Justin Bernold
Justin is the founder of Firm Prospects LLC, a boutique legal search and placement firm.
Here on Above The Law, Justin was on the masthead as "Surveys Guru" from late 2007 to early 2009.
Posts by Justin Bernold
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Job Survey, Layoffs
Associate Life Survey: What's Your Strategy?
We received over 1,400 responses to our ATL / Lateral Link survey on layoffs, and last week we reported on associate fears and law firm strategies. Today, we’ll talk about what attorneys are actually doing to protect themselves against, or cope with, a layoff. Surprisingly, about 40% of respondents said that they weren’t doing a […] -
Job Survey, Layoffs
Associate Life Survey: Fear, Firings and Firm Support
We received over 1,400 responses to last Wednesday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on layoffs, which is slightly more than the number of attorneys actually laid off in last week’s Valentine’s Day Massacre. Even so, roughly 70% of the respondents who hadn’t already been laid off said that they were at least a little bit […] - Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Legal document automation is no longer only for the exclusive few. -
Billable Hours, Job Survey, Pro Bono
Associate Life Survey: What Did You Really Bill?
We received about 1500 responses to last month’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on how much of your billable work in 2008 was really for “client billable” time, as opposed to pro bono or administrative matters. Earlier in January, we had noted that more than a quarter of you couldn’t bill 1800 hours last year, […]
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Job Survey, Perks / Fringe Benefits, Romance and Dating, Sex
Associate Life Survey: Socially Challenged?
Last January, we did an ATL / Lateral Link survey on how often you cancelled your social plans because of work. Notably, we found that “[a]round forty percent of associates missed dates,” usually because a partner asked them to finish something at the last minute. But now that the economy has collapsed slowed down, some […] -
Billable Hours, Job Survey, Pro Bono
Associate Life Survey: Back to Billing
President Obama made a pretty interesting statement in yesterday’s inaugural address: Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But based on last week’s […] -
Billable Hours, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Time is on your side . . . or not.
We received over 2,200 responses to Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, which asked you how many hours you billed last year. In fact, we received more responses than most of you billed hours. Although today’s Am Law Litigation Daily points out that litigation in federal courts actually rose by 9 percent last year, that […] -
Billable Hours, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: So, about your hours . . .
Back in November, we asked you to predict what your hours would look like for 2008, and we reported some worrisome results: This year, the mighty have fallen, and so have their hours. While roughly 56% of associates still expect to hit at least 2000 hours in 2008, the number reaching 2200 is expected to […] -
2008 Year in Review, Comment of the Day, Reader Polls
Associate Life Survey: 2008 Commenter of the Year
In an ATL / Lateral Link survey posted on New Year’s Eve, we announced your nominees for the 2008 ATL Commenter of the Year. Almost 1,800 of you have voted since, and several of the nominees posted their thoughts in comments to the survey post. Nominee Jack Bauer wrote in: It’s good to know that […] - Sponsored
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
Please help us benchmark your firm against your peers through this (always) brief and anonymous survey and enter for a chance to win a $250… -
2008 Year in Review, Comment of the Day, Reader Polls
Associate Life Survey: Commenter of the Year (2008)
As we savor the final hours of 2008, it’s time to look back at some of our favorite people this year: the commenters. In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, it’s time for you to pick the 2008 ATL Commenter of the Year. Your nominees for Commenter of the Year, and select comments explaining why, […] -
Barack Obama, Dreier, Eliot Spitzer, Elizabeth Halverson, Reader Polls, Rod Blagojevich
Associate Life Survey: Lawyer of the Year
In Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we asked you to cast your vote for the 2008 ATL Lawyer of the Year. More than three thousand ballots were cast, but there can be only one Lawyer of the Year. Starting at the bottom, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich may not have hit the very lowest point […] -
Comment of the Day, Job Survey, Lawyer of the Day, Reader Polls
Associate Life Survey: Lawyer and Commenter Of The Year
Now that we’re nearing the end of the year, it’s a good time to put things in perspective. While recent posts have focused on what Elie calls “the four hoursemen of the economic crisis” (layoffs, salary freezes, low bonuses, and dissolution), we should always remember that there’s crushing debt, too. ATL can also be a […] -
Job Survey, Layoffs
Associate Life Survey: Chop! Chop! The Economy's Slow.
We received 1,037 responses to last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on layoffs, which is up a bit from 800 this summer. As we feared, the number of reported layoffs is also up a bit from this summer: * Roughly 11% of associates reported public layoffs at their firms, up from about 4% […] -
Job Survey, Layoffs
Associate Life Survey: Soft Economy = Career Carnage?
In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, let’s focus on job security, and investigate just how hard the softening economy has been hitting the associates at your firm. As in layoffs. Last December, we found that roughly 10% of associates were afraid of losing their jobs, and another 12% were afraid for others but not […]
Sponsored
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Legal document automation is no longer only for the exclusive few.
Sponsored
Sponsored
How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
Findings from the "Future of Professionals Report," based on a survey of 1,200 professionals from North and South America and the UK.
Sponsored
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
Please help us benchmark your firm against your peers through this (always) brief and anonymous survey and enter for a chance to win a $250…
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Job Survey, Skaddenfreude
Associate Life Survey: Got Morale?
We received almost two thousand responses to last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on attorney morale. That’s way up from the survey we did in April. Your morale, not so much. Roughly 43% of practicing attorneys who responded to the survey are in poor spirits: * 24% said their morale was “bad”, up […] -
Holidays and Seasons, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Turkey With All The Billings?
In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we explore whether you actually had a happy Thanksgiving. Last year, ATL posted an open thread on Thanksgiving Horror Stories, and reported tales of busy litigators: I heard of opposing counsel on the East Coast that scheduled a deposition on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, knowing that the counsel […] -
Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Happy Thanksgiving?
On this, the day before Thanksgiving, our ATL / Lateral Link survey ponders just how many of you are actually giving thanks. Back in April, we reported that many (but not most) associates were in decent spirits: * 25.8% of respondents said their morale was “good.” * 11.5% said their morale was “great.” […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2008, Bonuses, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Slightly Smaller Bonuses?
We’ve received over a thousand responses to last Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on bonuses, and so far we’ve talked about when bonuses were and will (or won’t) be paid and how your billable hours look this year. Today, we get down to the hardest numbers of all: what do you think you’ll actually […] -
Gay, Gay Marriage
Connecticut Shows California How We Roll On The East Side
California may have let pesky voters take away the rights of gays and lesbians to have state marriages, but clearly Connecticut wants no part of “National Lampoon’s Mystic Vacation: Meet Mr. & Mr. Griswold.” Last month, we reported that the Connecticut high court upheld gay marriage. Today, a New Haven Superior Court judge ruled that […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 11.12.08
* Another take on the terrible legal job market. [BBLP/Lexis Hub] * Michael Hausfeld was dismissed from Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll via a note on his chair. Wasn’t this a Sex in the City episode? [Drug and Device Law]. * Obama is already doing his part to help IP lawyers. Great. Because those are […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2008, Bonuses, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Bonus Time
We’ve received over 900 responses so far to Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on bonuses, which is still open here. Although ATL had predicted that bonus announcements may come later this year, McDermott Will & Emery actually announced the “December Bonus Advance” portion of their bonus plan mere hours after our survey went live, […]