King & Spalding

Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: King & Spalding Is So Last Season

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Salary Cuts.jpgI thought we were done with salary cuts. It’s almost September! Fashion week is on the horizon, but King & Spalding is coming out with an old style. I mean, it’s been multiple weeks since I used this picture.
Just before 5:00 p.m. yesterday, King & Spalding decided it was ready to cut associate salaries:

As you know, the past year has been a difficult one in all industries. The economic turmoil has led to a reduction in demand for legal services and increased pressure on firms to reduce costs. Although King & Spalding remains strong thanks to the quality of our people and our diverse portfolio of practices, clients, and offices, we are not immune to the broader economic environment. As a result, over the course of the past year, we, like other leading firms, have had to make a number of difficult but important changes to ensure our cost structure remains competitive and we are able to generate the opportunities that keep us all engaged.

Earlier this year, many firms “froze” salaries at 2008 levels or reduced them even lower. After closely monitoring those changes, we have decided to make commensurate adjustments to our salaries. Effective September 1, 2009, the annualized salary for U.S. partner-track associates will be equal to their 2008 salary. Partner-track associates in Atlanta and Charlotte will have an additional market-based reduction equal to $10,000 on an annualized basis. The salary for U.S. counsel, other lawyers, and consultants will be reduced by five percent. These salary changes will only apply going forward and will not be retroactive to the beginning of the year. Our plan is to announce 2010 salaries some time during the first quarter of next year, as some firms already do.

Ugh. Doesn’t K&S know that the cool thing isn’t just to cut salaries? All the popular kids are busy making fun of lockstep compensation. Oh wait, I guess K&S did get that message.
After the jump, another wedgie for lockstep.

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The Latest and Greatest Nationwide Start Date Round-up

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Last month, we brought you Open Thread: Nationwide Start Date Round-up. After a flood of tips in response to that, we brought you an Expanded Nationwide Start Date Round-up. After that post, we got another deluge of tips. So now we bring you the latest and greatest round-up: more firms, more 2010 start dates, more pro bono deferral opportunities, more great taste, less calories…. whoops, wrong post.

Proskauer Rose announced start dates yesterday. Incoming associates have got some time to kill and some money to spend, says a tipster:

Proskauer [is] pushing their new associates back to March 2010. They’re offering a $20K stipend, or the option to get a public interest job, start Jan. 2011 and get a $60K stipend. They’re also still honoring a $10K salary advance they had previously offered.

Most firms, like Proskauer, have offered baby associates deferral stipends when pushing back start dates. However, a few disgruntled 3Ls have written to ATL saying that stipends are not forthcoming at their firms. Here are reports from tipsters:

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell not offering any stipends [not even salary advances] to deferred Class of 2009 associates. Deferred Associates are still receiving their graduation bonuses ($1500), I guess that’s supposed to carry them through until January 2010.

You guys got to say something about the fact that Shearman, unlike most of the other firms, isn’t paying any kind of a stipend to those it is deferring until January ’10.

King & Spalding, all offices, has been pushed to January 19, 2010. Incoming associates were informed in late March. No stipend, and the salary advance is also not an option anymore.

Goldberg Kohn gave their incoming associates a $7500 bar stipend (which was reduced from the originally promised $8,000); they paid for Bar Exam fees; and they gave them a hand wave goodbye. As for their reported “pushing back start dates”, Goldberg Kohn has told their incoming associates that their start date was INDEFINITELY deferred. They said that March 2010 was a possibility but that the date was arbitrary and they are making no promises at all….They have offered no deferral stipend.

We would like to note that Shearman is paying a $65,000 stipend to those deferred to September 2010.

We wanted to call this post “The Final Round-up,” but that seemed overly optimistic. Check out the newest additions to the nationwide start date watch, after the jump. This time around, we’ve included firms (that we know of) that have not yet announced start dates.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: King & Spalding Is Making Cuts (But Not Talking)

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King Spalding logo.jpgUpdate (5:40): King & Spalding has confirmed this report. Read the statement after the jump.

We’ve heard all kinds of things about King & Spalding over the past week. We now believe that layoffs are in fact happening at the firm today.

The preliminary numbers we are hearing are that about 80 people will be let go today across all King & Spalding offices. But the Atlanta office should be the hardest hit, with half of the layoffs taking place there.

Update (5:45): The firm has now confirmed the news to Above the Law. The official numbers: 37 associates, 85 staff.

