Morgan Lewis

Nationwide Layoff Watch: Morgan Lewis Lays Off Associates. Numbers Could Reach 50

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Morgan Lewis.JPGWe are now receiving reports that Morgan, Lewis & Bockius fired a large number of associates. A firm spokesperson tells us:

Attorneys depart law firms for any number of reasons. The number leaving this year is consistent with prior year departures. It is inappropriate for us to comment on individual personnel decisions. However, reports of a firm wide layoff are incorrect.

But tipsters at the firm have gotten a different impression about what is happening at Morgan Lewis:

I believe the total number will be around 50 attorneys. I do not know the number of staff members but I did see at least two secretaries crying on the way out.

Other tipsters also say that 50 or so associates and an undetermined number of staffers will be let go. Then again, our sources also suggest that the 50 have been concentrated in the corporate department, so maybe the layoffs aren’t “firm wide.”

Severance information and other Morgan Lewis notes after the jump.

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Nationwide Pay Freeze Watch: Morgan Lewis Freezes Even Though They Said They Wouldn’t

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Morgan Lewis.JPGThanks to the power of “the internet,” I’m able to remind you that in October the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius informed associates:

As in past years, base compensation adjustments will continue to be effective as of January 1 and will be reflected in your January paycheck.

In fact, I reminded you just last week that Morgan Lewis previously stated:

As in past years, base compensation adjustments will continue to be effective as of January 1 and will be reflected in your January paycheck.

But yesterday, Morgan Lewis decided:

We have taken a number of steps to manage our business conservatively. One of these is a decision to maintain of counsel and associate base salaries for 2009 at the same levels as those individual lawyers were paid for 2008.

In response to the question “how do you feel about this,” a morning tipster said:

I feel like I hate these lying f****** s***eat*** f***s.

Agent Kujan, meet Keyser Soze.

Read the full MLB memo after the jump.

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Morgan Lewis Move to Merit Based Bonuses
For FY 2009

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Morgan Lewis.JPGBack in October, we reported that Morgan Lewis & Bockius was one of the first firms to say anything about associate bonuses. The firm said it wasn’t going to make a decision about associate bonuses until sometime in January of 2009, but at least they said something.

Notably, at the time the firm also reported:

As in past years, base compensation adjustments will continue to be effective as of January 1 and will be reflected in your January paycheck.

We now know that the announcement was a much bigger deal than it seemed at the time.

Morgan Lewis has still not announced what they plan to do with 2008 bonuses, but the firm has announced that 2009 bonuses decisions will be made on a different basis. Instead of a 2000 hour requirement in effect for 2008, in 2009 associates will not be required to reach 2000 hours.

But on the other hand, hitting 2000 hours will no longer “guarantee” a full bonus.

Read the firm’s specific wording after the jump.

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For FY 2009″

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Morgan Lewis Shaves Some Meat Off the Thelen Carcass

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Morgan Lewis.JPGOn Friday, while much of the Thelen news was still focused on Nixon Peabody feasting on Thelen refugees, we heard an interesting tip from people at Morgan Lewis:

I hear we have acquired all or most of Thelen’s corporate practice? I haven’t seen any official announcements but I hear that a couple floors below me is total chaos.

Mmmm … chaos.

Today we’ve gotten a (sadly) less chaotic number of new hires:

Morgan Lewis’s New York office picked up 17 attorneys from Thelen. An email was sent Friday.

But are they heavy hitters?

I am aware of a larger group that consists of the really big hitters at Thelen in the construction group. Dekker, Buoncristiani, Heisse et al with huge books of business for core clients like Bechtel. Pillsbury has extended an offer to all these people, included Counsel and associates for a total of about 45 attorneys for mainly the SF Office [Some in DC and NY]

Strangely, MLB has rebuffed repeated requests to confirm or deny how many Thelen people they are bringing on (if any).

But once again, Thelen-East attorneys seem to be doing a lot better than their West Coast brethren. On the flip side, this weekend in NYC was cold and miserable while I’m sure the Sun once again bestowed its light and grace upon Californians. So they have that going for them.

Earlier: Nixon Peabody Picks Up 90 Thelen Attorneys (This is Different From a Merger How?)

Associate Bonus Watch: Morgan Lewis Pushes Back Bonus Decisions

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Associate Bonus Watch: Morgan Lewis Pushes Back Bonus Decisions

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Morgan Lewis.JPGA central theme running through this week’s bonus speculation was that bonus decisions would be made much later this year than last year. As first reported here, Cravath kicked off the bonus season last year on October 29th, 2007. But in 2006, Milbank didn’t get the ball rolling until December 8th.

The first solid information that bonus decisions could be made a lot later this season came in today from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. MLB associates were notified that bonuses would not be paid before the holidays via a firm wide email.

