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
-
Associate Salaries, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Time For That Raise?
We received 1,054 responses to Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on when raises happen at your firms. As expected, the overwhelming majority of you — almost 80% — said that your firms raise salaries in January. But the rest of you are probably in for a wait. More than half of the associates who […] -
Associate Salaries, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Time For A Raise?
Over the weekend, millions of Americans reset their clocks to mark the end of Daylight Saving Time. And millions of other Americans forgot to change their clocks, and showed up to brunch an hour early. But sometimes, early is a good thing. In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we investigate another time of change: […] 
SponsoredEarly Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.-
Job Survey, Politics, Pro Bono
Associate Life Survey: Poll Positions
We received 836 responses to Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on whether you’ll be volunteering your services on Election Day, and the results are pretty remarkable. Over 40% of practicing attorneys who took the survey said that they would be helping out: * 23% will be working as election monitors. * 11% […]
-
Election Law, Job Survey, Politics, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Associate Life Survey: Joining The World's Largest Law Firm?
Earlier this month, an ATL / Lateral Link survey found that 86% of you were talking about politics in the workplace. And 18% of you reported that a fellow associate had tried to convince you to vote for their favorite candidate. But are politics just seeping into your workplace, or will you be taking your […] -
Holidays and Seasons, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: That Was A Real Holiday?
In last Wednesday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we asked you whether you billed over Columbus Day Weekend this year. We received 1,175 responses, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that 26% of you had a pleasant three-day weekend. Associates in Boston were most likely to enjoy a discovery-free Columbus Day, with offices at Bingham, […] -
Holidays and Seasons, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Discovery Over Columbus Day Weekend?
So far this year, we’ve found that an awful lot of ATL readers get in the billable spirit over the holidays. Back in January and February, we learned that about a quarter of you worked on Christmas, almost a third of you worked over New Year’s, and more than half of you worked on Martin […] -
Barack Obama, Job Survey, John McCain, Politics
Associate Life Survey: The Law Vote
We received just over 1,200 responses to last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on politics in the workplace, and two things immediately became apparent. First, there aren’t that many good political lolcats, so we’ve decided to make do with an lolronpaul (h/t punditkitchen). Second, now that the general election is in full swing, political […] -
pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx:Stuck in the Middle with You
[Ed Note: Do you have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com] Dear ATL — I work for two partners at my firm – a senior one and a junior one. The senior partner routinely assigns me less urgent work, but he expects his projects to be handled immediately. The junior partner […] 
SponsoredIs The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…-
Billable Hours, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Gettin' Busy, Or Completely Screwed?
Back in December, one of our ATL / Lateral Link surveys found that about 18% of associates were afraid they wouldn’t make their hours. By June, that number had risen to 28%. In today’s survey, we’ll see if anything has changed now that a horde of new associates have started and a horde of financial […] -
Biglaw, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Welcome To The Firm! Or Not.
We have some bad news for this year’s incoming associates. Based on last Wednesday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, attorneys at your new firm like you even less than they liked summer associates. We received 765 responses, and the number of practicing attorneys who said “First-year associates, hate ’em” beat the number of practicing attorneys […] -
Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Too Many New Faces?
In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we turn our attention to first-year associates. Last month, we reported that a lot of practicing attorneys don’t really like summer associates: The number of practicing attorneys who said “Summer associates, hate ’em” narrowly beat the number of practicing attorneys who said “Summer associates, love ’em,” by a […] -
Job Searches, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Looking For A New Job?
We received 964 responses to our ATL / Lateral Link survey on whether you’re looking for work, and one thing is pretty clear: if you’re a 2L right now, there’s a pretty good chance that the associates you meet in your callbacks don’t actually want to be there. A whopping 45% of respondents who had […] -
Job Survey, Wall Street
Associate Life Survey: Scarier Than A Slumping Bear?
Back in March, we found that 27% of ATL readers — and a third of ATL readers in New York — thought the Bear Stearns collapse would hurt their careers. With Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy this morning, and Merrill Lynch selling itself to Bank of America, after “a marathon series of meetings at Wachtell, […]
Sponsored
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
-
New York Times, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.31: Enchan-Tad
After two weeks of political chatter over John McCain’s vice-presidential pick, one burning question remains: Will Bristol Palin’s wedding announcement run in the New York Times? If it does, dear readers, it may mark the first time a self-described “f–kin’ redneck” appears in that space. Be assured that LEWW, after stretching to find a legal […] -
Job Searches, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Looking?
Now that the fall recruiting season is underway,OCI tips, horror stories, and heartbreaks are getting just a wee bit of attention. But while our law student readers are prepping for their interviews, what are the associates up to? In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we ponder whether the associates you meet in your callbacks […] -
Holidays and Seasons, Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Laboring Over The Holiday Weekend?
Back in January and February, we asked you whether you worked on Christmas or New Year’s, or Martin Luther King’s Birthday. We learned that about a quarter of you worked on Christmas, almost a third of you worked over New Year’s, and more than half of you worked on Martin Luther King’s Birthday. This summer, […] -
Job Survey, Summer Associates
Associate Life Survey: Summer Love... Or Lack Thereof
We have some bad news for this year’s summer associates. Based on Monday’s survey, brought to you by ATL and Lateral Link, about one in four attorneys at your firm didn’t like you. The number of practicing attorneys who said “Summer associates, hate ’em” narrowly beat the number of practicing attorneys who said “Summer associates, […] -
Job Survey, Summer Associates
Associate Life Survey: Darn Kids (and Kittens)
Over the last several weeks, we’ve run quite a few ATL / Lateral Link surveys about summer associate issues like assignments, offers, and, of course, lunch. But no matter what the survey topic, two debates have consistently emerged in the comments: 1) Are summer associates an appropriate use of firm resources and associate time? 2) […] -
Job Survey
Associate Life Survey: Dreading That Review?
We received about 600 responses to this week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on associate reviews, and there were some interesting twists. First, while most firms, 60%, only conduct reviews once a year, a growing number, 35%, are providing six-month reviews as well. A handful of firms split the difference, conducting six-month reviews for laterals […] -
Job Survey, Layoffs
Associate Life Survey: Reviewing the Reviews
One of the more contentious issues in the legal profession this year is whether firms are conducting “stealth” layoffs, or simply culling non-performing associates after bad reviews. Even among firms doling out these bad reviews, many say that performance standards have gotten tougher during the down market. Other firms, however, claim that their firms’ standards […]