Most of our tipsters are surprised that the firm has managed to avoid layoffs for this long.

We understand that laid off attorneys are being offered a three month severance package. However, people are being told about the layoffs individually over the phone. Our sources do not expect an official firm wide announcement to go out. As one tipster put it:

We are told in person, not by email, so you’ll just see someone walk by crying. It’s scary.

After the jump, read the full K&S statement.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs

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Law Firm Merger Mania: Thacher Proffitt To Be Rescued by King & Spalding?

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Thacher.jpgTalks between Thacher Proffitt and King & Spalding, a story we broke here, remain ongoing. From the Legal Times:

Atlanta-based King & Spalding is in talks to acquire most, but not all of Thacher Proffitt & Wood’s lawyers, say two sources aware of the discussions. In order to avoid dissolution, New York-based Thacher hopes to find a partner to acquire it, these sources say.

One New York legal consultant says the discussions have been ongoing for the past three to four months, and that the firms hope to reach an agreement by year-end. The consultant says King & Spalding is considering taking on about 100 of Thacher’s 195 lawyers, but that it’s not yet clear which practices and offices the 100 lawyers would come from. “There’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty about who’s going to be invited to the party,” says the consultant, who asked not to be named.

Not sure we’d call it a “party.” But the alternative to a K&S acquisition isn’t appealing:

[Thacher's] overall headcount is down more than 100 lawyers compared to last year — and so are its profits. Profits per partner fell more than 22 percent in 2007 to $1.02 million, according to the Am Law 200.

The firm has had a constant stream of high-profile departures, including its vice chairman Thomas Leslie, who decamped for Greenberg Traurig in October, and Washington managing partner Richard Schaberg, who left for Hogan & Hartson’s D.C. office last month. The New York consultant and another individual familiar with the discussions say that if the deal falls through, Thacher Proffitt will likely go under.

It’s worth noting that TPW has placed its New York headquarters up for sublease (as reported by Lindsay Fortado and David Levitt of Bloomberg). If TPW is seeking a subtenant for all five floors it leases at Two World Financial Center, then one has to wonder if the firm plans to continue operations (at least in its current form).

As for King & Spalding, it’s growing strategically, despite the downturn. The firm recently snagged three energy partners from Kirkland & Ellis. KS hopefully has room in the lifeboat for Thacherites seeking a new home.

To Avoid Dissolution, Thacher Proffitt Talks With King & Spalding [Legal Times via WSJ Law Blog]

Thacher Proffitt Puts Up New York Office Space for Sublease [Bloomberg]

King & Spalding Adds Three Energy Partners in Washington, D.C. [King & Spalding]

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Law Firm Merger Mania: Thacher Proffitt + King & Spalding?

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law firm merger.jpgThis is just a rumor, so take it with a grain — nay, a shaker — of salt. But we hear that Thacher Proffitt & Wood — which has been badly bloodied by the mortgage meltdown and Wall Street crisis, and has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs — is in “serious” merger discussions with King & Spalding.
The idea that TPW might be seeking a white knight shouldn’t be that surprising. Back in July, Thacher’s managing partner, Paul Tvetenstrand, had to deny rumors that the firm was headed for dissolution.
In his email, Tvetenstrand acknowledged that “[l]ike many firms in this unusual market we have had to take steps to adjust to the credit crisis.” One such step, of course, is to take refuge in the arms of someone who’s weathering the storm better. See, e.g., Merrill Lynch / Bank of America.
We reached out to both firms for comment. TPW didn’t get back to us. Kimberly Brooks, public relations manager of King & Spalding, had this comment:

It is our responsibility as a law firm to offer clients the highest level of service possible. As such, King & Spalding regularly explores opportunities that might provide for additional expertise and accessibility.

As a matter of policy, we do not comment on rumors in the market.

So they won’t comment on “rumors in the market” — but maybe some of you would like to? If you have additional insight into this rumor — it’s true, it’s false, it’s somewhere in between — feel free to email us. Thanks.

