Our recent Career Center survey asked about compensation structure for salaries and bonuses at your firms.  The results reveal that reports of the death of lockstep compensation have been greatly exaggerated: a large majority of respondents — over 75% — say their firm still pays base salaries on a lockstep scale.  And despite the tough economy, over 96% of respondents expect a bonus this year.   

Check out the full survey results after the jump — and visit the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link — for more on which firm has announced an end-of-year salary freeze, the latest firm to join the hybrid-lockstep compensation bandwagon, and which firm is now rescinding offers to new associates.

Full survey results, after the jump.

With most associates just trying to avoid joining the growing ranks of unemployed attorneys, partnership prospects might seem like part of a distant and unfathomable future.  But in what might be a surprise to associates who have been laid off or suffered salary cuts, many law firms are making a healthy number of new partners. The National Law Journal reports that the overall number of partners nationwide in 2009 is actually higher than in 2008. 

Visit the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, for more on which firm has a five-year non-equity partner track, which firm does not require capital contributions from new partners, and which firm went from promoting 34 attorneys to partner in 2008 to promoting 0 in 2009. 

If you are a mid-level associate in Los Angeles and you really want the inside scoop on how to grab that brass ring, come to the Career Center Professional Development panel on November 17, hosted by Lateral Link and Proskauer Rose, for a discussion on long-term career planning, partnership prospects and in-house careers. Panelists include Morgan Chu of Irell & Manella, Mike Woronoff of Proskauer, and Vivian Yang, GC at Citysearch. Attendees will receive 1.25 CLE credit hours.  Click here to learn more or to register.

Lately, Big Law firms have been changing their salary structures more often than associates can keep up with. With an increasing number of firms abandoning lockstep compensation, associates have been left in the dark about what compensation levels actually are.

This week, our ATL / Lateral Link survey asks for your help to track the latest changes to starting salaries and the salary ranges for firms that have moved away from lock-step compensation. We’ll use the information to update the ATL Career Center and bring you the results next week.

If you have information about your firm that you want to share with other Career Center users, please email us at careercenter@abovethelaw.com.

The 2009 billable year hasn’t even ended at most firms yet, but October has been full of announcements from Big Law firms across the country about major changes to associate compensation.  Check out the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link , for the latest information from the legal markets and updates from users about who is paying what when.  In the last week, we have updated the firm snapshots for Schulte Roth & Zabel, Katten Muchin Rosenman, Morrison & Foerster, DLA Piper, Fenwick & West, Bingham McCutchen, Dorsey & Whitney, Foley & Lardner, and Nixon Peabody.  Below are some recent nuggets of golden and not-so-golden news about compensation from the Career Center’s firm snapshots:

• This firm announced that, in January 2010, it will move away from a lockstep compensation system to one that emphasizes merit-based factors as a more significant component of compensation decisions.  The firm says the combination of base pay and discretionary and productivity bonuses will keep overall compensation at or above current levels, but associates worry they may see significantly less pay if they don’t achieve the necessary merit marks.

• This firm has confirmed that it will be paying bonuses in early 2010, an announcement associates can only hope is the first of many.  Although the firm anticipates the amounts will be less than previous years, bonuses are still predicted to range from $5,000 to $50,000.

• This firm recently cut starting salaries to $145,000 in all of its offices (other than New York and Asia). The firm has indicated it will continue to monitor the situation and may re-adjust salaries (up or down) in light of legal market trends if necessary.

• This firm is also taking the merit-based compensation route: although it plans to retain a lockstep scale for base salaries, the firm has announced that its practice group leaders will now have greater discretion in awarding year-end bonuses.  Billable hours will continue to factor into bonus determinations, but so will qualitative and quantitative factors, such as financial productivity, profitability and teamwork.

Use the Career Center’s firm snapshots and comparison tool to find out what other bonus and salary changes firms across the country are making.  And as always, we encourage you to send information about your law firm experience to careercenter@abovethelaw.com.

Last week’s Career Center survey asked whether you think there will be enough work for the class of incoming associates at your firm.  The good news is that, despite the all the hype about some firms indefinitely deferring new associates, the vast majority — 91% — of new associates are starting at their firms in Fall 2009 or are scheduled to start in the first half of 2010.   The bad news is that a majority of respondents think there won’t be enough work for all this new blood, at least not in the practice areas they want to work in. 

