Kaye Scholer

Kaye Scholer: Salary and Bonus Follow-Up

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Kaye Scholer LLP logo Above the Law legal blog.jpgYesterday, we reported that Kaye Scholer would be paying market busting bonuses to associates who hit their hours.
Today, associates are telling us that “hitting hours” is kind of like shooting the moon in hearts. A tipster reports:

Bonus hour requirements were moved up from 2,000 to 2,200 this year, with the “superbonus” at 2,400 (unchanged from last year). Bonus amounts were $20,000 for 2,200 hundred hours and $40,000 for 2,400 hours, across the board, which is only above market for the 2008-2006 crowd (it would equal other firms at the 2005 year, assuming those other firms had also raised their requirement to 2,200 hours, and below market for anyone after that.)

Well then. Before bonus season started, we mentioned that we would have to pay attention to hours requirements hidden under bonus announcements.
Did any Kaye Scholer associates hit 2,400 hours this year?
After the jump, our tipsters further explain Kaye Scholer’s hours requirements for its lockstep pay raises.

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Kaye Scholer: Back to More Simple Methods for Cutting Salaries, Plus a Big Time Bonus

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Kaye Scholer LLP logo Above the Law legal blog.jpgAfter being inundated with firms that are trying to cut salaries through the implementation of a merit-based associate compensation structure, it’s refreshing to see a firm cut salaries the old fashioned way. Tipsters report that Kaye Scholer is just going about its paycut in a straightforward manner:

Associates will be paid on a 145K scale for 11 months, and then, provided they are above some level of hours, will have a “keep what you earn” December.
This comes months after Kaye Scholer told half the class they would be making 60K and doing pro bono work for the first year.
Kaye Scholer’s got them by the balls and knows it.

Clean, crisp, this is how your father taught you to cut costs.
Remember, Kaye Scholer cut salaries and then offered a similar clawback provision last year. But our tipsters report that the hours requirements are far from onerous. If you hit 1600 hours by the end of the year, you’ll get your $160K.
The system has the feel of a DLA Piper-esque 10% salary holdback. But, unlike DLA, making the money back is tied to objective factors (hours) instead of subjective ones. And Kaye Scholer won’t be grading on a curve.
And, for 2009, Kaye Scholer will be making a bonus payment that is above the market for associates that hit their hours. More details after the jump.

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Hope for Second-Year Law School Students?
(And: If Hitler Were a Berkeley 2L)

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hitler as a 2l berkeley.jpgIn parsing the fate of law school students, there’s no point in talking about the 3Ls. Their chances of success in the job hunt are about as bright as Obama’s prospects of winning the war in Afghanistan. In other words, abandon hope all ye who enter here.
The 1Ls can actually pray the economy will improve. And unlike the poor 3Ls, they knew what they were getting into when they enrolled this fall.
But what about the 2Ls? They have a year and a half more to stay in the law school bunker. Is that long enough for the economy to pick up and for firms to open their wallets doors to draw them close to the Biglaw bosom? Many 2Ls report that their dance cards for the summer are empty.
But there may be hope for current 2Ls without summer suitors, reports Zach Lowe at AmLaw Daily. Some firms are coming back for another round:

[A] small number of those 2Ls stand to benefit from an added mini-round of recruiting, which law school officials and firm recruiters attribute to the cautious stance some firms took the first time around in August and September. The reason, according to about a dozen sources we interviewed: Firms shooting for smaller class sizes limited their offers to the best of the best in the class of 2010. The students in that group found themselves with several offers to choose from, leaving firms short of the already smaller-than-usual targets they’d set. Now those firms are going back to top law schools and asking about candidates who have not yet secured a gig for summer 2010, according to career services deans at law schools, law firm recruiters, and industry groups.

Which firms are still looking? What are they looking for? And, if Adolf Hitler was a 2L, what would he do?
Find out after the jump.

