You can still call yourself prestigious if you work at the firms that make up today’s fall recruiting open thread. But once you are outside of the Vault top 20, people start talking about “firm culture” at least as much as they talk about prestige.

Here’s the next batch:

21. Shearman & Sterling
22. O’Melveny & Myers
23. Quinn Emanuel
24. Ropes & Gray
25. Hogan & Hartson
26. Clifford Chance
27. Morrison & Foerster
28. Mayer Brown
29. Linklaters
30. Boies Schiller & Flexner

The slide continues for Shearman & Sterling. The firm was ranked #19 last year, and is down two spots this year. Is there any specific reason for the fall?

After the jump, let’s look at the firms rising up through the rankings.

* An Illinois judge sentenced Clifton Williams to six months in prison for yawning. Good thing Williams didn’t set off a yawn waterfall. [Chicago Tribune]

* Second Circuit reverses Judge Jed Rakoff’s decision to grant New York Times access to the Emperor’s Club wiretaps. Further embarrassment of Eliot Spitzer is not sufficient “good cause.” Here’s the decision. [Courthouse News Service]

* Layoff litigation for Linklaters? [Legal Week]

* Where the work is: practice areas that are still booming. [ABA Journal]

* Lawsuits say smartphones force hourly employees to work off the clock. [Wall Street Journal (subscription)]

* Hot recession trend: Pro se. [Los Angeles Times]

Earlier today, we welcomed summer associates to Above the Law. It looks like Linklaters had the same idea. Here is today’s welcome memo from the firm.

We offer some more “frequently asked questions” after the jump.

* Yesterday, Vermont became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage. [The Boston Globe]

* Former White House Counsel Fred Fielding is joining Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, as a litigation partner. [The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times]

* As he dismissed the conviction of former senator Ted Stevens, a federal judge appointed a lawyer to investigate the prosecutors’ alleged misconduct. [The Washington Post]

* Citing frustrations with “shrinking compensation” in banking, former UBS banker Lewis Steinberg will join Linklaters in June. [The Am Law Daily]

* “An internet poker site agreed to pay the U.S. $105 million to settle charges that it illegally offered gambling to players in the United States.” [The Washington Post]

* “The Supreme Court will decide whether a judge can award more money to winning lawyers because the judge thought they did a good job. [The Associated Press]

* As the Obama administration prepares to crack down on work-place laws—U.S. businesses are seeking legal counsel. For some lawyers that means money honey. [The Wall Street Journal]

Last week, we mentioned that Linklaters was gearing up to conduct massive layoffs.

Today, The Lawyer is reporting that 270 Linklaters employees are out of a job:

Magic circle firm Linklaters has confirmed that between 100 and 120 of its City lawyers will lose their jobs as part of its so-called New World strategy, while 130 to 150 members of business services staff will also be affected.

“New World Strategy” indeed.

Linklaters is a large firm, but 270 people represent deep cuts:

The London cuts will translate to 4.8 per cent of the firm’s total workforce while 4.2 per cent of its lawyer headcount will be slashed.

Is there a country where the legal industry is thriving? Have Rosetta Stone, will travel.

Linklaters: 270 London jobs to go [The Lawyer]

Earlier: Magic Circle Meltdown: Layoffs at Allen & Overy, Linklaters, and Clifford Chance

The London-based “Magic Circle” firms may have had a strong presence on the 2008 global law firm rankings, but a few of them are off to a rough start in 2009. Earlier this month, we reported, “having already laid off 20 New York litigators, Clifford Chance today let go of 70 - 80 London lawyers.”

The layoff disease has spread to two other Magic Circle firms. Layoffs were announced in the New York office of Allen & Overy yesterday. Our sources says:

Allen & Overy just fired two paralegals and three attorneys in the NY office. These firings are said to be “performance based.” Word on the street is that there will be more, but they will come in bits and pieces to avoid bad press. Rumors have already started about other attorneys being let go in offices abroad.

[UPDATE (Jan. 26, 10:34 a.m.]: In response to our inquiry about layoffs, A&O spokesperson Jaime Bruck says, “This is nothing more than the normal management of our business. We don’t comment on the reasons for individual departures. The total # of attorneys in NY is 171.”]

