king idiot.....the administrative partner is out of Cleveland (initials HW)....if you work there, which you obviously don't, you would have gotten the email. You are a moron....get your facts straight before you post a$$hole!
205: If you ask any associate other than the idiot who posted in 206 (who obviously doesn't work at JD), they will tell you that salaries were frozen until June 2010. In terms of stealth layoffs being higher than normal, I don't know what is the norm. All I can tell you is that it sure seems like it. There have def been stealth layoffs at JD.
Also, I never said that there weren't some other JD offices that get bonuses....some (i.e. Chicago) do. But some others (i.e. DC) don't. You should read more carefully.
Perhaps this doesn't apply to everyone who has left JD recently, but perhaps they were not performing well.
When things in the economy are sailing along and associates are asked to leave they can make announcements about that "great opportunity" they've always been looking for. Now, not so much. The occassional one or two associates being asked to leave are not necessarily laid off.
211: Tell that to the 6 of us they just laid off in Pittsburgh....thanks for the sympathy a$$hole...going to go enjoy my summer
john quinn can you hear me?
Anyone at Jones Day who thinks the firm gives a flying fuck whether they live or die is grossly misled. Enjoy your warm and fuzzy feeling while it lasts, 'cause it will most likely be nasty, brutish and short.
If only JD would hire all of WilmerHale's eaten young.
As a former JD California associate who was let go, I can tell you that the firm has done chicken sh*t stealth layoffs. This is typical posturing by the firm to make themselves feel better and "above the fray" of what other firms are doing. If this were a sporting event, I'd be in the stands yelling "Over-rated....Over-rated!!!!!"
PHJW NY summer here. I got the proverbial hanger shoved up my butt (no lubrication). What a bummer.
Haha ... Is there single person in the world who wouldn't take Gibson, Irell, or Munger over Jones Day? I don't think so . . . those firms seem to be doing fine ... They are in a class above JD in California, and they will remain that way
____
That would be me - passed up an offer to lateral to GDC LA for an offer to JD in the CA region. Only a SA or first year would look at a firm as a whole in weighing an offer- what really matters in your daily practice is the partner(s) you work for and the strength of your group. 5+ years since I moved to JD and I can't say I regret my choice.
I was once an associate at JD many moons ago. I am reminded of the firm that makes itself feel important by pretending that it is better than the others. Yet, in the scorecard that matters, "profits per partner," they lag behind.
"Real" clients have to pay for your services before you claim that you are good. Saying you are good, and getting clients that will actually pay you are two different things.
Claiming that you are great because your competitors are only now earning 150% your profits rather than 200% is not a great claim.
Edit to 218: would look only at a firm as a whole
-218
I HOPE RALPH BAXTER IS READING THIS. WORST. FIRM. MANAGER. EVER.
Moral of the story: Ralph Baxter is an idiot.
Orrick = 2 rounds of layoffs + associate salaries frozen + pushed back on-campus interviews until spring = most poorly managed firm ever.
Also, partners are greedy as hell.
208: This is 207 here... I'm almost positive it had nothing to do with competency because I received an offer from my 1L firm, which has a much better reputation but is located somewhere I didn't want to go. There needed to be space to be made and I was the easiest to put on the chopping block.
DAAAAAAAVVVEEE GOOORDOONNNNN!!!!!11ONE
So stealth layoffs, salary freezes and below-market bonuses make Jones Day a stronger firm than the competition? Or is it the fact that they were ahead of the curve in expanding into every crap market under the sun? Or perhaps their low PPP is somehow an asset that will attract top partners away from the competition. They sure do serve up some strong Kool-Aid over there at Jones Day. Although, the people I know who went there didn't really have many other options (non-T-14 students, non-law review, not even in the top 25% of their class) and would probably drink it up.
Jones Day, as rosy as it gets in these times. The haters, mostly striving to play in the Toilet Bowl.
210, "Other offices don't get bonuses." That doesn't sound like a gross everyone-else-generalization? Read carefully? You'd get killed on the SAT.
209 -- like I said, fast track to Iceland, buddy. I don't know what emails you're getting and which offices they're being sent to, but it sure as hell hasn't been echoed by the dozen+ JDers who've been posting on this thread.
while we sip our Kool-Aid, enjoy the caribou carcasses.
Yay!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad I chose the right firm. See you in October bitches. JD FTW!
p.s. It's pathetic how the jealous and bitter ones here scratch and claw for a reasons to criticize JD despite its success. Sad.
Make a cogent argument for crying out loud.
