So you're really saying that I have a very slim chance of starting at my firm later this year because I failed the bar??? Is this really happening?? Will this become the indefinite trend??? Sucks.

This is inexcusably cruel. Further proof that people can be heartless when their bank accounts are involved. The partners who made this decision should be ashamed of themselves.

Ha ha here I was disappointed I was rejected from the Summer 2010 program.

My sincere sympathies to those affected. That blows.

I can't believe something like this would ever happen at WILDMAN HARROLD.

What's with this continuing assumption that firms have to give a crap what summer associates think? Maybe WH wanted to bury the news on a day everybody was talking about something else. Maybe they had fiscal reasons for doing it on 10/1 and not on 9/30 or some other day. Maybe it's any of 100 other reasons. Tact has nothing to do with it. And if you failed the bar, you're screwed anyway -- might as well get it over with ASAP.

This would never happen at STROOCK STROOCK & LAVAN

What a shit hole firm.

that SUCKS

I thought Wildman Harrold's small but lucrative filmmaker pederasty & renewable energy department would see them through the tough times.

At least their offices smell better than Locke Lord Houston's fecal smeared office.

Elie,

* 4 - Number of offers extended to 2009 summer associates (out of 17).

Do you mean "(out of 14)"?

This kind of stuff would never happen at WILDMAN HARROLD. Oh wait.

#13 - she actually meant 2010 summer associates.

interesting

The Trademark Company

thetrademarkcompany.com

I want to PUSSY FART AND SHART on the heads of the Wildman partners. What a bunch of motherfucking TOOLS.

-CWT 05 NY Corp Female Associate

Elie, what are you thinking reporting this? I am very sorry for the incoming associates, and this absolutely sucks. That said, this is not even a fucking vault firm. By reporting this you are giving cover to other firms, making it seem like incoming 09s are getting fired left and right. They are not. This has only happened at a few firms, only one of which is in the V50--and probably not for long.

By reporting this you are screwing over potentially thousands of your readers. Oh, you didn't know? The only reason firms with better reputations haven't done this too is that they CARE ABOUT THEIR FUCKING REPUTATIONS. You are taking away that incentive. I haven't criticized you before, Elie, like so many others have (and it was certainly well deserved). Here, though, you are really being stupid and incompetent. Or maybe you don't give a shit about your readers and care more about keeping PPP up another 10% so the partners can get another Maserati each year.

Stick to reporting on Vault firms that fire incoming associates.

Errrr #13, nevermind on what I said in 15. the first one is class of 2009 summers and the second is summers who were there this past summer.

A quote from above: "Seriously, why would a firm revoke offers to people on the day they passed the bar? I know it’s a tough economy, but there simply has to be a better way to deal with difficult business decisions."

Why?! Are you kidding me? Why is because they don't give a shit. You passing the bar means nothing to them when they are trying to 1) run a business and 2) maximize partner profits.

They probably didn't know the results were coming out and if they did, what do they care? The attorneys there already took and passed the bar.

The only person that cares about you passing the bar is you, and probably your mom.

This will never happen to me, as a T14 student. (Georgetown is in the top 14).

I interviewed there for a 2009 summer associate position. Generally really-nice people.

But, I remember meeting w/ a very senior partner, who proceeded to lecture me for 20 minutes on how terrible it is that all young people want to work for large law firms (Wildman's "large?) right out of school and how they are only in it for the money (Wildman doesn't even pay market) when they could be doing something "better" (with my debt load?) with their lives. This dinosaur had spent his ENTIRE career in large law firms. Totally clueless ass.

Thank God I graduated law school almost fifteen years ago. I predict that the cost of college and graduate school will drop (or at least stop climbing 5.5% a year). More online education and trade schools. People will stop borrowing six figures for worthless degrees.

"Stick to reporting on Vault firms that fire incoming associates."

Everyone knows that only Vault firms practice the true law. Everyone else is just hooting and jumping up and down around a black obelisk, tossing gnawed bones in the air in a futile attempt to understand what the hell is going on.

I lied, Chicago 2016 died.

I'm Barack Obama?

....aaaand CHICAGO will NOT be hosting the Olympics in 2016.

Ohhhh nooooo! Wildman Harrold rescinded offers! Did they mean offers to go to the ballgame?

I have been critical of Elie but I have to disagree with 18. I personally think this is a good informative (albeit copied from law.com) post. Vault firms who care about the reputation will not treat this as market just as V50 will not treat "Arent Fox recinds" as market.

