* Doo-doo diligence? Proskauer Rose and Holland & Knight have both been hit with legal malpractice suits. [Miami Herald via ABA Journal]
* Sometimes ignoring something does make it better. [Ars Technica]
* From the inane adventures in social networking file: Poll on whether Obama should be killed leads to Facebook suspension and Secret Service investigation. [CNN]
* No one wants to prosecute this torture porn case. [Politico]
* The SCOTUS justices will be gazing out toward the Mojave desert this week. [Washington Post]
* An argument for reading the comments section at Above The Law. Cox Smith attorneys are three times as fun as Ballard Spahr’s. [Above The Law comments]
Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr has revamped its website. It’s clean, it’s fresh, and it has lots of stock photos and little comment pop-ups. One ATL reader urged us to take a closer look:
You guys have to check out the new Ballard Spahr website, it is hysterical. Click on any attorney, there are two pictures, face and body. It looks like a model portfolio or comp card for actors.
We did some clicking in Ballard Spahr’s “People” section, and we can confirm there’s some amusement value to the head shots paired with full body shots.
While we perused, we wondered whether it’s reasonable to ask associates, special counsel, and partners to go beyond the head shot. Some looked happier about it than others. Check out some of our favorite Ballard body shots and take our poll, after the jump.
- Ballard Spahr, Biglaw, Canceled Summer Programs - 2010, Duke Law School, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Summer Associates, Thompson Hine, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Ballard Spahr And Thompson Hine Cancel Their 2010 Summer Programs (Update: Squire Sanders, Too)
By Elie MystalJust last week, Ballard Spahr was sending around inspirational messages to its associates. Today, the firm has decided to cancel its 2010 Summer Program.
Thompson Hine has also decided to cancel its 2010 Summer Program. If nothing else the move should give Rogue Associate an opportunity to comment.
It’s one thing to cancel your entire summer program. But what is surprising about Ballard Spahr and Thompson Hine is that the firms did not make any formal, official announcement about the decision. Instead, students learned the information from their respective law school recruiting offices.
Update (1:04): Now Squire Sanders is also canceling its 2010 Summer Program. More details after the jump.
Here’s the Ballard Spahr “announcement” (via Penn Law School):
Dear Students,
As we near the close of bidding, we wanted to provide you with an update on schedule changes that we received so far today.
Akin Gump went from 40 interview slots in NYC and 40 interview slots in DC to 20 interview slots in NYC and 20 interview slots in DC.
Paul Weiss went from 80 interview slots to 60 interview slots.
Ballard Spahr will not have a 2010 summer program and, as such, has canceled on campus interviews.
All of this information is updated in Symplicity. Please note that we will continue to provide you with updates as is feasible. However, it may not be possible for us to email you with all changes so please be sure to check Symplicity before bidding closes tomorrow, July 21st at 11:59 p.m.
After the jump, we see that Duke students were the first to learn about the Thompson Hine cancellation.
Here at Above the Law, we appreciate and encourage openness from law firms. Law firms don’t have to make quarterly reports to the SEC. But partners, associates, staff, and prospective law students should have as much information as possible about the firms they work for.
So we honestly applaud Arthur Makadon, chairman of Ballard Spahr. He decided to communicate directly with his associates and partners. In the middle of a recession, Mr. Makadon seems to understand the importance of having open communication. We post the following not to make fun of Ballard Spahr, but to encourage other firms to do the same. Here is how Makadon starts off his firm-wide message:
With the year half over, and with significant changes taking place at Ballard, at other law firms and businesses, and, indeed, at virtually every enterprise throughout the country, you understandably must wonder how we are doing. And so I want to take the opportunity in this quarterly message to provide some perspective on where we stand in 2009 and where we expect to be six months from now, two years from now, and a decade from now. Not that any of us wants to skip ahead to this winter; at least here in the East, after sloshing through an unusually rainy spring and enduring a gray and rainy June, we are still waiting to see some consistent sunshine and feel the warmth (and in my case humidity) of summer.
This email is going to be great. More from it, after the jump.
Continue reading “A Message of Inspiration From Ballard Spahr”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a former Ballard Spahr attorney has been charged for allegedly smuggling drugs into a jail:
A Philadelphia lawyer was arrested Friday night and charged with trying to take heroin into the Delaware County jail.
Randall J. Sommovilla, 61, of the 900 block of South 11th Street, was charged with possession of contraband and drugs. He was released after posting bail.
Really, it’s surprising that there aren’t more stories like this as laid off lawyers are unable to find new jobs at the salary they are accustomed to.
But maybe Sommovilla’s situation isn’t about his job, it’s about a girl? More details after the jump.
Continue reading “Former Ballard Spahr Attorney Becomes Alleged Drug Mule”
More evidence of deflation in the legal market comes from Philadelphia. Last week, Ballard Spahr decided to cut associate salaries. Tipsters report that the average cut is 14%, but each individual salary cut is based on class year and other factors. According to one source:
Ballard Spahr cut associate salaries firmwide between approximately $19,000 and $30,000 per year (senior associates being cut more both on a percentage basis and actual dollar basis than junior associates) effective June 16.
The firm would not confirm or deny these reports. Instead a firm spokesperson told Above the Law:
The firm considers compensation a personnel issue. And corporate policy is not to discuss personnel issues with the press.
More details, and an update, after the jump.
Continue reading “Salary Cut Watch: Ballard Spahr Makes Personal Decision About Personnel”
Above the Law has been able to confirm that Ballard Spahr has officially pushed back start dates for its incoming first year associates. A tipster summarizes the details:
On Friday Ballard Spahr told its incoming class that it is delaying start dates until September 2010. There will be a $45,000 stipend offered…. The firm claims it will try to help the incoming associates find these jobs.
We understand that the $45K is in addition to the standard $5K bar stipend the firm traditionally offers.
The firm will not cover health care directly, but there will be a $5,500 Health Benefit Stipend as well.
Getting the money is contingent upon finding a job, but the firm is not limiting the work to public interest legal work. Incoming first years are encouraged to find employment at host of places, doing legal or non-legal work in certain circumstances.
Somebody get Habitat for Humanity on the phone.
In other news, the firm is also shortening the length of its summer program to seven weeks.
This news might be depressing to some law students that have already signed up for Ballard Spahr, but not the ones who were choosing between Ballard and Wolf Block.
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of start dates
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