Check out the full survey results after the jump, and visit the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link , for more on which firm unexpectedly pushed up start dates, the latest firm to offer new associates "walk-away" money, and a firm that has made major changes to their lock-step compensation structure. 

Survey results, after the jump.

Although start dates have been deferred to 2010 for some new associates, many others have already started at firms and more will be joining them over the next few months .  Will there be enough work for the newest class of associates? 

Or are current associates still struggling to make their own hours?  Has the economy recovered enough to prevent a survival-of-the-fittest battle over due diligence and doc review?  In today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, we ask what you think is in store for new associates.  We’ll let you know the results next week, but in the meantime, you can check out the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, where you’ll find the latest information on starting dates, billable hours expectations and the best firms for the kind of work you want to do.

If you have information about your firm that can share with other Career Center users, please email us at careercenter@abovethelaw.com.

ATL Career Center [powered by Lateral Link]

Welcome to the first in a series of monthly “Ask the Experts” posts, brought to you by the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link. Over the next few months, we’ll be talking with legal career experts, everyone from recruiters to hiring partners to professional development staff. The conversations will focus on what associates and law students need to know to be successful in this turbulent job market.

This week, we spoke with Tricia McGrath, a Director at Lateral Link who works with partner and associate candidates on law firm searches, and with candidates seeking in-house positions. We asked Tricia for advice on what kind of résumés get an employer’s attention. Visit the Resources section on the Career Center to get the answers to the following questions, as well as advice on the one thing you should never do.

Q: How detailed should my resume be?

Q: My career counselor recommended that my résumé begin with my experience and end with my education. Is this a good idea?

Q: Should a résumé ever be more than one page?

Q: I was laid off from a Top-20 law firm a few months ago. When my severance ran out, I took a contract attorney position to help pay the bills. This isn’t the type of job I want to call attention to when I’m applying to firms - do I need to include it on my résumé?

Q: Should I bother explaining to prospective employers why I was laid off, or is the less said the better?

Read the full article, as well and see other resources, on the Career Center. If you have tips or questions that you would like covered in future Ask The Expert columns, please email careercenter@abovethelaw.com.

Which firms were the “hottest” firms for September — i.e., the firms whose profiles were most visited on the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link? These were the top five:

1. This firm, based in D.C., “lives up to its reputation for being a lifestyle firm.”

2. This firm, also with a sizable D.C. presence, offers its lawyers “immediate substantive responsibility” on “high-stakes” matters.

3. This firm has a top-flight sports law practice, with clients including Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and the National Basketball Association.

4. This firm has a definite international bent, with more than half of its clients located abroad.

5. This firm, a litigation powerhouse, boasts an “eclectic group” of attorneys, with a “mix of personalities.”

The Career Center is constantly being updated with responses from users and the latest news from the legal markets. Unlike many other resources, it’s dynamic, not static.

Some recent highlights from the Career Center’s firm snapshots, after the jump.

We received over 1300 responses to last week’s Career Center survey on how lawyers feel about their careers in light of the recession.  Despite economists’ encouraging words about the light at the end of the tunnel, respondents across the country remain deeply concerned for themselves and the legal industry as a whole.  Although the economy has pulled out of its tailspin, recovering financial institutions and businesses are no longer generating the same level of legal work they once did, making it extremely difficult for major corporate law firms to stage their own comebacks.  With business stagnating, several major law firms have gone out of business , and waves of layoffs have left thousands of big firm attorneys without jobs and countless others thinking they could be cut next. Check out the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, for more on which firms are starting to recover from the downturn and which firms continue to struggle.

Check out the survey results, after the jump.

Over the last month, we’ve seen a significant spike in the number of ATL readers making use of the information on the Career Center. With hundreds of thousands of visitors to the law firm snapshots and tens of thousands of law firm comparisons generated on the Career Center, we want to know what is on our readers’ minds when it comes to your careers.

