Our inaugural Law Firm Swag Contest was about quality rather than quantity. We had just four entries, but they were goodies.
Eschewing trinkets and baubles, K&L Gates took the high road, urging recruits to change their world through an innovative website. Perkins Coie went green, arranging for trees to be planted in honor of interviewees. And who doesn’t like a customized iPod, the swag doled out by Dobrowski LLP, the Texas litigation boutique?
But in the end, dear readers, you voted with your feet. Following in the footsteps of the “Sex and the City” gals, or maybe Imelda Marcos, you made it all about the shoes. The customized Nike footwear doled out by Mayer Brown scored a runaway victory, with over 55 percent of the 2,100 votes.
Props to the person in the Mayer recruiting office who came up with the brilliant idea for this Niketown summer associate event. If you’re looking for new running shoes — or, for that matter, the opportunity to do appellate litigation in New York — then sprint in the direction of Mayer Brown!
Earlier: Law Firm Swag Contest: The Finalists
ATL Contest: Best Law Firm Swag of 2009
Mayer Brown
- Contests, Environment / Environmental Law, Fabulosity, Green Issues, K&L Gates, Mayer Brown, Perkins Coie, Public Interest, Shopping, Technology
Law Firm Swag Contest: The Winner
By David Lat- Contests, Environment / Environmental Law, Fabulosity, Green Issues, K&L Gates, Mayer Brown, Perkins Coie, Public Interest, Shopping, Slideshows, Technology
Law Firm Swag Contest: The Finalists
By David LatPerhaps it’s a sign of the times. We received a whopping four (4) entries in our inaugural law firm swag contest. Is law firm swag, like subsidized soda or staff attorney programs, another casualty of the recession?
But if we cancel the contest, then the terrorists win. So, onward!
We realize, of course, that not everyone approves of swag. See, e.g., this comment:
This is fairly disgusting…. I find this article particularly untimely, given that most law students are struggling to find good jobs, and many practicing attorneys are struggling just to keep the jobs they have.
Jeez, commenter 58 — lighten up! Considering that we cover law firm layoffs in excruciating detail, to the point where many accuse us of doomsaying and fearmongering, we are aware of the tough job market. But, even in the Great Recession, some people are still getting offers — along with a little swag to sweeten the pot. So what’s wrong with some fun to balance out the gloom?
In defense of law firm schwag, here’s a trend worth noting: “going green.” Firms are trying to be environmentally conscious in their swag selections, as well as more socially responsible in general. This may make schwag less “disgusting” to its critics.
A second theme of swag this year: customization. In this age of individualism and/or narcissism, firms are letting swag recipients have a say in what gets given away. Just as firms are moving away from lockstep in terms of pay and promotion, so too are they allowing for greater tailoring in terms of swag.
Check out the finalists, and vote for the best law firm swag, after the jump.
- Arnold & Porter, Davis Polk, Emory Law School, Harvard Law School, Mayer Brown, McGuire Woods, Milbank Tweed, New York Times, Shearman & Sterling, Weddings, WilmerHale
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 9.20: Maddening
By Kashmir Hill
We suppose it’s fitting that on Yom Kippur, when our Jewish friends are fasting at home, today’s Legal Eagle Wedding Watch is a total WASP-fest. (Last weekend was Rosh Hashanah, which explains the unusual dearth of Jewish nuptials in the NYT announcements.) We look forward to receiving plenty of tasteful feedback about how there are “too many gentiles” this week.
Here are your six finalists — all Biglaw associates, as it happens:
1. Elisabeth Madden and Wesley Mullen
2. Ann Parker and Robert McKeehan
3. Emily Harris and Matthew Mauney
Read all about these couples and evaluate their credentials, after the jump.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 9.20: Maddening”
On Friday, we reported that Sidley Austin was asking some of its deferred associates to start earlier than expected. Today, Mayer Brown keeps the good news rolling. Bloomberg reports:
The firm previously deferred the start dates of its first- year associates scheduled to join this fall. Because of the expanding work, Mayer Brown has asked about half of 12 deferred associates who are scheduled to work in New York to start working after Labor Day, according to [Richard Spehr, partner in charge of Mayer Brown's New York office].
As far as we know, the rest of Mayer Brown’s incoming class is still on track to start on January 19, 2010.
Sidley had enough work that it needed to bring new people online earlier than expected; now Mayer is in the same position. Are these the fabled “green shoots” we’ve all been waiting for?
Mayer Brown Continues to Expand New York City Office [Bloomberg]
Earlier: Sidley D.C. Wants Some Incoming Associates to Start … Early!
New Management at Mayer Brown Delays Start Dates, Changes Bonus Threshold
- Boies Schiller & Flexner, Clifford Chance, Hogan & Hartson, Linklaters, Mayer Brown, Morrison & Foerster, O'Melveny & Myers, Quinn Emanuel, Ropes & Gray, Shearman & Sterling, Vault 100 Open Threads: 2010
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 21 – 30 (2010)
By Elie MystalYou 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.