Yes, there was an "a" accidentally placed in there. Whoever pompously points it out gets a cookie and not much else.
it's 4am and I'm celebrating on my bar trip...because I can. Typos are allowed.
Suck it.
I'd take Jones Day over any Latham office any day of the week. They pat themselves on the back for their managerial prowess, but well run firms don't expand and implode like they did.
This was a nice public bitch slapping of Latham.
The bottom line here is that Jones Day thinks they are incredible. The response to his thoughts are correct though. Every firm is pulling its young attorneys from the same talent pool. Additionally, any firm that isn't paying attention to its balance sheet just so it can be the shit is doomed to fail.
4.0 from Harvard, 4.0 from Harvard Law, and Law Review membership does NOT mean you know how to manage a company. Think about the top of your class in law school... Would you have hired any of those kids as the CEO of a major corporation? I hope not. Well they're the d-bags who are now at the top of the firms like Jones Day. Problem.
Jones Day is not an amazing powerhouse of law. It has some top lawyers and top clients, but it's got way too many offices and way too many lawyers. It really was a prime candidate to cut people in this environment. Yet it didn't. Maybe lawyers are people too.
They're damn right about the shit morale at the big California firms, even outside of the California offices.
Latham as a firm doesn't even exist any more. Orrick guys are depressed and suicideal. OMM has suffered for a long time. And does Paul Hastings even have any associates left? Some of their offices now have more partners than associates.
bonuses=not below market, fyi.
jd for the winnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Latham and Orrick, the firingest law firms!
118 = insecure JD second-tier partner
166 - the reason so many JDers are here applauding/defending their firm is because THEY HAVE NO WORK TO DO so they're stuck on ATL all day.
That must be it 240. Good one. Because I'm sure that's the only reason anyone gets to post on ATL.
It's ok. Take your shots. Make yourself feel better!
236: PH LA associate here. We're now officially on the endangered species list. For weeks, we've been hearing rumors that the partnership needs to renegotiate their credit agreement. This can only mean more stealth lay-offs.
236
"The late-to-the-party firms, which don't have any comparative advantage but have nonetheless taken on debt and stretched to rapidly make late investments to try to go national or global, are all under great stress, and some will not survive."
Read P-A-U-L H-A-S-T-I-N-G-S.
242: Non-LA PH associate here. Any idea what groups are most vulnerable?
244: Corporate, RE and Employment Law are the most vulnerable areas. Now that the summers are gone, it's looking like they're gearing up the stealth machine.
242
Thanks for that 242, Atlanta PH associate in Employment here, one of the few left standing. Jesus, the firm is going to be a tax and litigation boutique practically. From "1300+ attorneys across the globe!" to like 500 in just a year.
My bologna has a first name. It's J-O-N-E-S.
246: No problem. Will post again when I have more info. on the PH credit agreement renegotiations.
242.
Jones Day = EPIC WIN
Firms doing layoffs = EPIC FAIL
PH needs to get a new credit card.
One firm world wide? JD London seems to be operating under different rules, retaining only 53% of its trainees due to qualify this September...
One mothafkn FIRM. World mothafkn WIDE.
Giggty.
Jones Day has been cutting salaries, particularly in its Asian offices where cuts of 15% have not been uncommon. Apparently quite a few of the partners have also taken big cuts. Appraisals have been deferred by six months hence freezing salaries and for those that do bill decent amounts there is no incentive to work that extra more as there is no bonus or other performance related pay system in place.
124 - Compensation for JD partners is secret as it is for JD associates. Partners do not even know who is salaried and who is equity, which the Managing Partner can change as he wishes. This system allows management to pay lateral partners enough to recruit them, without having to appropriately compensate other partners. Once recruited, laterals are then treated like "up through the ranks" partners, who are paid what management thinks is needed to keep them; JD does not pay based on merit and does not necessarily pay what they are worth. As a result, JD has significant turnover of partners, coming and going.
251 and 253 - In the worldwide partnership, U.S. partners have long financially supported the underperforming offices in Asia and Europe. It appears that the empire is getting more difficult to support and the colonies must tighten their belts.
251, 253, 254, Jones Day is not some kind of invulnerable deity. No fucking shit, sacrifices have been made, cost-cutting procedures implemented.. like essentially every firm out there. Yes, we know that the sky is above the ground, thank you for having cared enough to waste your time elaborating. Go ahead and dig dirt for the rest of the V25 while you're at it.
JD still sets the highest standards for its business model type. B&M, DLA? Bloodshed, carnage, possible dissolution for the latter.
I think the internal memo makes perfect sense.
Unfairly dismissing junior lawyers is not a recipe for long term viability of the firm.
I guess that you fail to understand that point.