Could it be that a year after Lehman’s collapse, and with Bernake’s reassurances that the recession is "very likely over," attorneys feel it is safe to go back on the job hunt? Perhaps the recent layoffs are creating concern that things are getting worse, and people want to know their options? Either way, the good news is that our friends over at Lateral Link tell us that hiring is starting to pick up and they have dozens of attorneys interviewing, so options are out there.

If you have information about your firm that you want to share with other career center users, please email us at careercenter@abovethelaw.com. Thanks.

ATL Career Center [powered by Lateral Link]

Was the 2009 summer just an aberration?  Or are long hours, canceled retreats, and take-out lunch budgets the future of Big Law summer associate programs?  Find out which firms rolled out the red carpet for summer associates and which firms couldn’t say goodbye to their summers soon enough, over at the ATL Career Center , powered by Lateral Link. Check out the summer associate program snapshots to discover:

• Which firm’s summers report that “probably 80% of the summer class has pulled at least [one] all-nighter”?  Click here.

• Which firm held a “skip day,” where summer associates spent the day playing (firm-sanctioned) hooky at the beach?  Click here.

• Which firm offers a offers a Judicial Clerkship Mentoring Program to summer associates considering clerkships?  Click here.

• Which firm’s summer associates work with indigent clients through the Legal Aid Society’s Community Law Offices program in East Harlem?  Click here.

  More items, after the jump.

Hey 2Ls! Looking for more insight on which firms to consider this fall?  Want to know which firms still offer 14-week summer programs and which ones are canceling their summer programs entirely?  Curious about who provides a $15 lunch budget and who subsidizes $75 lunches? Check out the summer associate program snapshots at the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link. It gives you the inside track on summer associate programs at major law firms across the country.  Follow the links below to find out:

• Which firm has a "professor in residence" to assist summer associates with legal research and writing questions?  Click here.
• Which firm’s summer program kicks off with a "fantastic" and "truly exceptional" weekend at a seaside resort in California?  Click here.
• Which firm provides a $65 lunch budget and allows summer associates to attend an unlimited number of lunches each week?  Click here.
• Which firm’s summer associates report being “treated like associates and expected (for the most part) to work like associates,” and say that they were “busy and challenged” by the “intense work expectations”?  Click here.
• Which firm takes its promise to give summer associates a "hands-on" experience literally and invited summer associates to visit a client’s wind farm and climb to the top of "a 55-meter turbine"?  Click here.

More guessing games, after the jump.

The Vault survey rankings may have created buzz last week, but we’re going to kick off the buzz this week by unveiling our first annual review of the summer associate experience at the major law firms. With information based on surveys conducted by Lateral Link and tips we’ve gathered at ATL, the summer program snapshots give you an insiders perspective on each firm. So if you are heading into OCI and want the scoop on what 2009 summer associate class felt about their experience, check out the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link.

The Summer Associate Program review is located within each firm snapshot. Surf over there to find out:

With hundreds of thousands of visitors to the law firm snapshots and tens of thousands of law firm comparisons generated on the Career Center, the law firm information is the biggest draw. But we wanted to remind you about some of the other great Resources available on the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link.

In addition, since the Career Center is dynamic and we are continually updating the information, we want to know what parts of the Career Center you find to be the most valuable:

The Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, saw record numbers of users in July, and a new firm is at the top of the charts in the ATL-LL Top 20. With hiring picking up and on-campus recruiting getting underway, we wanted to remind you about all the useful information that we have compiled over on the Career Center. In each firm snapshot you will find information about compensation, billable hours, facetime and vacation policies, pro bono work, partnership prospects, benefits and the overall associate experience. In addition, in the coming weeks we will be adding new information about the summer program based on our survey of 2009 Summer Associates (you can still add your two cents, by clicking here).

Now on to the ATL-LL Top 20 — the most requested firms from the across the nation for the month of July.

Taking the crown for July is: Davis Polk & Wardwell. No doubt the news of Davis Polks recent (website) facelift boosted your curiosity about the quality of life for all those hard workin’ hotties.

In the number two spot, crowd favorite Skadden Arps — but this month Skadden trails far behind Davis Polk.

