Our Vault 100 series is winding down. We hope that the insiders have enjoyed the opportunity to brag (or to vent) about their firms. And that the curious have appreciated insights into life at various firms in the top 100.

Here is the next bunch up for discussion (with their prestige scores in parentheses):

81. Crowell & Moring LLP (4.763)
82. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (4.754)
83. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP (4.735)
84. Arent Fox PLLC (4.726)
85. McGuireWoods LLP (4.697)
86. Venable LLP (4.676)
87. Dorsey & Whitney LLP (4.575)
88. Dickstein Shapiro LLP (4.554)
89. Baker & Hostetler (4.531)
90. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P (4.503)

Are the following statements true or false?

Okay, you know the drill.

Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009

This sign captures the flavor of the past week in law firm news, including the massive layoffs at Cadwalader and the office closings at Akin Gump. If you have other tips for us, send them to us here.

The law firm pain is starting to be felt even by those still in law school. We've been forwarded various emails announcing that some firms or offices have canceled on-campus interviews for 2009 prospective summer associates, including the New York office of Dorsey & Whitney, the Chicago office of Midwestern firm Barnes & Thornburg, and, as we reported on Wednesday, Cadwalader (at certain law schools, e.g., Rutgers - Newark). Here are excerpts from the notices:

From John Marshall Law School:

I received notice from the head of recruiting at Barnes & Thornburg that the firm will not be having a summer program in its Chicago office next summer. Therefore, the OCI option for that firm has been removed from Symplicity.

---

From Columbia Law School:

The New York office of Dorsey & Whitney LLP will no longer be interviewing at EIP (ed. note: Early Interview Program) as they have decided not to have a formal summer associate program in 2009.

---

From Rutgers Law School:

Also, please note that Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, scheduled to interview on campus on August 13th, has had to cancel and will contact students independently to schedule interviews if they are selected.

We expected large law firms to power on with their summer associate programs, so we were somewhat surprised to hear that Dorsey & Whitney is suspending its program in New York. Then again, it was a rather small program -- about five summer associates in 2007, per the firm's NALP form (PDF). A Dorsey spokesperson had this comment:

It is true that the New York office of Dorsey & Whitney will not sponsor a formal summer associate program in 2009. We have made this decision based upon our hiring needs in the New York office at this time. This decision with respect to the New York office summer associate program does not preclude the possibility of hiring an incoming class for 2010 in our New York office. The firm's other offices that have traditionally sponsored summer associate programs will continue to do so.

Have other firms canceled their OCIs at your school? Please let us know in the comments, including your school, the firm, and the firm office.

See full notices from firms regarding OCI cancellation, after the jump.

The rich get richer. Movie stars who already earn millions of dollars per picture get showered with freebies, like award show "gift bags" worth thousands of dollars. Similarly, students at top law schools, who already have their pick of $160K job offers, get wined and dined by leading law firms. There IS such a thing as a free lunch, if you go to the right law school.

Of course, the quality of the fare will vary. From a tipster at a top 25 law school (according to the latest U.S. News rankings):

This isn’t that exciting of a tip, but the flyer just kind of freaks me out. What’s up with that graphic?

See you ‘round the taco table!

We were similarly troubled by these Alpo-stuffed creations, which didn't strike us as very taco-like. But then we recalled that tacos can be soft as well as hard.

Which got us wondering: What is the difference between a soft taco and a burrito? We found enlightenment here and here.

A Massachusetts judge, as well as ATL readers, previously concluded that a burrito is not a sandwich. But a soft taco, insofar as it is "open" -- i.e., with exposed fillings, like a traditional sandwich -- may present a closer case.

Burrito vs soft taco? [Yahoo! Answers]
Soft Taco vs. Burrito [VWVortex Forums]

Earlier: ATL Reader Poll: Is a Burrito a Sandwich?

(We realize this is old news, but we're declaring this Remedial Blogging Day at ATL. We have a few other slightly stale stories that we may write up later today, if it continues to be a slow news day.)

Judge Harold Baer (S.D.N.Y.) was once nominated as a hottie of the federal judiciary. Alas, he didn't win.

But in a competition for hotheadedness rather than hotness, Judge Baer might fare better. From a very interesting article by Anthony Lin in the New York Law Journal:

A Manhattan federal judge has delivered a lengthy manifesto against declining civility in the legal profession in the course of sanctioning law firm Dorsey & Whitney and two of its partners.

Southern District of New York Judge Harold Baer opened his 129-page decision with a discussion of how "naked competition and singular economic focus of the marketplace have begun to infiltrate the practice of law, subordinating the high standards of service, collegiality and professionalism as a result."