And Linklaters plans layoffs soon. The Old World firm is going “New World” by axing 70 partners and 10 percent of its associates, reports The Lawyer:

Linklaters’ top management is to drastically overhaul the firm’s structure, slashing up to 70 partners and 10 per cent of associates in a bid to become a smaller, more profitable operation.

The programme, understood to be called Linklaters New World, will also see redundancies among support staff. The firm’s offices in Western Europe are thought to be most vulnerable to cuts.

Those layoffs could start as soon as February.

With the Guardian reporting that “Britain has officially entered recession for the first time since 1991,” the layoff news from London seems inevitable. But some of the firms in the circle— Freshfields and Slaughter & May— are still feeling magical. Good news from those firms, after the jump.

A few bonus announcements trickled in over the holidays. Here’s a round-up of recent bonus announcements that have not yet been covered in these pages. If you have new news, e-mail us at tips@abovethelaw.com.

1. Sheppard Mullin (New York): Sheppard Mullin is paying above market rate for attorneys who racked up the hours this year. Baseline hours are 2000 in New York (and 2100 outside of New York, see below). Bonuses range from $20,000 to $70,000, plus discretionary bonuses of $20,000 to $50,000. Reaction at the firm, after the jump.

2. Sheppard Mullin (outside New York): Associates in California and D.C. had to rack up a few more hours than their NY brethren to qualify for bonuses, with 2,100 as their baseline. And their lockstep bonuses for additional hours are not as generous. Details after the jump.

3. Akin Gump (outside New York): We posted on the New York market/ half-Skadden bonuses for Akin New York associates, announced on New Year’s Eve. Associates outside of New York received an e-mail saying that “merit bonuses” will be given based on “productivity, quality of work and Firm citizenship.” Check out the e-mail, and news of a freeze watch there, after the jump.

4. Linklaters (all U.S. offices): This Magic Circle firm announced bonuses and salary increases for U.S. associates right before Christmas. The London-based firm is following Cravath’s lead, paying half-Skadden bonuses to all U.S. associates, with no hours requirement. The firm will have normal class-year raises. Per our tipster, “the firm had a good first half, including in NY, so a Latham-style salary freeze would have been pretty shocking.”

5. Arnold & Porter (New York): Associates outside of New York got individualized bonus memos last week. New Yorkers got their bonus announcement on Jan. 2. Per our tipster, “the scale was as expected, the half-Skadden, which is significantly less than the bonus in non-NY offices, but at least is “market,” unlike our salaries.” Our tipster says the first A&P paycheck of the year remains at 2008 levels.

Bonus memos galore, after the jump.

* London-based law firm Linklaters was the leading law firm in mergers and acquisitions this year, taking the number 1 title from Sullivan and Cromwell. [Bloomberg]

* Former UK attorney general Lord Goldsmith says the UK should take in prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp if it will help the U.S. close the prison. [BBC News] Australia is not likely to take any prisoners says prime minister Kevin Rudd. The U.S. has asked a 100 countries to help clear the prison. [BBC News]

* Guinea pigs may smell bad but should you go to jail for owning one? Probationers in California could end up in jail for failing to report owning harmless pets like hamsters or goldfish thanks to a ruling by the California Supreme Court. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* A chinese court convicted 11 people for running a counterfeiting ring that “manufactured and distributed pirated Microsoft software throughout the world.” [The New York Times]

* Associates were not the only people in the legal community that were displeased with compensation this year. Federal judges lost their request to Congress for a pay raise to account for inflation. Chief Justice John Roberts says the frightfully low pay for judges threatens the quality of the court. [The Los Angeles Times]

* Life at law firms is not looking good for 2009, sorry to say. Lay-offs and lower bonuses will likely continue in the New Year. On the bright side—less work could help you meet that New Year’s resolution to go to the gym. [The Chicago Tribune]

In connection with on-campus interviewing season, we’re giving you a chance to assess the firms that made this year’s Vault 100 list of most prestigious law firms. The previous open threads listed firms in groups of five, but to up the pace, we’ll list them by ten from here on out. Here’s the next group, with prestige scores in parentheses:

21. O’Melveny & Myers LLP (6.815)
22. Clifford Chance LLP (6.772)
23. Jones Day (6.763)
24. Morrison & Foerster LLP (6.657)
25. Hogan & Hartson LLP (6.579)
26. Linklaters (6.574)
27. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy (6.512)
28. Ropes & Gray LLP (6.501)
29. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP (6.494)
30. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (6.481)

We note Magic Circle firm Linklaters making a big leap from the high 30s in the 2008 list to #26 this year — perhaps because its “notable perks” include group retreats to Europe, a drinks trolley, and an on-site doctor and dentist.

