Cravath

Associate Bonus Watch: An Open Call for News and Memos

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associate bonus watch 2007 law firm Above the Law blog.jpgAs we first reported, Cravath, Swaine & Moore has kicked off the 2007 bonus season, with yesterday’s announcement of “special” and year-end bonuses for its associates. Here’s coverage from the New York Law Journal and the WSJ Law Blog, who actually got Cravath to talk to them. (CSM declined ATL’s request for comment.) Both sources credit ATL; we thank Anthony Lin and Peter Lattman for the shout-outs.
This leads us to the second stage of bonus season: waiting for the other shoes to drop. We intend to cover bonus developments as closely as we did last year. If a firm is a Vault 100 or AmLaw 100 law firm, or even if its name rings a vague sort of bell, we want to hear about its bonus announcement.
We can’t cover this subject without your help. We need you to let us know, as soon as possible, when your firm makes a bonus announcement. Per ATL standard operating procedure, we will NOT identify you as our source.
Here’s how to reach us with bonus news:

1. As you probably already know, you can send bonus news and memos to us by email (subject line: “Associate Bonus Watch: [firm name]“.

2. To be on the safe side, email us from a non-work email account (but preferably one with your real name, so we can confirm that you actually work where you work, by looking you up on the firm website).

3. To be on the super-safe side, save your email in draft form in your non-work account (e.g., Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.). When you’re ready to send, access that account using the web browser in your Blackberry or other wireless device, open the saved draft, and hit “send.” (You could also send the message when you get home, but that would take forever.)

4. Another way to contact us: send us a Facebook message. Even if your firm monitors the websites you visit, being on Facebook won’t get you in trouble (provided you do it in moderation).

5. Yet another way to reach us: by instant messenger or Gmail chat. If you’re a regular ATL tipster, or if you’re our Facebook friend, you know where to reach us on AIM and on Gmail chat.

6. Yet another way to reach us: by phone. Many of you have our phone number, which is also listed in our Facebook profile.

As you know, we prefer to have full memos (although we’ll take just the numbers if that’s all we can get). Please keep your friends at ATL in mind this bonus season, and send us your news ASAP. The project of bringing greater transparency to associate compensation can’t work unless you do your part. Thanks!
Cravath First! Let BigLaw’s Associate Bonus Season Begin [WSJ Law Blog]
Cravath to Give Associates Special Bonus Plus Year-End Bonus [New York Law Journal]
Earlier: Cravath Announces Bonuses — ‘Special’ and Otherwise!!!

78 Comments

Cravath Announces Bonuses — ‘Special’ and Otherwise!!!

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animated siren gif animated siren gif animated siren gif drudge report.GIFIt’s very early, but it’s true: Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced bonuses today!!! Here are the numbers:
Class of 2007 — Year end bonus $35,000 (prorated), no special bonus
Class of 2006 — Year end $35,000, special $10,000
Class of 2005 — Year end $40,000, special $15,000
Class of 2004 — Year end $45,000, special $20,000
Class of 2003 — Year end $50,000, special $30,000
Class of 2002 — Year end $55,000, special $40,000
Class of 2001 — Year end $60,000, special $50,000
Class of 2000 — Year end $60,000, special $50,000 (same as 2001)
Cravath Swaine Moore LLP Above the Law blog.JPGUpdate (5:05 PM):

1. No official comment from the firm (we called their spokesperson), but this news is solid. It has been confirmed for us by multiple sources at Cravath, by phone and by email.

2. As noted in the comments, the “special” bonuses will be paid in November (on November 9, to be exact). The year-end bonuses will be paid in December.

100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGUpdate (5:40 PM): If you’d like to compare this bonus table to what Cravath (and pretty much everyone else in New York) paid last year, you can check out the 2006 CSM bonus memo over here. As you can see, the year-end bonuses for this year and last year are basically the same; it’s just that this year, there are “special” bonuses that take total compensation higher.
Also, recall that the base salaries in effect in December 2006 were lower than current base salaries. The Simpson Thacher-led move to $160K didn’t happen until January 2007. So between the higher base salaries and the “special” bonuses, CSM associates this year are significantly better off than last year’s batch.
As for timing, last year’s Cravath bonus memo was issued on December 11, 2006. So this year’s bonus announcement comes quite early in the season. The 2006 bonus season was kicked off by Milbank, which announced on December 8, 2006.
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch [2006]: A Real Milbank Bonus Announcement
Associate Bonus Watch [2006]: Cravath Announced; Cadwalader Rumored
Breaking: Simpson Thacher Raises Associate Base Salaries!!!
Related: Associate Bonus Watch 2007 archives (scroll down)