If a firm wants to screw associates they are going to do it and there is nothing we can do. By reporting on it, they at least know everyone will know about what they did and most do not want bad press like this.

What this firm did was heartless and cruel.

....aaaand CHICAGO will NOT be hosting the Olympics in 2016.

Is G. W. Bush to blame for Chicago losing the 2016 Olympics bid?

Speaking of the Illinois bar, I once had to use a crow bar to unwedge John Madden from a tight door opening at a Bennigan's near Decatur.

What what?

Jesus. Best of luck to the fired associates.

Facebook Poll:

Should Chicagoans riot now that the obviously racist IOC has insulted Obama and rejected the city?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe
4. Only if Elie leads with the first torch

It probably never occurred to them that bar results were being released. My guess is that a revenue stream they were counting on failed to materialize or more likely was terminated. No money, no honey; this is how the world works. Law firms have to put their own interests above that of the whiny kids who feel that their debt load entitles them to earn more in their first job than the average worker will ever make in their lifetime. Do it the other way around and the firm will go under which would mean that no one gets anything. For the people affected, rescission at this juncture will really hurt because there is N*O*T*H*I*N*G out there for new graduates. Unlike some others, I will not condescend to say that such experiences builds character. In fact, there is nothing more likely to destroy a young and vibrant spirit than to be so harshly dealt with at the beginning of one’s career. But that is the way it is. Dogs are eating puppies these days.

Great coverage. I like having all the info in one place. It's clear that recruiting just isn't important to many firms. But I wouldn't want to come across as classless to my clients either. Too bad not many of them read ATL. But I bet they have kids that do.

They were the first city bounced! OUCH.

Hope. Change.

Obama is a disaster.

30, one of the questions the IOC members asked the Chicago delegation was how well foreigners would be accepted in the US. I wonder why that came up...

I'm glad that Chicago is out of the running for the Olympics. This city has enough problems without adding to the burden. Maybe the IOC was turned off by the recent trend of teenagers beating other teenagers to death. Crime is rampant, the transportation system blows, and don't even try to drive around this city -- horrid congestion and decaying streets. Besides, the city is in enough debt already -- it doesn't need to add to the taxpayer burden just so King Daley can have his legacy.

Or maybe the IOC was turned off by the strong-arm tactics of the Obamas, Daley and Queen Oprah.

Go, Rio!

40, even Tokyo beat Chicago and those Japanese are much more welcoming of foreigners, right?

42, way to ignore the point. At least the Japanese bow to you before you get waterboarded, right?

Unfortunately 35 and similar posters are right about law firms putting their own interests first, etc. For the short-term, it's smart. And it might be smart in the long term IF firms don't go back to the wine-and-dine-hey-I'm-a-partner-but-your-buddy-too attitude towards recruiting young associates via summer associate programs. If that mentality comes back, however, moves like this will hurt. The info is out there, and lawyers (and law students) can easily find a firm's Google footprint.

41. Crime is not rampant in any of the areas where regular readers of this blog would run into. I don't see biglaw associates hanging out in Englewood.

Fucking 3rd rate firm. Fuck them.

For thise cut, remember what Serrano said in the movie Major League: "Fuck you Jaboo. I do it myself."

Wuildman = Jaboo. Fuck them.

Chicago.................sucks.

BOOM!

43, yes I'm sure the IOC were really concerned about the visitors to the Olympics getting waterboarded.

That summer associate page is the cheesiest thing I have ever seen.

"You will also be assigned a writing coach. This coach, a partner at the firm, will stand behind you dressed in a warm up suit yelling motivational phrases such as, "Type like the wind, Wise One" and will spot you while you type difficult, challenging and even dangerous phrases."

48, then it's pretty clear you have no idea what you're talking about.

45,

Depends on your frame of reference. Crime in Chicago is out of control by reference to most other major U.S. metropolitan areas. And if you think it's totally isolated, go talk to any of the people recently beaten for kicks in Lincoln Park (where readers of this blog would conceivably be).

41,

Cihcago's crime by comparison to Rio is nonexistent. Rio is the murder capital of our solar system.

That is all.

Yes, because there is no crime in Rio.

I'm amazed it couldn't beat Tokyo, which barely has room and transportation for its own citizens, let alone the mass of visitors the Olympics would bring.

