News started breaking this morning about significant layoffs at the large New Jersey firm of Lowenstein Sandler. The firm has now had an opportunity to inform all of the affected associates, and is ready to confirm the layoffs. The following is from a firm wide email that just went out to all Lowenstein personnel:

With deep regret, we are today implementing a reduction in force affecting 21 attorneys and 32 staff members across all departments of the firm, representing just under ten percent of our total workforce. We also are reducing the size of our 2009 incoming class by three associates. These were extremely difficult decisions for the firm to make, and we delayed for as long as possible because of the quality and dedication of the employees who are being affected.

The numbers represent about 8% of the total attorneys at Lowenstein.

If you had been hanging around McGoverns Tavern (as our sources have), you’d know that the firm also rescinded offers to 3Ls:

Word is … that NJ firm Lowenstein Sandler is rescinding offers to 3L’s…. Source is third hand from a 3L who is at McGoverns Tavern right now, having had their offer rescinded.

The firm was able to confirm this news directly to ATL.

Read the firm’s statements after the jump.

One of the stranger events during our time in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey was when U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie called an all-hands meeting to announce he was NOT resigning to run for governor. It was a bit odd to announce a non-event, but considering all the water-cooler gossip over the possibility, it made sense to squelch the speculation.

Today Chris Christie convened another all-hands meeting, this time with a different message. From the Newark Star-Ledger:

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie today resigned his post effective December 1. Christie, 46, a leading contender for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, announced his resignation during a staff meeting at 11 a.m. Christie was not available for comment. His office released a copy of his resignation letter [PDF].

A tipster who attended the meeting said that Christie didn’t mention where he’ll be going. One good guess: Republican holiday parties.

Christie served as U.S. Attorney for almost seven years. In the near term, he will probably be replaced by first assistant Ralph Marra, Jr. (as Acting U.S. Attorney). In terms of who might get the nod in the Obama Administration, some mention the politically well-connected Joe Hayden (husband of Judge Katherine Hayden). Others talk about Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow, who previously served as an AUSA in Newark, and who would bring diversity to the table (as an African-American woman).

Today seems to be resignation day for New York area U.S. attorneys. Here’s some S.D.N.Y. news, from the WSJ Law Blog:

[P]eople close to the Southern District of New York U.S. attorney’s office tell the Law Blog that USA Michael Garcia will notify prosecutors of his departure during a 5 p.m. meeting.

That’s in five minutes. If anything unexpected comes out of the meeting, we’ll let you know. Unlike Christie’s, Garcia’s next destination is known: Kirkland & Ellis.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie steps down [Newark Star-Ledger]
Christopher J. Christie resignation letter (PDF) [Newark Star-Ledger]
Chris Christie coverage [Politicker - NJ.com]
N.Y. federal prosecutor stepping down [AP]
NJ USA Christie Resigns, SDNY’s Garcia to Announce Resignation Today [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Legal Stars of the New Administration

Time for a shout-out to this writer’s home state. Over in New York, Biglaw lawyers tend to look down upon their cousins across the river. Dismissive jokes about “Jersey firms” are commonplace.

But large-firm lawyers in New Jersey are doing just fine, thank you very much. From a tipster:

As a Jersey guy, you may find this interesting: According to the NJ Law Journal, Lowenstein Sandler just became the first NJ firm with profits per partner in the seven figures: $1,102,700. Average compensation per partner is not far behind, at $977,500.

And it’s not just Lowenstein Sandler that had a good year. Although New Jersey firms slowed their hiring and trimmed equity partner ranks in 2007, showing signs of being affected by the dire economic times, they still did pretty well. From the New Jersey Law Journal (subscription):

Growth in total revenues and net profits [among the New Jersey Top 20 firms] thus slowed in 2007. Revenue rose by 7.67 percent to $1.53 billion from $1.42 billion in 2006, compared with a 9.6 percent hike in last year’s survey.

Profit growth was even slower, up only 5.62 percent to $519.3 million from $491.6 million, compared with a 9.9 percent bump the prior year.

When fewer lawyers produce more revenue, it means each is working harder. Indeed, revenue per lawyer showed a pronounced spike: up 5 percent to $517,650, more than three times the 1.4 percent rise to $493,000 reported last year.

Likewise, since there were fewer equity partners sharing the bottom line, profits per partner growth enjoyed an eight-fold increase, rising 6.62 percent to $594,100, compared with a sluggish 0.8 percent to $557,200 in last year’s survey.

