Kaye Scholer

Associate Bonus Watch: Kaye Scholer Bonus Follow-Up
(And Other Random Tidbits About the Firm)

By

associate bonus watch 2007 law firm Above the Law blog.jpgA little follow-up on Kaye Scholer, whose bonus memo we posted back in November. From a source at the firm:

Just found out that despite the memo sent to associates last year, Kaye Scholer has decided to tie the special bonus to hours. Requiring 2200 hours to receive the special bonus.

There was no mention of this hours requirement in the original memo. Of course, it was designed to appear that Kaye Scholer was paying market when they had no intention of doing so.

But in fairness to the firm, they did leave themselves with some wiggle room, stating that special bonuses would be paid on a “discretionary” basis. It just seems that 2200 was the magic number required to trigger the exercise of said discretion.
Some associates aren’t happy about how that requirement was communicated (or not communicated, as the case may be). One associate claims that managing partner Barry Wilner, at a meeting held last year to discuss the bonus situation, did not disclose that 2200 hours would be the cutoff. As a result, “[a]ll the associates had to go on were rumors, which caused many associates to scramble at the last minute to achieve what they thought would be a sufficient amount of hours…. I’m not so much concerned about the amounts involved as much as I am concerned about the lack of information that floats through this firm.”
Two other bizarre bits of news about Kaye Scholer — involving “a giant Care Bear” and a roller derby queen named “She Raw,” which would seem to take the firm to Venable-level heights of weirdness — after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Kaye Scholer Bonus Follow-Up
(And Other Random Tidbits About the Firm)”

42 Comments

Associate Bonus Watch: Kaye Scholer Announces

By

associate bonus watch 2007 law firm Above the Law blog.jpgThe firm of Kaye Scholer is the latest to jump on the bonus bandwagon. They’ve just announced year-end and special bonuses. The year-end bonuses are issued in ranges for each class; the special bonuses, to be paid “on a discretionary basis,” appear to be on the standard scale ($10k/$15k/$20k, etc.).
Memo after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Kaye Scholer Announces”

188 Comments

Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 66-70

By

Greenberg Traurig building Miami 1221 Brickell Avenue Above the Law blog.jpgOur open threads on Vault 100 law firms seem to be drawing fewer comments. But we’ll finish what we’ve started. We don’t want to give you a case of these.
So here is this afternoon’s set of Biglaw shops (with Vault prestige scores in parentheses):

66. Greenberg Traurig, LLP (5.631)
67. Kaye Scholer LLP (5.591)
68. Holland & Knight LLP (5.498)
69. Steptoe & Johnson LLP (5.403)
70. Foley & Lardner LLP (5.360)

Among these firms, the special ATL shout-out goes to Greenberg Traurig. GT is the firm that incites the strongest passions in people.
Please discuss these five fine firms in the comments. Thanks.
The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]
Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10; Vault 11-15; Vault 16-20; Vault 21-25; Vault 26-30; Vault 31-35; Vault 36-40; Vault 41-45; Vault 46-50; Vault 51-55; Vault 56-60; Vault 61-65

120 Comments

Skaddenfreude: The Kaye Scholer Memo

By

100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGWe received this from multiple tipsters at Kaye Scholer, so consider it confirmed. One of them notes: “They matched retroactively, which they didn’t do last year.”
Barry Willner/NY/US/KSFHH
01/25/2007 05:31 PM
Phone: (212) 836-8421
Subject: 2007 Salaries
We are pleased to advise that the Firm is raising associate salaries for the Classes of 2006 through 1999 to reflect the competitive market . The new salaries in New York are as follows:
Class of 2006–$160,000
Class of 2005–$170,000
Class of 2004–$185,000
Class of 2003–$210,000
Class of 2002–$230,000
Class of 2001–$250,000
Class of 2000- $265,000
Class of 1999–$280,000
We will also be raising associate salaries for offices outside of New York but we have not yet determined what those salaries will be. Once they are determined, the heads of your offices will let each of you know the new salary levels. All salary adjustments for all offices will be effective as of January 1st.
To the extent adjustments are needed in order to raise salaries for junior counsel or senior associates above the 8th year class, any such adjustments will be addressed on an individual basis.
We are looking forward to another record year at the Firm and to your continued commitment to our clients.
Earlier: Previous announcements of law firm associate salary increases (scroll down through “Skaddenfreude” archives)

3 Comments

Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell: Hiring S&C Ain’t Cheap

By

After we posted the press release recognizing the Sullivan & Cromwell and Kaye Scholer lawyers who worked on the recent Onex / Kodak Health Group transaction, one of you pointed out:

Respectfully, you missed the lede in the Kodak post. Read Exhibit C to the Charney Complaint (PDF) re: Kodak’s complaints regarding fees and overstaffing. Then look at the attorney list for Kodak and compare the slim list for the other side.

S&C put out its major league press, earning how much in fees??? I’ll leave it to you to parse the Exhibit C memo. Have at it!

Point well-taken. The announcement mentions just five Kaye Scholer lawyers, versus almost thirty S&C lawyers, who worked on the deal.
In fairness to Sullivan, the Kaye Scholer part of the announcement names only partners, not associates (presumably omitted from the list). But it is true that a staggering number of S&C lawyers worked on this transaction — some 28 lawyers, about a third of them partners, from six different countries. Basically, everybody and their cousin-in-law worked on this deal.
Not surprisingly, Kodak squealed about the bill. For your reference, here’s Exhibit C to the Charney Complaint:
Kodak Sullivan Cromwell email.jpg
Partner Stephen Kotran notes that griping about the bill is “par for the course” for Kodak.
But Kodak might be wondering: Is overstaffing “par for the course” for Sullivan & Cromwell?
(Okay, that last line was gratuitously snarky. For all we know, Kodak was just delighted with the quality and cost of S&C’s legal representation. Heck, maybe we’ll drop Kodak a line and see if they have any comment. We’ll keep you posted.)
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell (scroll down)

2 Comments

Musical Chairs: 01.11.06 (postscript)

By

Oops, we left out new partner news from the MC post that we just published. And since half of you probably just made partner at Jones Day, that’s not a good thing.
Here’s the news:
* Jones Day: Forty-five (45!!!) new partners. Names here.
* Kaye Scholer: Four new partners. Names here.
* Stroock & Stroock & Lavan: Three new partners. Names here.
* Vinson & Elkins: Fourteen new partners. Names here.
NY Associates Making Partner, Counsel [NYLawyer.com]
Jones Day Names 45 New Partners [Jones Day]
Kaye Scholer Announces New Partners and Counsel [Kaye Scholer]
Stroock Names New Partners and Special Counsel [Stroock & Stroock & Lavan]
Vinson & Elkins Names 14 New Partners [Vinson & Elkins]

0 Comments

Associate Bonus Watch: Kaye Scholer and Covington Match

By

stack of bills cash money.jpgAnnouncements just in from Kaye Scholer and Covington & Burling (NY). Guess what? They’ll be paying associate bonuses consistent with the New York market rates.
We realize this is thrilling news. But please, control your excitement.
We don’t have a copy of the Covington memo, but we understand that (1) the bonuses will be paid in January, and (2) the class of 2006/”stub year” bonus is a prorated $30,000.
The Kaye Scholer memo, after the jump.
P.S. We’re still interested in a copy of the Cahill Gordon memo from yesterday (assuming there was one).

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Kaye Scholer and Covington Match”

0 Comments
Page 4 of 41234