Does WILDMAN HARROLD have Texas offices?

This would never happen in Texas.

Hey, this is a post about WILDMAN HARROLD, not about the Olympics. Stay on topic guys.

Too many Blacks.

40 - But I thought the world, especially the Western European liberal elite, was going to love us again if we elected the Dear Leader. And this wasn't just any U.S. city, it was HIS city.

YES WE CAN!

Horrible

Get a job, sparkling wiggles!

The unfortunate and indebted peons wasting away in law school today have limited options with euphemistic terms such as the "Bird" or "Fox" option. Firms would be better served saying the truth. In the case of law students, these kids have the options of dying from starvation or poisoning. A parched throat or a glass of hemlock anyone?

I have digressed. Law firms should seriously consider adopting my hybrid tough love model that will help stabilize our beloved profession. We need a storm that will purge us from the unwashed masses that are not cut out for this business but feel they are because some Mickey Mouse law school decided to give them a law degree. We need to use the economic tsunami that Commissar Obama keeps agitating to drive down starting salaries and explore hiring overseas counsel that will do the same work, with better attitude and quality, at the fraction of the American price (also consider the side benefits of: lowering costs as a result of no health benefits, no extra overhead, no extra rental outlays for office space, no more defending meritless discrimination/harrassment lawsuits, no more need to comply with Federal Family Leave Act overseas, no pension plans, etc.). And remember, stealth layoffs or layoffs on a rolling basis will keep the remaining rank and file in check, thereby, producing a better work morale. Hybrid tough love...it's about time.

45, most of the Olympic events were to be held on the south side: e.g., Washington Park. Trust me, crime on the south side is rampant. And, as another poster mentioned, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Bucktown and Ravenswood have been having lots of problems too. The criminals are finally figuring out where the affluent people in this city live and are readjusting their attacks accordingly.

The ship be sinking...

Getting fired is awful. Period. But it's tiresome that each time, there needs to be some comment about "how despicable it was for [insert firm name here] to [insert colorful way of describing getting fired e.g. fire/ discharge /can /axe /terminate /fox /etc. here] associates on [insert holiday, other special occasion, where it would be even worse to get tossed e.g. the weeks before/after thanksgiving, Christmas, July 4th, new year's, right before/after bar results, right after on campus interviewing, on your birthday...]!" I mean, good grief. Getting Fired is awful, but when would it be okay for human resources to plan all the layoffs?

21, lol. The former incoming WH associate class had quite a few from T14.

PE: I'm a T5 3L and I totally agree. Based on what I saw this summer at a peer firm, I believe all cuts should begin with the bloated ranks of "good times partners" (those, unlike yourself, who made partner between 2004-2007, who have no book and, somehow, even more of an attitude of entitlement than my classmates.)

...aaaaand IOC passes on Madrid, Congrats to RIO DE JANEIRO

Does anyone know the composition of the incoming class by school? WILDMAN HARROLD used to recruit at HLS and would invite all of the HLS students interested in Chicago to a big dinner where they boasted about the firm.

Apparently nobody works in Rio. I just saw a shot on TV and the beach is crammed with tens of thousands of people.

I am so sick of this shit. What an awful profession I have signed up for.

Partner Emeritus, you have been a true visionary with your hybrid tough love program. Someone once yelled "give me hell, Harry!" to Harry Truman and he responded "I just tell them the truth and they think it's hell."

So it is with you and your hybrid tough love program. I am myself an unemployed lawyer, but I recognize that I likely don't have the breeding or innate intelligence that you do. Therefore I accept my fate. I therefore offer you my services as your lawn boy. Surely you would prefer hiring a lawn boy with a JD over some illegal alien leaching off this country.

It really sucks for those incoming associates from outside Illinois who would never have taken the Illinois bar exam if they knew they were going to lose their job. It also really sucks for those incoming associates who already moved to Illinois in anticipation of starting at Wildman and who are now unemployed and stuck in one-year leases they can't get out of. They don't have the luxury of rescinding or revoking the leases they signed.

I was told over-the-phone my offer has been rescinded even while Wildman admits it is still actively recruiting for its next summer class. Why would a firm simultaneously rescind offers and yet still recruit at campuses and job fairs for next summer?? It doesn't make sense and feels like a slap in the face. If anything, cancel next summer's program and just defer our start date for another year.

I doubt the release of bar exam results corresponding in time with WIldman's revoked offers were a coincidence. The firm was hoping for some failures so that it could justify its revocations.