By New York standards, PPP of $600K is small potatoes. But it’s still a handsome income — and grows more appealing if the hours, cost of living, taxes, and partnership prospects are better over in Jersey. [FN1]

Time for New Yorkers to think about jumping to the other side of the Hudson? Or time for another round of pay raises for Garden State associates?

[FN1] These matters are open to debate, of course. Some New Jersey firms, such as the super-profitable Lowenstein, have reputations as sweatshops for demanding a lot of their associates.

Streamlining for Austere Times [New Jersey Law Journal (subscription)]

* So, it’s gonna be illegal now, which means the CIA can’t do it, right? [Washington Post via How Appealing]

* New Jersey gets rid of the death penalty; now if they could just tackle that disgusting odor. [BBC]

* Prosecutors go 0-1-6 in Sears Tower trial. [CNN]

* Hey, look everybody! International law! They’ve got a court with judges and lawyers and stuff, and they even issue rulings! Just like it’s real! That’s cute. ICJ upholds treaty giving islands to Colombia. [Jurist]

* Hollywood writers take this strike thing up a notch. [AP via Reno Gazette-Journal]

* Scott Moss wants to know: What’s the weakest legal argument you’ve ever heard? [PrawfsBlawg]

* William Birdthistle wants to know: What financial and legal regimes are most conducive to the development of French-fry-selling Thai restaurants? [Conglomerate]

* NBS wants to know: Is Hillary Clinton channeling Eva Peron? Bonus observation: “Dolly Madison had a decent rack, and now there’s a whole line of cookies names after her.” [Nasty, Brutish & Short]

* The WSJ Law Blog wants to know: Why are there so many darn lawyers in Roseland, New Jersey? [WSJ Law Blog]

Time for a quick shout-out to our home state. From the New Jersey Law Journal:

It used to be that salaries for first-year associates at large firms remained intact for the year. No more.

Increasing pressures to match the pay offered elsewhere have impelled some New Jersey firms to a midyear hike, a sampling of large New Jersey law offices shows. (See chart.)

Day Pitney in Florham Park announced on July 27 it would increase first-year salaries to $135,000 in January 2008, a jump of $15,000.

Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik in Westfield decided on July 1 to boost first-year salaries by $10,000, to $140,000, starting in January.

Lerner David’s pay level equals that of Lowenstein Sandler of Roseland as the highest among firms whose main office is in New Jersey. Lowenstein announced in June that first-year pay would increase to $140,000 in January, $15,000 above the level originally set earlier in the year….

Additional data points appear in the full article.

Large New Jersey Firms Approve Midyear Pay Hikes for Associates [New Jersey Law Journal]

We realize that most “secondary” legal markets get only one bite at the apple — i.e., one dedicated post. And we already covered New Jersey.

But the Garden State is our home state, where we practiced for a number of years, so we will show some favoritism (as is our prerogative). And the news we’re about to share was sent to us directly by the firm’s public relations firm. Since many large law firms try to pretend we don’t exist avoid communicating with us — unlike, say, our more fortunate colleagues at MSM outlets — we are favorably disposed towards law firms that do show us courtesies. [FN1]

So good news, New Jerseyans. A New Jersey-based firm, as opposed to an out-of-state firm with an NJ presence, is now paying $140K. From the press release:

Lowenstein Sandler announced a salary increase to $140,000, effective January 1, 2008, for new associates joining the firm beginning in September. This increase will also be taken into account during the regular year-end process setting compensation for more senior-level associates.

From the New Jersey Law Journal:

Lowenstein Sandler broke from the pack of New Jersey’s home-grown firms Thursday and announced it would pay first-year associates $140,000 next year, a $15,000 increase.

The 250-lawyer Roseland firm also said salaries for some first-year associates in its New York office might be even higher, depending on practice area and performance….

Lowenstein Sandler’s announcement could exert pressure for pay raises at the other New Jersey firms that are pegged at the $125,000 level: Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross, Gibbons and McCarter & English, all in Newark.

So will the competition follow suit? Can they really afford to? Lowenstein, with profits per partner last year of $781,600, is one of the state’s most profitable shops.

(Yep — PPP of almost $800K. It’s not New York, but Jersey doesn’t do too badly for itself. Just ask Tony Soprano.)