He ended it with his observation that "partners are at times made and retained for their rainmaking skills and not for their legal skill, that the number of billable hours is not only the alpha and omega of bonuses but that these hours -- or at least the ones that count -- often exclude pro bono hours, or that who gets credit for originating a piece of business can throw a firm into turmoil and prompt internecine struggles, or that the bottom line has eclipsed most everything else for which the practice of law stands or stood to the extent that the practice of law is now frequently described as a business rather than a profession."

Usually when a federal judge tears you a new one, you just grin and bear it. Or maybe go out and buy some Preparation H.

But the lawyer who was the subject of Judge Baer's ire actually struck back. Read more, after the jump.

On the Way Out:

* The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California (San Francisco), Kevin Ryan, is stepping down. He cited "personal and professional reasons” for his departure.

(Does this mean that ATL favorite Eumi Choi might be placed in charge of the office for a while, even if only in an acting capacity? We hope so.)

Judicial Promotion:

* In New York, Brooklyn Civil Term Administrative Justice Theodore T. Jones Jr. has been nominated by Attorney General Governor Eliot Spitzer to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

Lateral Moves:

* Over in London, Camille Abousleiman and Louise Roman Bernstein, described by the WSJ Law Blog as "capital-markets stars," are leaving the troubled Dewey Ballantine for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae.

* Litigator Kristan Peters, to Dorsey & Whitney, from Fulbright & Jaworski.

New Partners:

* Akin Gump: Eighteen new partners. Names here.

* Dow Lohnes: M&A and corporate lawyer Matthew Block (described to us as "a hard worker" and "a great guy").

Spitzer Names Jones to Court of Appeals [New York Law Journal via Law.com]
NY Lawyers Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
Dow Lohnes Announces New Partner Matthew Block [Dow Lohnes]
Ryan Will Leave His Job In San Francisco [WSJ Law Blog]
Dewey Defections Across the Pond [WSJ Law Blog]

From Biglaw to business:

* Another Wachtell Lipton partner is leaving the firm. Corporate partner Mitchell Presser recently left to join Fox Paine. We now hear that WLRK real estate partner Michael Benner may be leaving to become general counsel at real estate giant Tishman Speyer.

New Partners:

* Dorsey & Whitney: Banking lawyer Mark Jutsen.

Lateral Moves:

* Speaking of Dorsey & Whitney, they're closing their San Francisco office. Ten IP lawyers from that office are joining Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

* With the Brown Raysman-Thelen Reid & Priest merger about to become official, two entertainment and IP lawyers are leaving Brown Raysman's L.A. office. Partner Brian Pass and associate Kevin Straw are joining the Century City office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.

NY Lawyers On the Move [NYLawyer.com]
As Firm's Outpost Sinks, 10 IP Attorneys Jump Ship [NYLawyer.com]
Firms' Merger Spurs More Exits [NYLawyer.com]

Once you hit your third year at a large law firm, and sometimes even earlier, you start receiving dozens of calls from legal recruiters. Usually you send them to voice-mail, then delete their messages later. But occasionally, when you're having a bad day at the office, you listen to their dulcet tones -- and dream about a happier tomorrow.

(When we were at a firm, there was one headhunter in particular whose voice was so alluring, male associates with no intention of going anywhere would talk to her for hours.)

Legal recruiting can be tough work at the associate level -- lots of cold calls, few responses. But at more senior levels, it can be very lucrative. Consider this, from the New York Law Journal:

In May, just one month after Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld announced Chang-Joo Kim had joined its New York office as a partner, the law firm cut a check to recruiting firm Boston Executive Search for for $227,500.

But did it pay the right recruiter? New York search firm Sivin Tobin Associates says it sent Akin Gump a package about Mr. Kim last December, along with a term sheet. Sivin Tobin is now suing the law firm, alleging breach of an implied contract....

The NYLJ article goes on and on about the chronology of events, which didn't interest us much. What did interest us were these two items: (1) the placement fee of $227,500, and (2) the agreement that the fee was to represent "25 percent of the candidate's total compensation in his first 12 months at the firm."

So we did the math (with a calculator, of course). Corporate lawyer Chang-Joo Kim, previously a partner in Dorsey & Whitney's New York office specializing in Korean transactions, earned $910,000 in his first year at Akin Gump. Very nice!