70,

You've got PE all wrong. He'd likely prefer the undocumented alien because your status as an unemployed attorney makes it self-evident that a) that you didn't work hard enough during undergrad and for the LSATs to go to a peer law school; b) you didn't work hard enough at law school to be top of the class; or c) you didn't work hard enough at your law firm to make yourself an invaluable commodity to the firm. Either way, each of these possibilities supports a low probability that you will work hard at being a lawn boy. Compound that with a high cost overhead stemming from your student loans; you will likely have to charge more for inferior work. Compare that with said undocumented alien that has successfully crossed rivers and deserts, evaded ICE, lives in a small apartment with few essentials, and has no debt to speak of. Better quality work for less money maximizes PE's "profits," and at the end of the day, it fulfills the same objectives as the hybrid tough love plan.

71: agreed 100%. Sorry it happened to you.

In this economy, does anyone really expect any law firm to hold a job open if you fail the bar?

@Georgetown1L(#21) - Think again. I know for a fact that one of offers that was rescinded had been made to a Georgetown alum.

@Georgetown1L(#21) - Think again. I know for a fact that one of offers that was rescinded had been made to a Georgetown alum.

We all passed the bar and Wildman still rescinded our offers.

Wildman = douchebags

63 = credited.

Complaining about the timing makes you sound like the guy who got dumped and insists that "I don't mind that she broke up with me, it's the WAY she did it that upset me." Bullshit. You don't like that she dumped you. Nobody likes getting dumped.

You have the right to be upset that you got rescinded, and anyone who calls you "whiny" or "entitled" because of that is a douchebag. But aside from the week before the bar (THAT would be truly shitty), there is no good or bad time to deliver the news. They have to tell you sometime.

'09 grad, passed, offer rescinded

There is no good time to revoke an offer. But surely giving the people who passed the bar ONE DAY to celebrate their accomplishment would have been better than this.

Enough whining. You're fired. It happens. Grow up.

And it continues. As I have maintained all along, very few January 2010 starters will step foot inside their firms.

82 ==> you are correct! CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT LAW DEGREE!

69 - you are free to leave and no one will miss you.

Poor 71...what a tragic fate...how will you go on in the face of unfairness and a figurative slap in the face?

This article shows that Wildman Harrold has proven to be a poorly managed firm that struggles to predict its own staffing needs and is unable to generate new business in a slumping economy. Their ship is sinking.

Yes, indeed WH is clearly flawed...they should immediately solicit expert management advice from law students in order to save themselves.

87: after the stupid moves they've made recently, they can use as much advice as they can get. idiots are at the helm.

88, you are undoubtedly correct...after all, it is all about the quantity of advice, isn't it. Surely these multi-millionaire partners are "idiots" who couldn't possibly be as wise as those with zero actual experience in the law business who may or may not actually pass the bar exam one day.

I summered at Wildman and worked there as an associate quite a few years ago. It was a quality firm with a good environment. However, the MP (a Harvard grad) was intent on trying to make it a "major" firm by only representing Fortune 500 companies so it could raise its billable rates, increase partner profits, etc. It completely changed the culture of the firm -- obviously for the worse.

I had a callback there a few weeks ago. The hiring partner is a very impressive guy, very likeable. How do they rescind so many offers like this? That's terrible.

I have no interest in working there anymore. They do seem to have trouble assessing their hiring needs. They took a lot of us out to dinner during interview week and called a lot of students back for only a limited number of spots.

It's too bad. I really liked the lawyers that I met there, and the young associates seemed to be enjoying better quality work than junior associates at other firms.

The truth about WHAD is that it has been seeking a mate for more than 3 years while spiraling downhill and know one will join them in their desperate need for a merger (i.e., "Take me over, please!"). The environment sucks on every level. If any of the 10 can consider this a blessing-in-disguise, I hope they will when they find something much better suited to their goals. The managing partner, HR director, etc. all need to be removed. Performance is not a factor in being able to keep your job at WHAD and in the end, all of the 10 will be better for this decision before they waste their time and talents on a wannabe BIG LAW firm.

Ha! They were looking to merge when I worked there 5-10 years ago. They desperately want to be a big law firm. The only problem is that they entirely killed the firm atmosphere in their attempts. It is a case of the grass is always greener. Unfortunately for WHAD, they now don't have a good atmosphere and they never became the big firm.