Coming in third, DLA Piper, a firm that made headlines in July when it changed up its summer program, pulled out of Duke, and cut over 100 people from its payroll.

Rounding out the top 20 are some regular fan favorites and some new names. Check them out, after the jump.

With more summer programs getting the axe (including even non-firm summer programs), we want to remember what the summer of 2009 was like, so we can pass on the advice to the summer associate class of 2012 (or whenever they decide to have summer programs again). So please take a minute and tell us what you think about your summer associate experience. Click here to take our short survey.

For those of you who were summer associates years ago, perhaps you’re more focused on making partner. Check out this week’s review of survey data from the Career Center, brought to you by Above the Law and Lateral Link, in which we tell you which firms were most queried regarding the prospect of partnership. Remember that, in addition to the information here, you can see how associates at over 100 top firms feel about the chances of making partner at their firm by visiting the Firm Comparison section on the Career Center.

The partnership survey info, after the jump.

Is my associate experience better than your associate experience?

One of the cooler features on the Above The Law Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, is the ability to compare firms based on associate experience in a number of areas including firm management, partnership prospects, parental leave policies, vacation policies, billable hours expectations, etc. You can see how your experience stacks up against the experience of associates at other firms by running your own side-by-side comparisons in the firm comparison section.

Thousands of readers have used this feature, and today we wanted to highlight which firms you have most often pitted against one another. We also want to remind all of you summer associates out there to take our short summer associate survey - Click Here for that (of course the survey is completely confidential).

So which firms do our readers compare most frequently?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is the firm most often compared to others. Its most frequent "rivals" are Latham & Watkins, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. These firms are compared to Skadden more than 30% of the time a comparison including Skadden is generated.

Other frequent comparisons, after the jump.

What’s your summer been like? Though the summer of 2009 has seen some exciting events, the summer of 2010 is shaping up to be very different, as summer programs are already under siege. Before the summer slips away, and those lucky few of you getting wined and dined are again on a steady diet of Top Ramen and Diet Coke, we want to know what you really throught about your summer associate experience. From the work assignments, to the lunch budgets, to the nightly escapades, we want the scoop!

If you are a 2009 summer associate, please take our short survey - Click Here (of course the survey is completely confidential).

Don’t worry, you’ll get to see the results of this survey on The Career Center, brought to you by Above the Law and Lateral Link . And we’ll have them posted in time to help inform / sway your decisions for fall on-campus recruiting (or perhaps spring, if you are considering Orrick).

After the jump, we’ll reveal which firms we most popular in the month of June… because we know you like to see who is on top.

The Career Center, brought to you by Above the Law and Lateral Link, continues to see tremendous traffic, with almost 200,000 pageviews in its first two months. Thanks to all of your feedback and tips, we are continually updating the firm snapshots with new information (some good, some not so good). Keep checking to see how your firm’s profile is evolving.

In the past week, we’ve updated the profiles for each of the following firms:

Alston & Bird LLP
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cahill Gordon & Reindell LLP
DLA Piper
Kaye Scholer
Orrick
Ropes & Gray LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP
Venable LLP

Thanks to all of you who have sent in tips. Feel free to send additional updates to careercenter@abovethelaw.com. We also encourage you to share information about your firm by signing up and taking our four-question survey.

If you are a summer associate and want to participate in a quick summer associate survey, please email careercenter@abovethelaw.com. Thanks!

Some people compare Biglaw to high school, but there wasn’t a lot of statistical evidence that proved popularity in high school. Thankfully, the Career Center can provide some hard data on the most popular firms in Biglaw.

In the month and a half since its launch, the Firm Snapshots on the Career Center have been viewed almost 100,000 times. We are constantly updating these snapshots with new information (some good news, some bad news), and in the last week we have updated the profiles for each of the following firms:

Gibson Dunn
Skadden
Venable
Cravath
Pillsbury
Bryan Cave
Shearman

Thanks to all of you who have sent in tips. Feel free to send additional updates to careercenter@abovethelaw.com.

We also encourage you to share information about your firm by signing up and taking our four-question survey.

So now, on to the good stuff — which firms have been most popular recently? We’ve complied the list of the 20 most visited firm snapshots in the month of June.

Check it out, after the jump.