We have a dinner to attend, so we’re stepping away from the computer for a few hours.
There has been quite a bit of bonus news today, including announcements from Cravath and Cadwalader. And it’s possible that more news might emerge tonight (although we think it’s unlikely, given that it’s after the close of business on the East Coast).
But if any interesting bonus news happens to come in while we’re gone, please mention it in the comments to this post (and provide a link to your source, if any). We will investigate when we return.
And feel free to offer any other bonus-related rumors or rants. Thanks!
Cadwalader
Consider Cadwalder CONFIRMED. We just got off the phone with Claudia Freeman, director of communications for CWT, who verified the accuracy and authenticity of the memo that we emailed to her.
In addition, in case you doubt our Cravath coverage — as well as that of the WSJ Law Blog, which reported the news shortly after we did — then we have some more proof for you.
Check out a scanned version of the original Cravath memo, after the jump.
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: More on Cravath and Cadwalader”
As predicted, Cravath announced its bonus structure today. They’re paying the same bonuses as they did last year. In other words, they’re matching this year’s Milbank bonuses — except for the most senior classes, whom they’re paying $5,000 less. C’mon, Cravath partners, can’t you cough up another $5K for your most senior drones?
Here are the numbers, from a source within Cravath:
2006 — $30,000 (pro-rated)
2005 — $35,000
2004 — $40,000
2003 — $45,000
2002 — $50,000
2001 — $55,000
2000 — $60,000
1999 — $60,000
Update (4:30 PM): The WSJ Law Blog has also reported on Cravath’s 2006 bonuses. The firm declined comment.
In addition, rumor has it that Cadwalader has announced and matched Milbank.
Update (5:07 PM): Cadwalader is CONFIRMED. Details here.
We reprint the purported verified CWT bonus memo, as well as the Cravath bonus memo, after the jump.
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Cravath Announced; Cadwalader Rumored”
- Baker Botts, Biglaw, Cadwalader, Davis Polk, Dorsey & Whitney, Federal Government, HP, Irell & Manella, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Milberg Weiss, Money, Musical Chairs, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Pillsbury Winthrop, S.D.N.Y., Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Attorneys Offices, White-Collar Crime
Musical Chairs: 10.05.06
By David LatOodles of juicy moves today, especially out of and into the federal government. As the leaves change, so do the lawyers.
Government to Private Sector:
* Federal prosecutor John Hueston, a leader of the team that prosecuted Enron execs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, is heading for the greener pastures of Irell & Manella.
All around the country, AUSAs with white-collar criminal experience are leaving U.S. Attorney’s Offices — including our former workplace — for the more lucrative precincts of private practice. The trend is especially pronounced in the legendary Southern District of New York, as noted by Anna Schneider-Mayerson.
Private Sector to Government:
* Corporate and securities lawyer Michael Halloran, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop, has been appointed to serve as deputy chief of staff and counselor to Christopher Cox, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lateral Moves:
* Broker-dealer compliance specialist Steven Lofchie, to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, from Davis Polk & Wardwell. (In this day and age, compliance is a hot area. We’re guessing Lofchie got offered a nice deal.)
* Tax lawyer John Narducci, to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, from White & Case.
* IP lawyer Robert Wasnofski Jr., to Dorsey & Whitney, from Baker Botts.
* M&A lawyer Sandy Feldman, to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, from Torys.
Retirements:
* Plaintiffs’ lawyer Alan Schulman, of Bernstein, Litowitz — and formerly of the indicted Milberg Weiss — is retiring at the end of the year.
Not Going Anywhere — Yet:
* Apple CEO Steve Jobs and HP CEO Mark Hurd are sticking around — despite the problems that their companies face.
NY Practice Leader Leaves One Elite NY Firm for Another [NYLawyer.com]
More NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
Milberg Weiss: Merger Talks Break Down; An Alum Retires [WSJ Law Blog]
Enron Prosecutor John Hueston to Join Irell & Manella [WSJ Law Blog]
The Gang That Shot Straight Is Disbanding, For a Profit [New York Observer]
- Cadwalader, Contests, Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Harvard Law School, Holland & Knight, Marna Tucker, Reader Polls, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: August 2006 Couple of the Month
By David LatFear not, dear readers. We will be issuing a Legal Eagle Wedding Watch for this past weekend — it will just be a little late. Like you, we’re also recovering from the Labor Day holiday weekend…
In the meantime, we’re going to introduce a participatory element to Legal Eagle Wedding Watch. A number of you have complained about our scoring. Some think we’re too harsh, while others accuse us of “grade inflation.” Rating couples in categories like their career achivements and looks is obviously a subjective business.
So now we’ll turn over the proceedings to you, and let the voice of democracy be heard. We’d like to crown a Legal Eagle Wedding Watch “Couple of the Month” for August 2006 — but we need your help.
We’re taking the winning couples from each week in August — plus the winning couple from the last week in July, ’cause we don’t want them to feel left out — and pitting them against each other in an ATL reader poll. Here it is (competitors listed alphabetically by bride’s last name):
Don’t remember these couples? To refresh your recollection, Above the Law’s prior write-ups of each couple — which include their complete scores, plus a link to their original New York Times wedding announcement — appear after the jump.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: August 2006 Couple of the Month”
- Akin Gump, Cadwalader, David Brooks, Hotties, Mary Tobler, Max Minzner, New York Times, Paul Weiss, S.D.N.Y., State Judges, Weddings, Yale Law School
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: July 30, 2006
By David LatIf you’re like us, you read the New York Times wedding announcements religiously every week. It’s one of the most addictive forms of résumé porn. Consider the trenchant analysis of David Brooks:
The wedding page is a weekly obsession for thousands of Times readers and aspiring Victor Hugos. Unabashedly elitist, secretive (believe me, I’ve tried to get information out of the page’s editors), and therefore totally honest, the “mergers and acquisitions page” — as many of its devotees call it — has always provided an accurate look at an important chunk of the American ruling class. And over the years it has reflected the transformation of the American establishment….
[As the WASP elite has declined,] a new elite has coalesced, and it is found — as much as anywhere — on the wedding page of the New York Times. Whereas the old establishment was based on birth and breeding, this new establishment rests on education and career.
And what educations! What careers! Reading the Times wedding page and secretly comparing yourself to all the featured brides and grooms is a recipe for depression.
Well, we’re here to help. Each week we’ll read the Times wedding page, so you don’t have to. We’ll pick out selected marriages involving members of the legal profession and offer colorful commentary on them. Think of it as like the Veiled Conceit blog, but centered on lawyers.
We’ll score each couple in three to four categories: (1) their résumés; (2) their families; (3) couple balance (how well-matched they are); and (4) beauty (but only if there’s a picture of the happy couple). We’ll average these scores to produce an overall score. The couple with the highest overall score is the winner for that week!
The inaugural installment appears after the jump.
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The US associate openings we have in law firms are in the usual areas of M&A, cap markets, FCPA / white collar litigation, finance, and project finance. The most urgent of our top tier (top 15 US or magic circle) law firm openings in Asia (among many other firm openings that we have in Asia) are as follows:
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