Canceled Summer Program Watch: Pillsbury Winthrop (West Coast)
No, readers, we didn’t learn this on the Caltrain. From Sara Randazzo of the Daily Journal (subscription):
It’s going to be California dreaming for second-year law students hoping to work in the Golden State next summer. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman became the latest firm to curtail summer hiring, confirming Thursday it likely won’t host any summer associates in its West Coast offices in 2010.
Pillsbury was recently named a top law firm for women. But if you’re a woman in the class of 2011, getting a job at Pillsbury just got a lot harder.
The move wasn’t a surprise to some. Earlier this week, an ATL reader who bid on Pillsbury for OCI received this message from career services:
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is now focusing their recruiting on their East Coast offices and would like to know if you are interested in the NY or DC offices. In fact, it now looks like they may not have any summer programs in California. If you are considering the east coast, please email me immediately and specify the location(s) of interest (NY &/or DC).
According to the Daily Journal, Pillsbury plans to hire 15 to 17 summer associates to work in its New York, Washington, and Houston offices. This is a sharp drop from the 50 summer associates it hosted nationwide in 2009. (As for those summer associates, they’ll be hearing about offers by the end of August.)
So what’s behind the sharp reduction in summer associates?
It’s the economy, stupid — or at least the uncertainty of it all:
“Our recruiting programs are driven by business needs, and projecting the number of entry-level attorneys needed 18-30 months from now is more art than science,” firm spokeswoman Sandi Sonnenfeld said in an e-mail. “Bearing this challenge in mind, Pillsbury’s 2010 summer program will be much smaller than in the past.”
Although the firm will still host summer associates in other cities, the move is still significant. Pillsbury has many offices in California, a grand total of seven, and it traces its origins to the Golden State. Recall that the “Pillsbury” is Pillsbury Winthrop was Pillsbury Madison & Sutro, a leading San Francisco law firm dating back to 1874.
To the Class of 2011: Good luck; you’ll need it.
Pillsbury Pulls the Plug on California Summer Program [Daily Journal (subscription)]
Earlier: Canceled Summer Programs - 2010
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Comments
What hapened to the Vault rankings?
Happened, that is.
-1 and 2
Yeah! What's the deal with the Vault rankings?
-1, 2, and 3
Good question 1, 2, and 3!
- 1, 2, 3, and 4
1-4: I DON'T THINK THEY ARE OUT YET.
I was hoping for speculation on why they're not out yet. But thanks anyway.
Oh yeah:
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7
6 - They are still trying to calculate the magnitude of Latham's drop.
What hapened to the Vault rankings?
Lol at 8. And good questin Elie!
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10
at OCI today was told Cravath is looking for 30 summers, skadden is looking for 40 (ny)
The Vault rankings have been deferred until January 2010.
and people thought going inhouse would be a breeze- see, it's not just the law firms- even the big corporate food companies are cutting back
12 wins!
Man, this is a bad sign for SF- based first. They just cannot sustain themselves.
12 FTW.
What the hell is an Elie?
A small mouse I guess.
shocker that Pillsbury WinTTThrop cut its summer program! first, they no / cold offer 1/4 of their 2009 class, then they push a severance package on the remaining 3/4. i'm thoroughly surprised that PW would cut their summer program as OCI begins. check the past ATL threads on pillsbury. the ship is sinking!!!
Ouch. Getting so sick of hearing this s**t. Guess it's time to start Googling how to apply to biglaw jobs automatically. C'mon lucky number 423! There's got to be a faster way to get rejected.
20 (me) - OK, turns out there are some sites... wonder how if they only make TTTrash......
19 - Correction: "The ship BE sinking."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micheal_Ray_Richardson
Fake Elie might be my favorite schtick here.
21 = Roxie
No, no, no, I say. Those chairs are all wrong, Leftenant. Fix them immediately!
Pillsbury associates to.... band manager!
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/08/career_alternatives_for_attorn_6.php
Is this firm accredited by the American Bar Association?
where is Partner Emeritus? Could someone PLEASE find Partner Emeritus and have him report for duty on this site. Thank you.
Shut up 28. Idiot.
The partner who leaked layoff news on the train - doesn't he look like the Pillsbury doughboy?
http://www.pillsburylaw.com/index.cfm?pageid=15&itemid=21237
anyone here think the banks are calling the shots. as in: your credit line doesn't include a stupid summer program anymore.
It's the fall program you have to worry about.
There's no more Pillsbury dough, boy.
33 - LOL. Nice.
I guess that's what they get when their name partner is a miniature chef made entirely out of dough.
I guess that's what they get when their name partner is a miniature chef made entirely out of dough.
28: PE is cooling his heels in the Chilmark slammer on Martha's Vineyard. He's now considered a sex offender under MA law (for taking a big schlong in his mouth while on a family beach). Some poor four year old was completely traumatized.
Please don't insult his PE-ness.
What is the "West Coast"? And why should I care?
I should probably know this, but does the West Coast have its own bar exams and its own legal system or systems?
Or is at anarchic, lawless land where bands of rival war lords drive about in pick-up trucks, firing AK-47s at each other?
Breaking news....law school is a bad investment.
how screwed are California SA's from summer 2009?
If you think Obamanomics is working, talk to someone who's not.
It always annoys me when people can't come up with original-sounding names for their schools or companies- it just hurts them because it causes confusion and really limits their name recognition.
There are a bunch of named partners- Why would you go with Pillsbury as the lead name when a major company is already using it?
If there's already a Stanford, why would you call your school Samford?
You know what else annoys me? Going by a name like "MoFo" or Dickstein that borders on obscene- it's not trendy, cool, clever, funny, etc- it's just assanine
Bummer - lighten up the site by posting something about actor Jerry O'Connell going to law school.
OK, so I know I'm going to sound like an anal MF, but seriously, can't a law firm grasp the basic understanding of subject/verb agreement. An entity is SINGULAR, not plural. Thus, in the phrase "Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is now focusing their recruiting", "their" should be "its." Sorry, I know I'm being annoying, but no one ever gets this right and it bothers the h*ll out of me.
Glad I got that off my chest, and back to the dough boy bashing. Oh, and well done 12.
How you like me now?
44 -
Pillsbury (the food company) was founded in 1872 in Minnesota. Pillsbury (the law firm) was founded in San Fran in 1874. Doubtful that they decided to copy the name of a then obscure grain mill.
Just got an offer in Cali 5 minutes ago. Rolling one up right now to celebrate.
Jock-a-mo-fee-na-nay.
i miss doughboy. He is forever the icon of Pillsbury. I do wonder . . . does he take the caltrain to work? With BART and every public transportation going on strike next week, we should SPOT him more easily!!!
The ship be sinking...
Congrats 49! I wish I had an offer in Cali--I'm tired of NYC.
Nothing annoys me more than douchey New Yorkers moving here that won't shut up about New York and how awesome it is. You all suck and obviously have no idea what New York was like 20 years ago. Probably wouldn't have been talking about how cool it was back then.
Wouldn't it stand to reason that people who move from New York to Cali move because they like (or think they would like) Cali more? So I'm sure there is a large group who moves and does not talk about how awesome New York is. And it's not 20 years ago, so your argument is dated.
Acela Bob strikes again!
Long live Acela Bob!!!!
46: Actually, in Britain "their" is appropriate.
I can't believe Pillsbury is still having a NY summer program when they fired 11 first year associates last year, and deferred a bunch from the summer 2008 class until 2011, and will not be hiring any of the 2009 summers until 2011. (or at least until after they bring on the deferred 2008's). Pillsbury's management is so messed up. What a disaster.
lame firm