272 Comments

A Cravath Lawyer Who Screws the Kiddies

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James Colliton Jim Colliton Cravath Swaine Moore Above the Law blog.jpgAnd we’re not talking about CSM partners working young associates to death, riding them hard and putting them away wet. We’re speaking more literally.
We mentioned this story briefly at the time of his guilty plea, but his sentencing yesterday gives us the opportunity to revisit it in more depth. From the AP:

A tax lawyer who paid a woman so he could have sex with her two underage daughters was sentenced Thursday and declared a sex offender but wasn’t expected to spend much more time behind bars.

James Colliton pleaded guilty this month to second- and third-degree statutory rape and patronizing a prostitute. He received a sentence of one year on each count, to run concurrently.

But because he has already been jailed for 19 months, Colliton, 43, was eligible for immediate release. His lawyer, Howard Greenberg, said he expected the defendant to be released Thursday.

So where’s Colliton headed? Due to his felony conviction, he won’t be able to return to the practice of law (at least not immediately). But might Cravath give him a non-legal or administrative job, perhaps in Recruiting? He likes working with young people.
(Such a gig, however, probably wouldn’t pay Colliton the $500,000 salary that he earned as a senior or permanent associate at Cravath — more than partners at some firms.)
NYC Lawyer Sentenced for Underage Sex [AP]
‘Lolita Lawyer’ among worst of sex offenders [New York Daily News]
Former Cravath Associate Pleads Guilty in Underage Sex Scandal [New York Law Journal]
In Plea Deal, Ex-Cravath Lawyer Admits To Sex Crimes [WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: Tax Lawyers in Jail

48 Comments

Non-Sequiturs: 10.04.07

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* He likes ‘em young. [WNBC]
* WSJ Law Blog follows SCOTUS comedy. [WSJ Law Blog]
* More Jack Thompson chicanery. [GamePolitics]
* In keeping with the non-top-tier theme, here’s a Tier 4 that’s moving. [WRAL]
* Sorry, Howard Bashman. [Yahoo!]

16 Comments

Non-Top-Tier Law School Graduate of the Day: Philip J. Boeckman

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cravath.jpgHere’s our latest Non-Top-Tier Law School Graduate of the Day, a graduate of Tier 2 Missouri.
Name: Philip J. Boeckman
Law School: University of Missouri-Columbia
Current Position: Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Why He’s Our Winner: Making it from a Tier 2 to become partner at Cravath.
Boeckman is not known for a famous client like one of our previous winners, but moving from Missouri to Cravath is impressive nonetheless. Boeckman was, however, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, and Law Review at Missouri, which is just further evidence that if you’re going to make it from a non-top-tier school, you’re going to need to display some academic excellence.
Philip J. Boeckman bio [Cravath]

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D.C. Pay Raises: Separating the Men from the Boys? (Plus Rumors of Skadden NY Raises)

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sorting hat Harry Potter Above the Law blog.jpgLaw school can be thought of as a Harry Potter-style “sorting hat” for law students (as Dave Hoffman suggests). Similarly, the recent round of pay raises can be thought of as a sorting hat for law firms.
Nathan Carlile has this excellent article in the current issue of the Legal Times:

Call it a near miss.

Earlier this year, New York’s Simpson Thacher & Bartlett raised starting salaries for first-year associates to $160,000. In the competition to recruit top talent, the tactic was similar to one used by Kenyan marathon runners: a midrace burst to separate elite competitors from the pack of pretenders.

But while Simpson’s bump momentarily opened up a $25,000 gap between top-end New York firms and their Washington counterparts, the pack soon matched the move. Eight months later, starting salaries for first-years at most of the 200 largest firms nationwide remain bunched at $160,000.

More discussion — including rumors of Skadden leading a new round of pay raises in New York City — after the jump.