Continue reading “Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 21 – 30 (2010)”
- Columbia Law School, Goodwin Procter, Harvard Law School, Mayer Brown, University of Chicago Law School, Wachtell Lipton, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.2: Turkish Delight
By Laurie LinHow young is too young to get married? Or more to the point, how young is too young to appear in the NYT weddings pages and not look foolhardy or vaguely scandalous? We ask because these newlyweds, ages 22 and 24, strike us as shockingly young. (And it’s definitely not a shotgun wedding — click on the link and you’ll see why.)
At any rate, this week’s featured newlyweds are all older than 22, so it’s a moot point. (If you want to ponder the trends in MAFM [median age at first marriage], here’s more.) Our finalists:
1. Caroline Nyenke and LaRue Robinson
2. Elianna Marziani and James Nuzum
3. Zehra Dincer and Matthew Mazur
Click on the link below for the scoop on these newlyweds.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.2: Turkish Delight”
Last week, we brought you the story of a former Mayer Brown associate who is suing the firm. We have some more back story on the plaintiff, Venus Yvette Springs, and she certainly sounds like a colorful person.
Before joining Mayer Brown, Springs worked at Cadwalader. According to our tipsters, she left CWT in an interesting fashion:
In her departure email from Cadwalader, she quoted all sorts of religious passages and talked about how she wanted to devote her life to pro bono.
Shortly thereafter, she wound up at Mayer Brown — one of the largest and most profitable law firms on the planet.
In her complaint against Mayer Brown, Springs alleged that the firm did not count her pro bono hours as it had promised. Of course, working in the real estate department at a major firm hardly sounds like a life “devoted to pro bono.” She wants to work with clients who can’t pay, but wants to make sure she gets a plump pay check anyway.
But maybe she needed to support her family. Unconfirmed reports say that her husband is Jules Springs. Jules Springs recently pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud. No word on whether or not Mr. Springs was an equal opportunity defrauder.
After the jump, Venus Springs compares her plight at Mayer Brown to the Holocaust. I wish I were making that up.
Continue reading “Plaintiff in Mayer Brown Title VII Case Departed With Flair”
A former Mayer Brown associate, Venus Yvette Springs, has filed a complaint against the firm. She alleges Mayer Brown discriminated against her and eventually fired her in 2008.
Springs was an associate in the real estate group of Mayer Brown, Charlotte. In her complaint, she claims that the head of the group, Frank Arado, said that he would make her a partner with the firm as recently as March 2008. But in May 2008, she was informed that she would be fired. She was officially terminated in September of 2008. The heart of her discrimination claim seems to be this paragraph:
In a statement obtained by Above the Law, Mayer Brown strenuously denied the claims:
Mayer Brown has not yet been served with the complaint filed by former employee Yvette Springs. However, based on our current review, we believe her claims have no merit. We will defend ourselves vigorously in this matter. Consistent with our policy of not commenting on personnel matters or pending litigation, we have nothing further to say.
Additional details after the jump.
It’s a little bit early to be looking ahead to on-campus interviewing — unless, of course, you are a rising 2L who is about to get reamed. Law firms are already making plans for how they will approach the class of 2011.
The early indications are not pretty. Mayer Brown sent out a message that is sure to disappoint future IP lawyers. The firm is pulling out of the the Loyola (Chicago) Patent Law Interview Program. The program’s directors let students know the bad news, on Friday:
Dear students,
You are receiving this email because you had bid on Mayer Brown at this year’s Patent Law Interview Program. Unfortunately, the firm has had a change in plans and will not be attending the interview program on the 30th and 31st. The resumes of all students who bid on Mayer Brown have been forwarded to the firm, and if the firm identifies any students who meet their hiring needs, they will get in touch with you directly.
Best,
The Loyola Patent Law Interview Program Staff
One tipster explains the significance of this decision:
[T]his is the country’s main IP recruitment fair. Every major firm with an IP practice recruits here.
Do you think this problem is just going to affect lower-ranked law schools? Check out one student’s Columbia Early Interview Program stats, after the jump.
Continue reading “Open Thread: Is Anybody Coming to OCI This Year?”
* Mayer Brown joins the firms sending its associates away on sabbatical. Except their sabbaticals are corporate, according to Chicago Law. Associates can take $60K to work at a client’s office for a year. That’s quite the deal for Mayer’s corporate clients. [Chicago Law/Chicago Tribune]
* The layoff scene in Maryland. [Baltimore Sun]
* GM’s bankruptcy and sale to the Treasury is on the fast track. [Bloomberg]
*… The law firms getting in line for pieces of the GM unwinding. [AmLaw]
* Dewey & LeBoeuf is on the defendant’s end of a $3 billion lawsuit. That “b” is not a typo. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch via American Lawyer]
* The Washington Post editorial page claims that conservatives are comparing SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor to Harriet Miers. [Washington Post]
* The hooker-booker for the Emperors Club was sentenced yesterday, the last of the defendants to go before the judge. And the excuse for one more article about Eliot Sptizer’s love of the ladies of the night. [New York Daily News]
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