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Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 41-50 (2009)

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comparing.jpgWe’re back with another installment in our series of open threads on the Vault 100. This is an opportunity for insiders to sound off on their firms for the benefit of wannabe potential first-year and lateral associates.
Here are the next ten on the Vault list, with prestige scores in parentheses:

41. Baker Botts LLP (6.096)
42. King & Spalding LLP (6.066)
43. DLA Piper (6.039)
44. Baker & McKenzie (5.982)
45. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (5.976)
46. Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP (5.974)
47. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (5.941)
48. Dewey & LeBoeuf (5.924)
49. Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (5.906)
50. McDermott, Will & Emery (5.892)

The most interesting set of “notable perks” in this bunch can be found at Boies Schiller. On the upside, there is an annual trip to Jamaica for attorneys and their families — in December, no less — but on the downside, it’s a “sweatshop run by a genius.” This makes us think of David Boies as the legal profession’s Santa Claus — who likes to take the elves to Montego Bay.
We invite the curious to ask questions about these firms, and for those in-the-know to take pity.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads – 2009

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Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: The Lay of the Land in Atlanta

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGAs we reported earlier this week, the Atlanta office of Paul Hastings has adopted a new pay scale, with a starting salary of $160,000.
The Fulton County Daily Report picks up the news today. It’s not new, since it was announced on Wednesday. But the article, by Meredith Hobbs, has a nice round-up of where things stand in the Atlanta market, post-Paul Hastings:

Like most of their competitors, Paul Hastings paid first-years $130,000 in 2007, the rate established by last spring’s round of pay raises. The firm had delayed unveiling its response to the increase to $145,000 triggered by Alston & Bird in August (with smaller raises up the classes) until now.

Paul Hastings’ new pay scale goes from $160,000 for first-years — the current market rate for first-years in more expensive cities such as Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York — to $215,000 for seventh-years.

By comparison, King & Spalding announced in October a 2008 scale starting at $145,000 for first-years and going to $195,000 for seventh-years. At that time, King & Spalding established a richer bonus system, which upped pay for first-years receiving bonuses to $152,500, and star seven-years to as high as $250,000.

Paul Hastings does not calculate bonuses until after the end of its fiscal year, so associate bonuses correlating to 2008 compensation will not be determined until the end of February 2009, said Philip J. Marzetti, the firm’s Atlanta managing partner.

More excerpts and discussion, after the jump.

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Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: King & Spalding

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King Spalding LLP logo Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgEarlier today, King & Spalding announced the rest of its new associate pay scale, which will take effect on January 1, 2008. The firm had previously announced a starting salary for first-year associates of $145,000.
In terms of base salary, the K&S scale is similar to the Alston & Bird scale, but slightly better from year 4 through year 7 (to the tune of a few thousand dollars a year). The KS scheme also provides for a fixed bonus at 2050 billable hours (including up to 50 pro bono hours), starting at $7,500 for first years and going up to a range of $30,000-$55,000 for seventh years.
Additional bonuses, both for hours and for “significant non-billable contributions to the firm,” remain available. Memo and table, after the jump.

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Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 41-45

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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver Hedges Manulife Tower 865 S Figueroa St Above the Law blog.jpgWe’re pressing on with our series of open threads on Vault 100 law firms. We know that some of you are eager to discuss firms ranked in the 70′s, and we don’t want to disappoint you.
And a quick word from one of our sponsors, ATL’s Career Partner, Lateral Link:

“Lateral Link provides free access to the Vault firm information/career guides. Readers can get free access to the full information on our site as part of our career center.”

Without further ado, here are the five firms for this afternoon (in Vault 100 order, prestige scores in parentheses):

41. King & Spalding LLP (6.183)
42. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (6.099)
43. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP (6.080)
44. Baker & McKenzie (6.079)
45. Baker Botts LLP (6.061)

Please discuss them 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

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Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Odds and Ends

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGNone of these items is new. But as we were going through our overflowing inbox — if we owe you an email, we apologize for our delinquency (or blame our spam filter) — we came across some associate pay raises not previously mentioned here:

1. King & Spalding: We provided extensive coverage of their recent raise in Atlanta. But we forgot to mention that they also raised starting salaries in Houston, to $160,000 for first-year associates (effective August 1). Memo after the jump.

2. Hunton & Williams: This news surfaced in the comments, but we also received it by email: “Hunton in DC raised to $160k. Memo is floating around, though unfortunately I don’t have a copy.” (If you have the memo, please email us.)

Update: One commenter claims this news is incorrect. But as another commenter notes, the $160,000 starting salary appears in Hunton DC’s NALP form. We trust the NALP form.

3. Allen Matkins: We weren’t familiar with this 200+ lawyer, California-based firm. But since a tipster sent us their pay raise memo, we’re happy to post it (also after the jump).

As always, we rely upon you, our readers, to keep us updated on associate salary developments. If you have news and/or a memo that we haven’t previously posted, please email us. Thanks.

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