For those of you who are curious, the full text of the Lowenstein Sandler press release appears after the jump.

[FN1] Okay, we should stop bitching about our lack of access. In the past few months, it has improved — greatly. Now many Biglaw partners and spokespersons will actually deign to respond to our emails and return our phone calls.

Sunday night’s open thread on the series finale of The Sopranos — which had a legal connection, since a law firm expressed an interesting in hiring Meadow Soprano at a starting salary of $170K — drew many interesting comments.

There were tons of interesting theories bandied about concerning the ending of the show. Some of these theories are addressed in an interesting article in the Newark Star-Ledger, based on an interview with Sopranos creator David Chase.

For those of you who (1) follow the show and (2) don’t mind spoilers, there’s more discussion — plus a reader poll — after the jump.

There aren’t many two-time winners of ATL’s Judge of the Day award. The members of that distinguished group are true pieces of work — jurists like Judge James M. Brooks and Judge Elizabeth Halverson.

But we think that Judge Wilbur Mathesius, of Mercer County, New Jersey, richly deserves membership in the club. If you question this conclusion, just click here, to read what one tipster described as “a judicial hissy fit, with great footnotes.”

Some background. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently disciplined Judge Mathesius, suspending him from the bench for 30 days, and directing him to “reflect on his position of authority and the manner in which he exercises that position of authority.” So Judge Mathesius did just that:

I removed to a remote and undisclosed location to encourage contemplation and reflection. To provide further catalyst to my reflective capacities, I subsisted on a Zen macrobiotic vegetarian diet, an occasional leaf or two of organic radicchio and Evian water, foraging as best I could for native fruits and nuts. The occasional tuna sushi was like gold. I report herewith the product of that reflection…

That’s just the beginning. Check out the whole thing by clicking here.

In the words of a second source: “Shhhh, listen, that’s the sound of his judicial career going down the toilet.”

The Full Mathesius [New Jersey Lawyer]
Judge’s critique pounds system [Trenton Times]
Judge’s Words Cost Him A Suspension Of 30 Days [New York Times (TimesSelect)]

Earlier: Judges of the Day: Wilbur Mathesius and James Brooks

Unfortunately, not this Grubman, but Grubman, Grubman & Curcio — a fictional law firm on The Sopranos. They expressed interest in hiring Meadow Soprano, daughter of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, as a first-year associate. Meadow’s fiancee, Patrick Parisi, already works at the firm.

The figure tossed around as a starting salary for Meadow was $170,000 (but only after senior partner Steven Grubman had a bit too much to drink). The prospect of their daughter earning six figures right out of law school elated Tony and Carmela Soprano, erasing their earlier disappointment over Meadow’s decision not to attend medical school.

An ATL reader wonders:

“What’s with Meadow starting at $170K? Does David Chase know something we don’t?”

Your responses to this query, as well as your thoughts on the final episode, are welcome in the comments.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the series finale yet, but plan on doing so, obviously don’t read any further. If you encounter spoilers in the comments, you have no one to blame but yourself.

The Sopranos [official website]

In our tour of the nation’s secondary (and we don’t mean that in a bad way) legal markets, we’ve previously hit Denver, Hartford, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Now we return to the East Coast, with a shout-out to our home state: New Jersey!

From the New Jersey Law Journal:

New Jersey’s large firms are hiring larger classes of new associates and boosting first-year salaries by more than 10 percent, a Law Journal survey finds.

Salaries this fall at a sampling of 21 firms will range from $95,000 to $130,000 and hires are up 19 percent, to 157 from 131 last year. The largest New Jersey-based firms will pay $120,000 to $125,000.

Firms interviewed say their hands were forced by a wave of increases by New York firms that began Jan. 22 when Simpson Thacher & Bartlett pushed its starting salary to $160,000. Since then, other firms in New York and Philadelphia have elbowed up to $145,000 or higher.

There are many advantages to practicing law in New Jersey. Salaries are still relatively high, but billable hours (and taxes) are lower than in New York. At the same time, you’re very close to New York and Philadelphia, and all the great things — art and culture, restaurants, entertainment — that those cities have to offer.

But still, there is a sizable difference between $125,000, the standard at the biggest Garden State firms, and the $160,000 you can get on the other side of the river. And some say that the advantages that NJ firms enjoy over NYC firms, in terms of lifestyle and hours, aren’t as big as they used to be.