Compare. Contrast. Discuss. Thanks.

Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009

Bloggers tend to be so hyper-connected that being away from Internet service for more than two hours can feel like an eternity. Due to the numerous e-mails flying around law firms, and the expectation of rapid response, lawyers tend to have a similar connectivity addiction. The Blackberry is the sweet, sweet drug that feeds the need.

We know how dedicated you all are to your Blackberries. What if you were forced to give it up in order to really go on vacation and get away from the firm?

UK-based Linklaters is doing just that, reports Law People.

Linklaters is reported having decreed, in a fit of concern for work/life balance, that lawyers leave their Blackberrys at home while on holiday (vacation to us).The order is designed to insulate associates, in particular, from the relentless rat race for a few sweet weeks a year, according to management. “Sometimes it’s the small things that count,” one partner averred. While another lawyer confessed that “I feel naked without my Blackberry and there are times when you just have to be reachable.” Whether the firm is successful in enforcing this edict is not yet clear.

We think this will just result in compounding of guilt, as attorneys feel the shame of obsessively checking their Blackberries while “on holiday,” and the need to hide the illicit Blackberry checking from the firm. What do you think about the policy?

Here’s a follow-up to last week’s post about associate salaries in London. It sounded some pessimistic notes, but maybe the pessimism was unwarranted. From Legal Week:

Shearman & Sterling has announced an increase of 7 percent in its London associate salaries, putting the firm’s rates well ahead of those at top U.K. firms. The rises mean a newly qualified solicitor based at the firm’s London office will get paid 80,000 pounds ($157,976), up from a figure of 75,000 pounds last year. Senior associates will receive salary increases on a discretionary basis, with the base salary level moving up to 170,000 pounds ($335,699) a year.

Trainee solicitors will also get a bump-up from the review, with first-years now pocketing 39,000 pounds ($77,013) — up from 36,500 pounds — and second-years in line for 41,500 pounds ($81,950). The increases will make them among the highest-earning trainees in London.

Remember, however, that these figures are for U.K.-qualified lawyers. As one commenter noted, U.S. lawyers working in London, whether for U.S. firms or Magic Circle firms, generally do better. For more discussion, see here.

Linklaters has followed suit:

In response to Shearman’s move, Linklaters announced raises of nearly 4 percent for junior lawyers, in what will be seen as a confident move from the U.K. giant. A newly-qualified solicitor (NQ) at the Magic Circle law firm is now set to earn 66,600 pounds ($131,500), up from 64,000 pounds ($126,300) in 2007.

Finally, in other U.K. news, the London office of O’Melveny & Myers is in “disarray” and “turmoil,” according to The Lawyer (via the ABA Journal). That publication reports that “underinvestment by the firm’s Los Angeles (LA) hub [has] prompted the exit of a fifth of its partners and a generation of senior associates.” We dropped OMM a line to see if they had any comment, but they didn’t get back to us.

Update: More here from Legal Week, which reports that O’Melveny is “is in talks to bring its remuneration structure for London partners into line with the rest of the firm.”

Shearman leads London associate salary hike, Linklaters follows [Legal Week]
O’Melveny in disarray as UK dream goes sour [TheLawyer.com]
O’Melveny’s London Office is ‘In Turmoil,’ Legal Publication Says [ABA Journal]

Earlier: London to… £75K Be Happy You Have A Job!

We received 1,036 responses to last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on where you’d most want to work, which, in turn, was based on your nominations last month.

Here’s how it turned out:

Survey Results: Which Firm Would You Most Want To Work For?

Overall, Latham & Watkins dominated the field, pulling in almost one fifth of all votes. Latham was the most popular choice among voters in L.A., the Bay Area, and Washington, DC, and was particularly favored by tax lawyers and litigators.