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(And: If Hitler Were a Berkeley 2L)“

This Week in Layoffs: 11.01.09

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pink slip layoff notice Above the Law blog.jpgEd. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks, which has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.
Last week we wrote that jobless claims were higher than expected and that predicting anything with any degree of confidence seemed pointless. This week, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was lower than expected, the lowest levels in seven months, and that was before announcement that benefits will be extended again. Still, the best that can be said is that the cuts are slowing:

Companies are cutting fewer jobs as they see more evidence of a recovery, helped by government stimulus efforts and less weakness in housing and manufacturing. While a separate report today showed the economy expanded for the first time in more than a year, a rebound in hiring may take longer to materialize

So while things bounced around unpredictably in the broader market, we had two notable announcements in law-firm innovations this week. We’ll cut right to them after the jump.

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Kaye Scholer: Splits First Year Class into Two Groups

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Kaye Scholer LLP logo Above the Law legal blog.jpgKaye Scholer has announced that its incoming first year associate will still be starting in January. All of them. But there is a catch. Kaye Scholer will split the class into two groups of full time associates. One group will work for the firm’s paying clients and get paid the normal first year starting salary. The other group — roughly half of the class — will work exclusively with the firm’s public interest group and will make $60,000.
Above the Law spoke with Kaye Scholer managing partner Barry Wilner about the program. He emphasized that the firm wanted to invite everybody in its first year class to start at the firm because the class is “excellent.” But he acknowledged that the demand for legal services isn’t what it used to be. Instead of sending half of its class back out on the street to look for public interest work, Wilner wanted to put them to work under the umbrella of Kaye Scholer’s pro bono efforts:

It’s incredibly difficult to get public interest work in this environment. … It’s a good thing from the standpoint that the firm is providing excellent public interest training and mentoring.

Wilner also told us that the public interest associates would still have access to all of the training other first year associates have, and they would be eligible for full firm benefits.
Associates weren’t asked to volunteer to be in the public interest group. Wilner said that the firm had to make difficult decisions about how to split the class. Practice group preference was one factor. But Wilner also said that because the incoming class was strong across the board, some amount of arbitrariness also played a role.
After the jump, incoming associates in the public interest group weigh in.

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Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 61 – 70 (2010)

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comparing.jpgAs we get back to the Vault rankings, we encounter more firms that have engaged in stealth layoffs. And a firm that conducts mass transit layoffs.
To refresh your memory, here’s the next group:

61. Cooley Godward
62. Pillsbury
63. Sonnenschein
64. Cahill
65. Holland & Knight
66. K&L Gates
67. Nixon Peabody
68. Foley & Lardner
69. Kaye Scholer
70. Steptoe & Johnson

The penalty for having a partner announce layoffs on a train was six spots according to Vault. There have been other Pillsbury cutbacks. But the Acela incident happened when associates had Vault surveys sitting on their desks.
After the jump, let’s take a look at some of the other firms in this group.

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Nationwide Pay Cut Watch: Kaye Scholer Lowballs Low Billers

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Salary Cuts.jpgKaye Scholer — which conducted stealth layoffs in November and open layoffs in February — is now cutting back on associate pay. The move will only affect associates that are on track to bill below 1600 hours this year, but affect them it will. The WSJ Law Blog reports:

Here’s the way it’ll work: All those first and second year associates who, as of June 1, were on pace to bill fewer than 1600 hours for the year will have 20% of what they stand to make over the last half of the year withheld. (In other words, the firm will hang on to 10% of the year’s salary.) For third year associates who fall beneath the threshold, the firm will withhold 15% of the July-December pay (or 7.5% of the full-year salary).
If, at the end of the year, the associates have hit 1600 hours, they’ll have their full pay restored.

Resting at #70 in the Vault rankings, Kaye Scholer seems to just be continuing the trend of firms in this range trying what they can to save money.
At least the attorneys will have the opportunity to make the money back if they can pick up their hours. It’s more like being sent to your room without dinner, instead of being left by the side of the road.
Kaye Scholer to Withhold Pay From Lower-Billing Associates [WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Kaye Scholer
In This Market: Are You Getting Laid Off or Fired? A Kaye Scholer Case Study

Mommy of the Day Madlyn Primoff Gets Conditional Discharge

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Madlyn Primoff Kaye Scholer mugshot.jpgWe — and everybody else — reported on the Kaye Scholer partner who kicked her children out of her car and was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Today, Madlyn Primoff received a conditional discharge:

That means that the misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child against Park Avenue lawyer Madlyn Primoff will be dismissed in six months as long as she does not get arrested or violate the order of protection issued for her two girls.
“There is no ongoing danger to the children,” Westchester County Assistant District Attorney Audrey Stone told City Judge Eric Press during a brief appearance at 9:30 a.m.