Read the email after the jump.

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Some Weekend Updates

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In the interest of completeness, here are a few quick postscripts to stories that we previously covered in these pages, but didn’t get around to mentioning during the craziness of last week. They come from the National Law Journal and/or the WSJ Law Blog.

Robert Somma Bankruptcy Judge Robert Somma Above the Law blog.jpg1. Judge Robert Somma: The cross-dressing former bankruptcy judge (at right), who resigned from the bench after a drunk driving arrest, has joined the bankruptcy practice of Posternak Blankstein & Lund, a midsize firm based in Boston, as senior counsel. [National Law Journal; WSJ Law Blog]

2. American Justice School of Law: This defunct Kentucky law school, which in 2007 was hit with a class action filed by some of its students, has filed for bankruptcy. [National Law Journal; WSJ Law Blog]

Alex Kozinski Chief Judge Alex Kozinski small.jpg3. L’Affaire Kozinski: The panel of federal judges from the Third Circuit investigating Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski (at right) has retained Robert Heim, head of litigation at Dechert, to oversee the probe (which will be staffed by lawyers from Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius). [National Law Journal; WSJ Law Blog]

4. University of Michigan’s Wolverine Scholars Program: Sarah Zearfoss, dean of admissions at UM Law, has defended the program against allegations that it’s an attempt to game the U.S. News rankings. She pointed out that the program is small, likely to result in the admission of just five to ten students (out of a class of 360), and that very few UM undergrads (about 200) would even be eligible for it. [WSJ Law Blog]

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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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Featured Survey Results: Did You Work on MLK?

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Martin Luther King Jr Day MLK Day On Day Off Above the Law blog.jpgIn last month’s ATL / Lateral Link survey we asked you which holidays you worked on, or expected to work on, during 2007. About half of you reported that you had worked on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Last week, we asked you how you fared this year. Did you take the day off to honor a champion of civil rights, or did you make it a “day on”?
We received just under 1,300 responses, and 44% of you reported that you took the day off. Associates in New York, Los Angeles and Boston were most likely to celebrate the holiday, while associates in Chicago, Atlanta, the Bay Area, and Texas were most likely to be working. (Respondents in the Bay Area were also most likely to work over Christmas and New Year’s. Is it time for them to get New York bonuses?)
How did it break down on a firm by firm basis? DLA Piper, Milbank, Sidley & Austin, Dechert, Hunton & Williams, Jones Day, Latham, Mayer Brown, McDermott, Hughes Hubbard, McGuire Woods, Morgan Lewis, Nixon Peabody, Paul Hastings, and Sullivan & Cromwell each had multiple happy associates who reported that they had taken the day off. Kirkland & Ellis, Baker Botts, Dewey & LeBoeuf, O’Melveny & Myers, Weil, and Winston & Strawn each had mixed responses. Associates at Skadden, however, uniformly reported that they had worked the holiday, as Martin Luther King Jr. day is a “floating” holiday for the firm.
Of those who spent the day at the office, about 54% reported that they weren’t actually asked to work the holiday, but had things they needed to get done. About a quarter reported that their offices were open. Another quarter said that partners told them to work on the holiday. About 8% were asked to work by clients. A surprising number of respondents wrote in that other associates had told them to work on the holiday.
A little over a third of respondents who worked on the holiday thought that the work did not justify the sacrifice.

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Morgan Lewis to… Free Ski Trips?

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ski skiier skiing Morgan Lewis Bockius Stratton Mountain Above the Law blog.jpgLast month, Morgan Lewis & Bockius issued a bonus non-announcement — a placeholder memo, indicating that bonus news would be forthcoming.
Perhaps MLB associates have reason to be optimistic. The firm must be saving some money, since it’s making associates pay their own way on the ski trip of Business and Finance Practice Group. Our tipster observes: “[T]his is yet another reflection of Morgan Lewis’ caring attitude.”
When law firms hold “destination events” — e.g., the Boies Schiller firm meeting in Jamaica, the Kirkland & Ellis retreat at the Hotel Hershey, and other retreats mentioned here — they often pay for their associates to attend. But there’s no rule holding that they must do so, especially if attendance is voluntary (which is the case here).
And hey — at least the firm has negotiated a special ML&B discount!
(ML&B ski trip memo, after the jump.)

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Associate Bonus Watch: Morgan Lewis’s Non-Announcement

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associate bonus watch 2007 law firm Above the Law blog.jpgWhere have all the bonus announcements gone? Have firms stopped issuing them? Or have you stopped sending them to us? For information about the many ways you can submit bonus memos to us, see here.
In the meantime, we bring you another bonus non-announcement, similar to those previously issued by Kirkland & Ellis and McDermott Will & Emery. This one is from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
Check it out, after the jump.

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