Associates NOT Happy With Seyfarth Shaw
The firm that told associates it wanted to hold off on raises inspired a lot of discontent.
Almost two weeks ago, long after the new “Cravath Approved!” payscale of $180K for first-years established itself as the prevailing market reality, Seyfarth Shaw sent its associates a memo to let them know the firm had no intention of matching the new scale in the near-term.
Laced with appeals to caution and the downright silly statement that “like you, we are wondering what this all means,” the memo instantly topped our chart for the most ludicrous response to The Summer of Cravath yet.
We’ve been holding onto most of the Seyfarth backlash we’ve received in the hopes that Seyfarth Shaw would reverse course and mend these strained relationships. But alas, that hasn’t happened, so here’s an inside look at these not-so-happy times for Seyfarth’s work force.
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Seyfarth has totally demoralized its associates in a manner that was contemptuous, patronizing, and dishonest, not to mention entire unnecessary. Talk about a pointless, gaping, self-inflicted wound — why not just shut up and keep quiet while you “evaluate” rather than go on the record in truly tasteless fashion? If management wants to lie or obfuscate, they should at least try to do a good job of it.
Indeed, the only thing more ridiculous than McGuireWoods clumsily trying to keep out of the public eye was Seyfarth Shaw’s decision to publicly own “we don’t care what raises the rest of you give.”
Today’s email to associates drips with presumptuousness — other firms have not thought the raises through properly but Seyfarth’s crackerjack team of genius management is committed to preserving sanity and reason in ways nobody else has the common sense to do?
This is an excellent point. Seyfarth’s memo, coupled with Seyfarth’s Chair Emeritus Stephen Poor questioning the wisdom of any firm raising salaries, charts out a pretty bold “we’re smarter than the top firms” stance. One might wonder why they aren’t Cravath if they’re so good at this…
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The memo opens by advising associates that management recognizes that certain NY law firms” have raised “first year” compensation. Actually, firms nationwide and globally have raised salaries for ALL class years. It then goes on to state “Like you, we are wondering what this means.”
Like us? No, you, Management Committee, are nothing like us. We know what it means. It means you will have to raise salaries and cut into your profits to some extent (a survivable extent). That’s what it means. It means the cost of doing business has increased and you want to drag your heels kicking and screaming or at least make the associates fear for their job security as a price for receiving any sort of compensation bump.
Yes, that’s pretty much what it means.
When firms have come up below the Cravath scale, I’ve been quick to point out that it’s all about maintaining expectations. Some folks choose smaller firms knowing that they will stay below Biglaw leader salary, but will enjoy a commensurate boost in quality of life — working overall fewer hours — or in career-building responsibility — getting the reins on matters faster than behemoth firms tend to hand them over. But firms have to stay on pace with those expectations. Seyfarth was below market already, but Cravath and its followers have exacerbated that gap. Seyfarth needs to match accordingly to maintain the relationship with associates.
The mood at Seyfarth is… they aren’t doing that.
If your firm matches — or you have some strong thoughts on how they haven’t — please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches Cravath”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
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Earlier: One Firm Decides To Pump The Brakes On This Whole ‘Raise’ Thing
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.