Please discuss these and other NJ-related associate compensation matters, in the comments. Thanks.

N.J. Firms Hike First-Year Pay, Bulk Up on New Hires [New Jersey Law Journal]

Related: Open threads focused on Denver, Hartford, Philadelphia, Seattle, Phoenix, Atlanta.

First, how delectable is that Tiffany engagement ring currently being advertised all over the NYT wedding pages? So big, so sparkly, so inevitably overpriced! We pity the poor guys who’ll be shelling out their clerkship bonuses for that one.

Second, memo to the New York Times: Since when does summer employment merit mention in the wedding pages? If we once spent Christmas break shoveling David Souter’s driveway, would that get us a write-up? Or is it just that the word “Skadden” makes you all trembly?

Here are this week’s couples (no summer associates here!):

1. Alexis Krock and Grant Mainland

2. Emily Sheehy and Reed Carey

3. Jessica Rodriguez and Emile Lisboa

More on this week’s couples, after the jump.

Back in December, we suggested that Judge Noel Hillman (D.N.J.) was probably going to be nominated to the Third Circuit. We wrote: “[N]ominating Judge Hillman to the court of appeals actually makes political sense for the White House — especially in its current, weakened state…. Picking a nominee who made it through the Senate just a few months ago would be a shrewd move. Since the two New Jersey senators supported Hillman for the district court, it would be awkward for them to oppose him for the circuit court now.”

But things appear to have changed. From the Newark Star-Ledger:

In an abrupt about-face, President Bush has decided against nominating Noel Hillman, a veteran prosecutor and now federal judge in Camden, to the seat on the 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that was held by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr….

Hillman confirmed the news. He said the speculation about his possible elevation to the court of appeals was “flattering,” adding he now has “every confidence that our president will choose someone for the current vacancy worthy of his trust, worthy of the position, and worthy of Senate confirmation.”

Some questions for our readers:

1. What’s behind the White House’s change of heart? Was it, as suggested by the Star-Ledger, concern “that Hillman’s Senate confirmation hearing could become an inquisition into the behind-the-scenes operations of the Justice Department”? Or is there something more here, perhaps specific to Judge Hillman?

(If the White House is worried about Hillman hearings turning into another fishing expedition into the DOJ, we can hardly blame them. After all, look at all the dirty laundry that got aired when former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified yesterday. What a mess!)

2. Now that Judge Hillman is out of the running, who is likely to get the nod?

Please send us your tips by email (subject line: “Third Circuit”). Thanks.

The Auditor [Newark Star-Ledger via NJ.com]
President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping [New York Times]

Earlier: A Third Circuit Update

As reported last month by The BLT and Roll Call (subscription), Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and his wife, Martha Alito, are selling their million-dollar New Jersey home. Here’s the listing.

But if you were hoping to purchase a piece of history, you’re probably out of luck. The judicial manse appears to be under contract.

That won’t stop us, however, from engaging in a little ogling. Here’s what the listing originally looked like, before the photographs were removed:

More about this supremely appealing residence, after the jump.

Legendary litigator Brendan Sullivan, who has been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of the past few decades, ensured his place in Bartlett’s when he quipped at the Iran-Contra hearings: “I’m not a potted plant.”

But despite not being a potted plant, Sullivan was unable to prevail against two of our former colleagues, Michael Martinez and Craig Carpenito, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. Martinez and Carpenito, a pair of superb young lawyers, were given the daunting task of handling the third trial of former Cendant chairman Walter Forbes. Their triumph over Sullivan and his Williams & Connolly team is chronicled in a fascinating article by Andrew Longstreth in this month’s American Lawyer.

More discussion of the piece, with a few added comments from us, after the jump.

We’re bestowing this honor upon Malik Cupid, and not just because today is Valentine’s Day. He actually did something to earn this award.

From the NJ Blog (emphasis in original):

Malik Cupid, an attorney, Democrat party activist and current aide to Governor Jon S. Corzine’s administration, was arraigned in Westchester County (New York) Supreme Court yesterday (which also happened to be his 31st birthday) after being charged with stealing $1,400 from his old girlfriend’s bank account and hacking into the former girlfriend’s account while she was serving on active duty with the Army in Iraq.

All told, the Westchester County district attorney’s office charged Cupid with four felonies, including grand larceny, identity theft and eavesdropping. He faces up to 16 years in state prison.