Outside of the courthouse, Primoff apologized:

“Clearly I made a mistake,” Primoff said. “But I truly love our children and I know I am a good parent.”

As one commenter already anticipated, that apology is as close as we are likely to get to a real life “I’VE ABANDONED MY CHILD” moment.
Do you think that the (lack of) punishment fits the crime? Some additional details after the jump.

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Mommy Lawyer of the Day: Kaye Scholer Partner Leaves Bickering Kids

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Madlyn Primoff Kaye Scholer mugshot.jpgMadlyn Primoff, a partner in the bankruptcy and business reorganization group at Kaye Scholer, left her two daughters by the side of the road in White Plains. According to the New York Daily News:

A prominent Park Avenue lawyer was arrested after cops said she got so angry at her young daughters that she kicked them out of her car – and drove off.

Madlyn Primoff apparently couldn’t bear any more squabbling between her 10- and 12-year-old daughters Sunday and booted them out of the car in White Plains, Westchester County, authorities said.

A threat doesn’t carry much weight if you’re not willing to back it up, right? A tipster quips:

So maybe I won’t apply to Kaye Scholer … if their partners are this crazy.

But the 12-year-old demonstrated the dedication required of a future Kaye Scholer associate. She ran after her mother’s car, caught up to it, and got back in. You can’t stealth layoff that kid!

Unfortunately, the 10-year-old went to pieces:

The younger daughter wandered around the corner to Mamaroneck Ave., where a good Samaritan spotted her in tears about 7:30 p.m., bought her ice cream and then approached a cop in a patrol car.

The officer described the girl as “very upset” and “emotional” in the police report.

More discussion — including information about Madlyn Primoff’s $2 million home in Scarsdale, and a reader poll — after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: Kaye Scholer

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Kaye Scholer LLP logo Above the Law legal blog.jpgHappy Monday. To kick off the new week, we have more law firm layoff news.

The latest dispatch comes from Kaye Scholer. The firm conducted layoffs in the Corporate and Finance department on Friday. The number of affected attorneys is not known, but is believed to be at least five, including some first- and second-year associates.

In November 2008, the firm claimed that it was dismissing some lawyers for performance-based reasons. Back then, managing partner Barry Willner stated: “While we are obviously mindful of the difficult economic situation affecting all of us, we have no current plans to engage in layoffs or other terminations outside of the normal course of our business.”

Alas, three months later, the economy looks worse than ever. So bad, in fact, that Kaye Scholer finds itself chasing after gangsters for legal fees.

More details about last week’s layoffs, after the jump.

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Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 11.30: Softball Diamond

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champagne glasses small.jpg

After another craptasticical week for lawyerdom, here’s your weekly dose of wedding cheer. Unfortunately, like many of the firms we cover on ATL, LEWW has been forced to make some difficult decisions. We had to show one set of newlyweds the door–entirely for performance-related reasons, of course, because LEWW doesn’t do layoffs.

Here are the two lucky-to-survive entries:

1. Lauren Attard and Jordan Schwartz

2. Anna Joo and Adam Fee

Read more about these couples, after the jump.

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Kaye Scholer Cheaps … IP Attorneys?

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Kaye Scholer LLP logo Above the Law legal blog.jpgLast month, we reported that K&L Gates would stop paying bar association fees for their attorneys.

Now, we’ve learned that Kaye Scholer has decided to stop paying membership fees for the New York Intellectual Property Law Association:

As announced in October, each individual attorney now is responsible for maintaining his or her membership in NYIPLA. Both new membership and renewals for 2009 should be paid in full and received by NYIPLA no later than December 31, 2008.

I thought IP attorneys were a golden goose in this rapidly declining legal market? Why would you piss them off?

The annual membership dues are $200 for lawyers with more than five years experience, $130 for attorneys with less than five years under their belt.

Based on figures we’ve received, Kaye Scholer stands to save (wait for it …) $9,920.

Keeping your associates enrolled in an organization that helps them enhance their skills < $9K?

Really?

Well, at least the holiday party is still on.

Earlier: K&L Gates to Nickels and Dimes

Kaye Scholer to More Cowbell