Runner-up Wachtell was actually the top choice of respondents in New York, narrowly besting Davis Polk and Latham. It was also, by far, the most popular pick among M&A lawyers, with roughly 30% of their vote.

Kirkland placed third overall, but was the top choice of Chicago respondents and patent lawyers, with almost twice as many votes as the next most popular firm in Chicago (Latham) and almost as many patent votes as the next two firms combined (Latham and Quinn).

Williams & Connolly, Ropes & Gray, and Davis Polk tied for fourth, with Ropes & Gray dominating the Boston vote, Williams & Connolly pwning DC (and gaining the second highest vote from litigators after Latham), and Davis Polk rocking the investment management scene (with Ropes & Gray running second best in that field).

Paul Hastings was the clear winner among labor & employment attorneys, winning almost 70% of the vote, and was also the most popular choice among real estate attorneys and lawyers in Atlanta.

On the Magic Circle front, Linklaters proved more popular than Allen & Overy, and was actually the most popular choice among securities lawyers. Allen & Overy was the most popular choice among structured finance attorneys.

This month’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, focused on which firm you would choose if you could go anywhere, was dominated by Latham & Watkins and Wachtell Lipton. But several firms were close behind.

  * Respondents had several reasons to applaud Latham: “Prestige”, “Friends there are happy”, “Awesome firm, awesome people”, “They rock”, “Prestige, substantive work, great litigation practice”, and “Top notch clients and matters; kick ass bonuses; selective hiring in a good way (need good grades plus a good; personality); Vault top 10 without the stuffiness of originating on the east coast; good growth but no risk of Brobecking (great management + tons of funds)…..should I go on?” Or, as one respondent summed it up: “ass kickers.”

  * At Wachtell, with 2007 profits per partner of $4.48 million, money played a key factor in respondents’ enthusiasm for the firm: “100% bonus”, “money”, “it’s all about the cash”, “I want the compensation!”, “money honey” and, of course, “CASH.”

  * “Money” was also a big plus for Cravath (even though their profits per partner were a mere $3.3 million). Voters also noted “Prestige, training, can go anywhere else afterwards.”

  * “Prestige” and “Exit opportunities” also won several votes for Skadden, who also had more than $2 billion in revenues last year. (Their SideBar program is pretty cool, too.)

  * “Bonuses and work” were praised at Kirkland & Ellis, as was stability: “They’re well positioned for the credit crunch and M&A downturn. And the pay’s better, of course.”

  * Sullivan & Cromwell was also coveted for “good work, and $$$$” as well as “reputation.” With profits per partner of $3.13 million, that “$$$$” is appealing at multiple levels.

  * Paul Hastings surged in popularity as respondents complemented their labor & employment practice and their compensation structures in Atlanta and Chicago.

  * In an incendiary match-up, Davis Polk was heralded as “da bomb”, while Boston heavyweight Ropes & Gray was declared “the bomb.”

  * Among the Magic Circle firms, Allen & Overy supporters declared “Great offices, european attitude” while Linklaters was called “the best globally, both in equity and debt.”

  * Debevoise won several votes for its combination of “prestige and culture”.

  * Litigators were torn between Quinn Emanuel, where “hard core litigators with a great reputation” create an atmosphere where “[p]ersonality, quirkiness, and fun seem prevalent,” and Williams & Connolly, as “the best litigatio[n] shop. Period.”

So of these fourteen juggernauts of practice, prestige, and sweet, sweet profits, who would you most like to work for?

Cast your vote in today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, after the jump.

With apologies for the delay, here’s a bonus announcement made on Friday, by the Magic Circle firm of Linklaters. We don’t have the memo, but a confirmed source informs us:

Linklaters matched the New York market bonus for its US qualified associates. Special plus regular bonus, same scale as Cravath.

No hours requirement. The bonus will probably be paid in one lump sum in January (memo says all amounts will be paid by January 31).

Those who have been here for a few years weren’t really concerned — Linklaters always matches. But some of the newer associates were nervous because the delay seemed unnecessary. Better late than never I guess.

To quote Bjork — no, not the wearer of the infamous swan dress, but the former Linklaters associate — Viva Linklaters!