More details here — including a picture. Check out Cupid’s snazzy bow tie.

Cupid Is Crazy [NJ Blog]
Cupid Arraigned on Larceny Charge [Journal News]

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has some interesting and illustrious alumni.

Some are now distinguished federal judges, like Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Judge Maryanne Trump Barry (3d Cir.). Some are high-ranking officials in state government, like Stuart Rabner, the Attorney General of New Jersey. One works as a legal gossip blogger.

And one former assistant U.S. attorney, if prosecutorial allegations are true, went on to become a pimp. Meet ATL’s Lawyer of the Day: Paul Bergrin.

From the New York Law Journal:

A criminal defense lawyer who worked as a federal and state prosecutor in New Jersey has been indicted for running a Manhattan-based escort service, Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced Wednesday.

The lawyer, Paul Bergrin, who has defended soldiers charged with committing abuses while in Iraq, was arraigned Wednesday on a fugitive warrant in Newark, N.J., and bail was set at $500,000.

No plea to the charges was entered, but Bergrin, 51, declined to waive extradition at the proceeding.

Bergrin is a well-known figure within Garden State legal circles. The Newark Star-Ledger accurately describes him as “a brash, high-powered defense attorney who courted controversy.” His clients ranged from defendants in the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal to rap star turned actress Queen Latifah.

We never had any personal dealings with Paul Bergrin when we were in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Many of our fellow AUSAs did, however, and he didn’t have the best reputation. Bergrin wasn’t viewed as the most trustworthy or upstanding of adversaries. He was the kind of defense lawyer who, if you had a meeting or telephone call with him, you’d want someone else in the meeting or on the call (in case there was ever any dispute over what transpired).

But we had no idea about Bergrin’s little sideline in the procurement business. For the details of this salacious story, keep on reading.

* “Supreme Court Refuses Case Challenging Group’s Designation as Terrorists”. [New York Times via How Appealing]

* Similar transaction evidence key to Georgia prosecutors in antifreeze murder case. [CNN]

* Lawyers talk trash to the Supreme Court. [Jurist]

* COLA unfrozen for federal judges. [AP via Yahoo!]

* The “mystery smell” that hit New York yesterday has apparently been figured out. Insert New Jersey joke here. [New York Post]

Sorry it has taken us so long. As promised months ago, we now begin our series profiling current Supreme Court clerks (aka the “October Term 2006” or “OT 2006” law clerks).

We’ll be going chambers by chambers, starting with the most junior justice. Here are the four law clerks to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.:

1. Michael S. Lee (BYU ‘97/Benson (D. Utah)/Alito)

2. Christopher J. Paolella (Harvard ‘99/Alito)

3. Matthew A. Schwartz (Columbia ‘03/Alito)

4. Gordon D. Todd (UVA ‘00/Beam)

As a member of the Alito extended family explained to us, here’s the key to understanding the Alito chambers: 3:1. This golden ratio perfectly captures the demographics of the OT 2006 Alito clerks. Consider:

1. Familial status: three are married with children, one is not (Chris Paolella — married, but no kids yet).

2. Undergraduate institution: three are Princetonians, one is not (Michael Lee — BYU).

3. Prior Alito clerkship: three previously clerked for then-Judge Alito on the Third Circuit, one did not (Gordon Todd).

4. Religious affiliation: three are Christian,* one is not (Matthew Schwartz — he’s Jewish).

5. College debate: three were gods of the parliamentary debate circuit, and former presidents of the American Parliamentary Debate Assocation (APDA); one was not (Michael Lee).

But we wouldn’t want such commonalities to overshadow the individuality of these gents. Check out our profiles of Messrs. Lee, Paolella, Schwartz, and Todd — after the jump.

* Mitt Romney footnote: Michael Lee is Mormon, which we consider to be Christian. Presidential candidate Romney hopes that evangelical Christians voting in the Republican primaries will agree with us.

* Solitary confinement, cruel and unusual? Cruel, perhaps, but not that unusual. [St. Petersburg Times via How Appealing]

* Florida and California decide to take a little break on the whole lethal injection thing. [CNN]

* New Jersey Legislature does what New Jersey’s Supreme Court told them to. [FindLaw]

* Mariah Carey is concerned that people might be confused and think that she is someone who uses sex to make money….oh, wait a minute… [FOX News]

* Global warming is such a nuisance. [Jurist]