Bryan Cave

Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Bryan Cave(s) to the Salary Cut Phenomenon

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Bryan Cave logo.jpgAt least the salary cutting craze is staying localized in the lower echelons of the Vault 100. But that probably doesn’t mean very much to associates at Bryan Cave. Today, the firm announced that it was cutting salaries. The cuts were announced via firm wide email from firm chairman, Don Lents:

Annual compensation levels for existing associates will be reduced by 10% across the board (but where applicable to not less than the newly established entry-level compensation). Annual compensation levels for certain other lawyers (e.g., certain staff lawyers) will also be reduced. Information regarding your new annual salary will be available under the Comp Adjustments tab in the “My HR Information” section of eCave by 12:00 noon EDT today. The reductions will become effective in all of our U.S. offices other than those located in the State of Missouri on July 1, 2009. Due to legal notification requirements in Missouri, the reductions will become effective in our Missouri offices on July 13, 2009. In the U.K., a one month consultation period will commence immediately with a view to implementing the proposed 10% reduction to compensation with effect from July 13, 2009.

Bryan Cave is ranked #77 in your Vault Guide. But at #76, Chadbourne & Parke has already cut salaries. At #78, Thacher Proffitt & Wood no longer exists. So at some level Bryan Cave is keeping up with the competition.
The new base salaries for all offices after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: Bryan Cave’s Official Statement

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Bryan Cave logo.jpgEarlier today, we reported that Bryan Cave laid off 58 attorneys.

The firm just released a statement with the official numbers. In addition to the 58 attorneys, 76 staffers were also let go today. The numbers account for 5% of the firm’s attorneys and 6% of the firm’s support staff:

We have regretfully now concluded that we must reduce our attorney and staff ranks, by 58 attorneys and 76 staff. These reductions represent about 5% of our attorneys and 6% of our staff. The attorneys and staff affected have been advised of this decision.

Bryan Cave also took this opportunity to inform the survivors that salaries will be frozen for all of 2009. Previously, the firm indicated that raises would be made in April, 2009.

Read the full statement from firm Chairman Don Lents after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: 58 Bryan Cave Attorneys Let Go

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Bryan Cave logo.jpgIt wasn’t that long ago that Bryan Cave acquired Powell Goldstein, aggressively expanding during the recession.

But then came news of a salary deferral. At the time, a Bryan Cave tipster said:

I hope this actually means no layoffs, though, as many junior associates have been really hurting for work. I also hope it means they won’t have to be too stingy with raises when the deferral period ends, since Bryan Cave is not lockstep with the Simpson 160k scale after the first couple years.

Well, today layoffs have come to Bryan Cave. The news first started leaking out on Tuesday. As we understand it, Bryan Cave is letting people go today. Our sources report that 58 attorneys have been laid off.

Some additional details after the jump.

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Updated Salary Freeze Round-up: Even More Firms on Ice

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pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgAs we noted in yesterday’s Morning Docket, even the New York Times has taken note of the salary freeze trend at law firms. The Times reached out to Above The Law’s own David Lat for the story:

Although many associates are angry about the freezes, others are relieved, said David Lat, founding editor of AboveTheLaw.com, a blog about law firms and the profession.

“There is this sense that firms didn’t act prudently during the boom and now they are getting religion, and that it’s better late than never,” Mr. Lat said. “Many associates we have spoken to think the freeze probably saved jobs.”

At the beginning of the month, we did a round-up of firms that have frozen 2009 salary rates at 2008 levels. That list was 16 firms long. Since then, quite a few other firms have announced freezes. Due to frequent requests, we’re updating the round-up list since the number of firms with freezes (that we know of) has more than doubled, to 33 32. Check out the as-comprehensive-as-we-can-make-it list, after the jump.

Recently announced salary freezes include “solid ice freezes” at Blank Rome and Townsend and Townsend and Crew; and “Slurpee freezes” at Bingham McCutchen, Fish & Richardson, and Texan firm Andrews Kurth.

Memorandums, as well as a new list of all firms with “solid ice” and “Slurpee” freezes, after the jump.

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ATL Salary Freeze Round-up: The Firms on Ice

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pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgThe new year is shaping up to be a cold one. As we noted in our 2008 Year in Review series, one of the biggest stories heading into 2009 has been that of the salary freeze. Rather than instituting lock-step raises for associates entering a new class year, a number of firms have informed associates that their salaries will remain at 2008 levels.

There have been two types of freezes: the “Solid Ice freeze”–with salaries frozen through all of 2009–and the “Slurpee freeze”–where firms are sticking with 2008 levels for now, but promise to revisit the decision later in the year.

Many an ATL reader has requested a round-up, and we aim to please. So find your pleasure, after the jump. Some of the firms have been reported on before, and some are new.