(Yeah, we know. Many Biglaw partners earn millions, as revealed in the AmLaw 100 survey each year. But they tend to be partners at the top New York-based firms (e.g., Wachtell, Cravath, etc.). We're impressed that Mr. Kim earned almost a million dollars for joining a branch office of Akin Gump. We're assuming he brought along with him a sizable book of business.)

Recruiter Sues Firm's NY Office Over Headhunter Fee [NYLawyer.com]
Chang Joo Kim bio [Akin Gump]

Oodles 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]

The latest news on the most notable moves within the profession:

Government to Private Sector:

* Seth Silber, to Wilson Sonsini (as counsel), from the FTC. (Quips our tipster: "What a lovely week to join that particular firm!")

New Office Openings:

* Crowell & Moring -- aka "Cruel & Boring"*** -- is opening a New York office. They've grabbed litigator William McSherry, from Arent Fox, and patent lawyer Janet McLeod, from Dorsey & Whitney, to kick things off.

* The exceedingly profitable, Houston-based Susman Godfrey is opening a New York office, headed by name partner Stephen Susman.

Lateral Private Sector Moves:

* Bankruptcy guru Paul Basta, to Kirkland & Ellis, from Weil Gotshal & Manges.***

* Patent litigators Joseph O'Malley and Bruce Wexler, to Paul Hastings (NY), from Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto.

*** "Cruel and Boring" is just a silly nickname for Crowell & Moring that we've heard around town. We have no idea as to whether it has any factual basis. We just think using nicknames for law firms is fun.

Other law firm nicknames we've heard: Weil Gotshal & Manges = "We'll Getcha & Mangle Ya" (self-explanatory); Cravath Swaine & Moore = "The Death Star" (self-explanatory); Davis Polk & Wardwell = "The Teahouse on Lexington Avenue" (for their penchant for hiring geishas attractive Asian-American females -- don't get mad at us, we didn't make it up).

(Feel free to add more law firm nicknames in the comments to this post.)

On The Move [Antitrust Review]
Basta Says Hasta to Weil Gotshal [WSJ Law Blog]
DC Firm Opens NY Office [NYLawyer.com]
Houston Firm Opens Manhattan Office [NYLawyer.com]
Firm Adds NY Patent Litigators [NYLawyer.com]

* In the legal and regulatory crackdown on business corruption and white-collar crime, "lawyers serving fraud-ridden companies have emerged relatively unscathed," reports the Washington Post. Chalk it up to professional courtesy. [Washington Post]

* Lord Conrad Black (at right), former media mogul, has had his worldwide assets frozen by a Canadian court. But don't feel too sorry for him -- he still gets an allowance of $20,000 a month. (Is that U.S. dollars, or Canadian?) [BBC News; Wall Street Journal via WSJ Law Blog]

* Judge Eldon E. Fallon (E.D. La.) upheld the jury verdict finding Merck liable in a recent Vioxx case, but ruled that a new trial must be held on damages because the $50 million compensatory damage award -- not a punitive damages award -- was "grossly excessive." Seems like the right decision to us. After all, the guy survived (and isn't a pro basketball player). [Associated Press via DealBreaker]

* Two former Brocade Communications executives, charged in the options backdating scandal, have pleaded not guilty. [Bloomberg News]

* A federal bankruptcy judge ruled that Dorsey & Whitney breached fiduciary duties of client loyalty -- and ordered the firm to cough up almost $900,000 in fees.
[Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune]

The latest crop of entries in the Wall Street Journal's ongoing Summer Associate Diary (subscription) are pretty boring. If you don't have a subscription, don't worry; you're not missing much. Here's our executive summary:

Marc Allon (Jenner & Block/University of Michigan): "Mr. Allon has mixed feelings about heading back to school. At Jenner & Block, he liked the feeling of getting things done. 'I found that I really liked offering [my services] to a client.'" Insert lawyers-and-prostitutes joke here.

Carolyn Gleason Sanchez (Quintana Law Group/University of Maryland): "In law school, you complain if you have a week to do an assignment, but in the real world you have to do it right away." Yeah, it kinda sucks, doesn't it?

Matthew Duke (Burr & Forman/University of Alabama): Wants to improve as a writer. Don't we all.

Andrew Meyerson (Dorsey & Whitney/NYU): "Working at Dorsey has further convinced him that transactional law, not litigation, is what he's suited for." In other words: "My summer experience has taught me I'm even more boring than I thought I was."

YAWN. If anyone has salacious summer associate stories from this past summer, please send 'em our way (by email).

2006 Summer Associate Diary (Aug. 2, 2006) [WSJ via WSJ Law Blog]