Here are this morning’s firms (in Vault 100 order, prestige scores in parentheses):

36. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (6.308)
37. Linklaters (6.301)
38. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (6.244)
39. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (6.204)
40. Proskauer Rose LLP (6.195)

You’ll note that one of these firms is Linklaters, which we recently wrote about. We reprint two emails from Linklaters sources, taking issue with our prior coverage, after the jump.

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

It’s fall recruiting season, and rumors are flying about every law firm under the sun. Here’s something from the ATL mailbag about Linklaters:

I’m going through [the on-campus interview program at my law school] and each day I kept hearing the same thing. Apparently Linklaters’s summer associates had such a terrible time the last few months that many of them have not yet accepted their offers.

Despite the salary, they are going through EIW hoping to get hired by someone else, because they hated being at Link. Can you confirm this?

We hadn’t heard about this. We do know that morale in the Stockholm office of Linklaters is pretty high (in an “I’ll have what he’s having” kind of way).

Anyway, we contacted the firm for comment. Josh Berick, Co-Hiring Partner in New York, had this to say:

In 2007, Linklaters had its largest and strongest summer associate class ever. The firm is thriving, and many of our summer associates have been able to work on some of the largest cross-border transactions of the year.

It is anticipated that all of our summer associates will receive offers to join us, once the program is concluded. Linklaters traditionally has had a very high acceptance rate, and we are confident that the vast majority of our 2007 summer associates will accept their offers.

As always, we welcome any tips by email (subject line: “Linklaters”). Thanks.

No, not that Bjork. We’re talking about a different idiosyncratic Scandinavian, who also harbors musical aspirations.

By way of introduction:

This email was sent to the whole of Linklaters by one of their Swedish assistants associates!

Brilliant.

Oh those crazy Swedes…

Check out the email — which has made the rounds worldwide, is still being forwarded as we speak, and was going to wind up in your inbox eventually, so we feel no qualms about posting it — after the jump.

Remember that root canal we had? It’s time for us to go in for a follow-up.

Hence this lunchtime open thread. Please post pay raise news in the comments. Since it’s Friday afternoon, we expect at least some news to break.

Before we leave, here are some items we’ve recently verified:

1. From a confirmed Linklaters source, we hear that “Linklaters has reinforced its commitment to be a top player in NYC market.”

We interpret this as: “We’re on the $160K scale. Yippee!”

2. From a confirmed source at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal:

Our NY office is matching the New York pay raise, and our Chicago office is going to match Sidley’s 145K raise to Chicago 1st years. We expect that all Chicago firms will go to 145K, and some may feel compelled to go higher (Kirkland?) to compete with Skadden.

We only announced the 1st year rates. We have not set the upper level associate structure, which is somewhat more compressed than at certain other firms.

3. Finally, Brown Rudnick has matched. Their memo appears after the jump.

We’ll review your comments, and resume salary coverage, when we get back. Thanks.

Earlier: Previous announcements of law firm associate salary increases (scroll down through “Skaddenfreude” archives)

The British firm’s New York office announced market bonuses — except for the class of 2006, who got slightly above-market bonuses of $11,000 (or $35,000 prorated).

Biglaw associates: If you haven’t already done so, please take our bonus poll. Thanks!

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of bonuses (scroll down)

Lateral Moves:

* Four litigation partners, and possibly a dozen associates, are leaving White & Case to join the New York office of Linklaters — a “Magic Circle” firm (insert squeal of delight here). The group’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal, antitrust, and other regulatory matters.

The four partners are Lawrence Byrne, a former assistant U.S. attorney (S.D.N.Y.) and deputy chief of the DOJ’s organized crime section; Joseph Armao, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan; Lance Croffoot-Suede, who was hired by Linklaters based solely on his fabulous, British-sounding name; and Paul Alfieri, who was not.

* Corporate lawyer Michael Student and bankruptcy lawyer Neil Pigott, to Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels, from Holland & Knight and Mandel Katz, respectively.

* Private equity lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, to Jones Day, from Latham & Watkins.

From the New York Law Journal: “Mr. Kennedy is not related to the former U.S. attorney general and New York senator whose son is a well-known environmental lawyer and political activist.”

RFK. Jeez, poor guy. And it doesn’t even help him get restaurant reservations.

NY Firm Loses Four Partners, and 12 Associates May Follow [NYLawyer.com]
NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
Firm Adds NY Private Equity Partner [NYLawyer.com]