If you know of other frozen firms, send us an e-mail at tips@abovethelaw.com with the subject, “Salary Freeze: FIRM NAME.” Also, if your firm has raised salaries as expected, feel free to send us the news, with the subject “Salary Raise: FIRM NAME.” While freezes are news, raises as expected aren’t, so we will not be covering firm by firm, but we may do a round-up.

Find the list of the sixteen firms that have frozen, after the jump.

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Bryan Cave Delays Associate Pay Raise By Three Months

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financial crisis legal salaries.JPGWhen we last saw Bryan Cave, the firm was busy acquiring Powell Goldstein, and saying great things about their long-term future and financial health.

Having just added so many new attorneys, the message ATL received this morning was surprising.

Two pieces of news for Bryan Cave associates today: they’re deferring salary increases by three months and eliminating the associate shared fee program (where associates got bonuses for bringing in new clients)….

The spin on the deferrals is that they’re a better option than layoffs and less drastic than an all-out salary freeze.

Shortly after this first report, we received the full firm-wide email announcing the changes:

In light of the continuing volatility in the economy and the uncertainties in the marketplace as we move into 2009, we believe it is now prudent to implement the following actions with respect to our compensation programs:

* Deferral of Consideration of Increases for Counsel and Associates. Consideration of increases for counsel and associates will be deferred in all offices. For example, for those cities where increases were previously effective January 1, the date for 2009 will be April 1. Offices with different compensation consideration dates will

Occasionally, commenters in our layoffs posts suggest that they would be willing to give up some of their salary in exchange for keeping their jobs. So … here’s a chance to do just that, at least for a period of time.

But most Bryan Cave associates will be pissed. Because you know what would have been even more “less drastic” than an all-out salary freeze? Not acquiring the debts and liabilities of Powell Goldstein.

More tipster reaction and the full Bryan Cave memo after the jump.

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Bryan Cave & Powell Goldstein ‘Officially’ Announce Merger
(Or Acquisition Or … Something)

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Bryan Cave LLP logo AboveTheLaw Above the Law blog.jpgThe spin that Powell Goldstein chairman James McAlpin always wanted was finally released in today’s Fulton County Daily Report (subscription). The official announcement blurs the lines between a “merger” between Bryan Cave and PoGo and an acquisition of PoGo by Bryan Cave, but the report is largely positive:

“This is a transformational event for us,” said Powell Goldstein’s chairman, James J. McAlpin Jr. “It propels us into a different league.”

PoGo gives up its name in the deal and cedes leadership to the St. Louis firm. (The firm will be Bryan Cave-Powell Goldstein for two years in Atlanta and simply Bryan Cave elsewhere.) In return, PoGo’s lawyers gain an international and national platform that expands the depth and breadth of their practice groups–increasing the firm’s resources in areas such as intellectual property and broadening its core areas of banking, finance, real estate and litigation.

Getting swallowed up by a much larger firm and losing a 100-year old name certainly has all the bells and whistles of an acquisition, but partners on both sides characterize the deal as a “combination.”

Some Bryan Cave partners, like their partners-to-be from PoGo, prefer to characterize the deal as a combination, not an acquisition–even though their firm will absorb the smaller one.

“It’s a combination, not a slash-and-burn acquisition,” said Kenneth L. Henderson, the Bryan Cave partner who’s overseeing the integration. Henderson was a member of the 170-lawyer New York firm Robinson Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn & Berman that Bryan Cave acquired six years ago in its last major acquisition.

Whatever it’s called, PoGo associates really only care about their future job security. More on that after the jump.

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(Or Acquisition Or … Something)”

Update: Powell Goldstein’s Internal Response to Bryan Cave Acquisition

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Powell Goldstein LLP Powell Goldstein Frazer Murphy.jpgWe reported earlier that Powell Goldstein is set to be acquired by Bryan Cave. We’ve been told to expect an official announcement from Bryan Cave on Monday.

PoGo has still not directly responded to ATL about the rumors that a number of associates, staff, and partners could be on their way out of the door. But we understand that they have sent around an internal email addressing some concerns in light of the merger information. A tipster tells us that the email offered the following clarifications:

1) Everyone has a job. This is a specific term of the deal.

2) BC wants to expand the Atlanta office. …

3) We have no problems at all with our finances. Credit is strong, bank relationships are strong, etc.

We have not gotten our hands on the merger agreement between PoGo and Bryan Cave. But the “promise” that every job is secured is encouraging. The email does not speak to our previous reporting that PoGo’s banks threatened to pull their credit line if a merger was not reached. But regardless of what could have happened, the firm’s contention that they are in a strong financial position is certainly worth noting.

The Chairman’s conference call after the jump.

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Bryan Cave to Acquire Powell Goldstein

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Powell Goldstein LLP Powell Goldstein Frazer Murphy.jpgHeller Ehrman and Thelen dissolved after big time mergers fell through. While our readers have been speculating on the next capitulation to the financial crisis, it seems that Powell Goldstein has narrowly avoided a full scale dissolution thanks to Bryan Cave. A tipster reports:

Powell Goldstein, which has been an prominent firm in Atlanta since 1909, will no longer exist next week. PoGo partners voted last week to approve an acquisition by Bryan Cave, and BC will announce the acquisition on Monday.