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Cadwalader Hit With $70 Million Malpractice Suit

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Cadwalader Wickersham Taft 2 CWT bed bugs bedbugs Abovethelaw Above the Law legal tabloid blog.JPGGood things about Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: profits per partner of $2.9 million, third behind Wachtell and Cravath. Visits from Cameron Diaz.
Bad things about Cadwalader: bed bugs. And $70 million malpractice lawsuits.
The indefatigable Anthony Lin has this report, in the New York Law Journal:

As the global slowdown in the market for mortgage-backed securities threatens a core practice area of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the New York law firm is also wrestling with a $70 million legal malpractice suit brought by a major issuer of such securities….

Nomura Asset Capital Corp., a U.S. division of Japan’s largest securities firm, filed suit against Cadwalader last October in Manhattan Supreme Court over documents the law firm drafted for a 1997 securitization transaction in which Nomura pooled 156 commercial mortgages worth around $1.8 billion.

We’ll spare you the details of the suit, since they’re boring and kinda hard to follow. CWT is represented by Cravath, and they’re moving to dismiss.
More discussion — including talk about associate layoffs, triggered by the generally grim climate for mortgage-backed securities work — after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Cadwalader Hit With $70 Million Malpractice Suit”

35 Comments

Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 9.2.07 and 9.9.07: Weiner Kings

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LEWW logo.jpgThat’s right — this is a combined edition of LEWW. Weep with joy, wedding-watchers!
Before we serve up this double shot, a request for input. In response to prompting from readers, when we’ve chosen the week’s top three couples lately, we’ve been giving a big edge to lawyer-lawyer couples. The result is that we’ve often found ourselves writing about double-JD weddings even when there are other couples with more impressive credentials (but only one JD).
To be honest, we’re not sure this is the right approach. It just feels wrong to pass over a dripping-with-prestige couple like this simply because a couple of unremarkable associates are getting hitched. Particularly during the height of the wedding season, there are often at least three lawyer-lawyer couples, so under our current system you’re basically out of contention if you marry outside the profession.
We’re considering lifting the heavy thumb we’ve put on the scales in favor of dual-lawyer couples, but before we do anything rash, we need to know what our readers think. What’s more interesting to you, ATL fans: lawyers marrying lawyers, or prestigious lawyers marrying other prestigious (and often more interesting) people? Make your opinion known, either in the comments or by e-mail.

Here are this week’s featured couples:
1.) Elaine Ewing and Christopher Viapiano
2.) Carl Roller and Daniel Weiner
3.) Deborah Lipman, Matthew Fox
4.) Katherine Downs, Peter Oppenheim

Read on for more about these three brides and five bridegrooms.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 9.2.07 and 9.9.07: Weiner Kings”

Who Is This Fall’s ‘It’ Firm?

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New York Observer logo Above the Law blog.jpgWe have to step away for a bit. But we’ll leave you with some food for thought (and argument): a piece we just wrote for the New York Observer, timed to coincide with fall interview season, about New York law firms. Here’s a brief excerpt:

“[J]ust as certain sleeve cuts are all the rage at Fashion Week, some law firms are “hot”—and some are not. Having interviewed with firms exactly 10 years ago, I was curious: Who is this fall’s “It” Firm?”

We expect that many of you will disagree with our conclusions, condemn us as ill-informed or biased (or both), etc. That’s okay. Our point is to provoke. We’d like to become for the law firm world what Michael Riedel is to theatre: “Post columnist Michael Riedel’s gleeful skewering of Broadway’s shows and personages has made him a must read—and a must-hate—on the Great White Way.”
You can read the full column over here. It’s the first in what’s going to be a semimonthly column we’ll be writing for the Observer on New York lawyers and law firms. Enjoy (we think).
Polish Those Portfolios! Legal Eaglets Seek Their Nests [New York Observer]

137 Comments

Biglaw Perk Watch: A Room of One’s Own

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office worker on phone Above the Law blog.jpgThe subject of today’s Biglaw perk post is short and sweet. From a tipster:

Will you do a thread on a private office as a Biglaw perk — i.e., whether first and/or second year associates have to share an office?

This subject may not be sexy, but it’s important. Having an officemate makes it harder for you to gossip on the phone with your friends, or gaze at photos of some random guy’s nether regions.
Please discuss when associates at your firm get a private office. And please name the firm and city; comments aren’t very useful without this info. Thanks.
(We had some prior discussion of this topic in the comments to this post, but only a handful of firms were mentioned. We can do better, people.)
Earlier: Lawyerly Lairs: Cravath Re-Ups at the Death Star

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