Bryan Cave did not return multiple calls requesting comment on the story. Meanwhile, a PoGo spokesperson said “I have nothing to report” when asked about the acquisition.

As we understand it, the union between Bryan Cave and PoGo is not a “merger” so much as it is a buy-out. Additional tipsters have reported that nobody from PoGo — not staff, not associates, not even partners — is safe. Equity partners could be let go early next week.

Putting together the rumors after the jump.

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Nationwide No Offer Watch: DLA and Bryan Cave

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DLA Piper logo Above the Law blog.jpg
We continue our series on no offers with new information from DLA and Bryan Cave.
First the good news. The reports on DLA Piper no offers seem to be exaggerated. We had heard that as many as 1/3rd of the of the DLA summer calls had been no offered. But DLA spokesperson Jason Costa assures us that the final number of offers will be “significantly above” 2/3rds of the class.
Costa reports that DLA’s summer associate review is still ongoing. Therefore there are DLA summers who will receive offers from the firm, but have not yet been contacted.
But we’re not living in the 90s and a 100% offer rate is probably a little too much to hope for. Costa emphasized that an “overwhelming majority” of summers will receive offers.
Costa also said that he was not aware of any summers that had been “wait-listed,” or received offers yet told to continue looking for other employment.
Bryan Cave LLP logo AboveTheLaw Above the Law blog.jpgThe people at Bryan Cave also emphasized the strength of their summer class, while admitting that not every summer associate would be receiving an offer.
After the jump, firms try to locate the magic number.

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Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 71-80 (2009)

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comparing.jpgThe Vault 100 march continues! In this series of open threads, we list the firms, and you all discuss their upsides and downsides. We’ll be wrapping this puppy up this week.
Here are the next ten (with prestige scores in parentheses):

71. Nixon Peabody LLP (5.218)
72. Hunton & Williams LLP (5.208)
73. Perkins Coie LLP (5.119)
74. Reed Smith LLP (5.057)
75. Patton Boggs LLP (5.050)
76. Chadbourne & Parke LLP (4.997)
77. Bryan Cave LLP (4.969)
78. Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP (4.967)
79. Howrey LLP (4.926)
80. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (4.910)

Usually, we have fun with the “notable perks” chosen by Vault. But as we move down the list, the perks are becoming distinctly less notable — e.g., gym membership discounts, free parking, and “good views.” Oh well.
You know what to do! Have at it in the comments.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads – 2009

Lawyers of the Day: An Embarrassment of Riches

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Or a richness of embarrassment. Today we’re going to name not one, but seven Lawyers of the Day.
Our first Lawyer of the Day is Mark Mersel (formerly of Morrison & Foerster, now at Bryan Cave). In case you missed the shout-out in Morning Docket, here’s a bit more, from the WSJ Law Blog:

It’s a litigator’s worst dream — costing your client serious money by missing a filing deadline.

That nightmare was a reality for MoFo, which appears to have cost its client Toshiba America $1 million when it was one-minute late — 1 minute! — in filing a motion for attorneys fees.

For the exciting details — which involve a courier zooming through traffic on a motorcycle, and an unfortunately timed train — read the full post.
The other six Lawyers of the Day are no strangers to these pages. Let’s call them the Qualcomm Six. From the Recorder:

Qualcomm Qualcom Above the Law blog.jpgSix attorneys in the Qualcomm Inc. discovery fiasco were sanctioned Monday for “monumental” discovery violations and referred to the State Bar of California for possible discipline.

Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder attorneys James Batchelder, Adam Bier, Kevin Leung, Christian Mammen and Lee Patch, and Heller Ehrman’s Stanley Young were sanctioned and harshly criticized by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major in a 42-page order. The ruling follows a patent infringement trial Qualcomm had brought against Broadcom Corp.

The attorneys “assisted Qualcomm in committing this incredible discovery violation by intentionally hiding or recklessly ignoring relevant documents, ignoring or rejecting numerous warning signs that Qualcomm’s document search was inadequate, and blindly accepting Qualcomm’s unsupported assurances that its document search was adequate,” Major wrote.

Document production sucks — or, to put it more nicely, it’s a thankless task. It’s time-intensive, mind-numbingly boring, and a general pain in the a**. If you do it right, you’re just doing your job; but if you screw it up, consider yourself screwed. Monumentally.
Six Lawyers in Qualcomm Case Sanctioned for ‘Monumental’ Discovery Violations [The Recorder via Law.com]
Judge rebukes Qualcomm, its attorneys [San Diego Union-Tribune via Blogonaut]
A Litigator’s Nightmare: Late Filing Costs Client $1 Million [WSJ Law Blog]