The signals seem mixed in terms of whether the legal profession is on the road to recovery. On the one hand, the pace of layoffs is certainly slowing. On the other hand, firms are taking other steps to keep headcount (and expenses) down. They are not yet in a mode where they need more hands on deck to handle all the work.

One of the popular approaches is deferral extension, i.e., pushing start dates for incoming associates back yet again. A number of firms have gone down this path. To view our prior coverage, click here and scroll down.

The latest firm to take this approach: Winston & Strawn. The firm’s incoming associates were previously scheduled to arrive on January 19, 2010. Now, according to a memo issued yesterday by hiring partner Joseph Torres, class of 2009 associates will be starting on one of three dates: February 1, 2010; June 1, 2010; or October 4, 2010.

Deferral extension details, including the full memo, plus other information about Winston — after the jump.

Although November is just around the corner, some 2009 summer associates are still learning about their fates. As one might expect given how late it is in the recruiting season, the news that comes around now isn’t always the happiest.

Above the Law has received reports that summer associates from McGuireWoods are now hearing back about offers. The interesting part is that the firm has apparently decided to make offers in waves, i.e., on a rolling basis.

One tipster tells us that approximately 11 out of 48 summers have received offers of full-time employment — thus far. The rest haven’t been rejected; rather, they’ve been placed on what amounts to a waitlist. Depending on how things unfold over the coming weeks and months, they might get offers — or they might not.

This “hiring in waves” approach is effectively what Dechert did. The firm made offers to about half of its summer class, but told the other half that they’d hear about offers in January 2010.

Comment from a source at the firm, after the jump.

The Great Recession has been tough for many different types of firms — and that even includes intellectual property firms. During the past year, IP-focused shops have cut back on hiring, slashed salaries, and lost key partners to larger firms.

A few recent developments at Finnegan Henderson, the D.C.-based IP powerhouse, reflect the new realities. Multiple sources report the following:

1. Earlier this week, at an “all associates” meeting, the firm announced that it is freezing associate salaries.

2. At the same meeting, the firm announced that it is reducing first-year associate salaries from $160,000 to $145,000 (in all offices).

UPDATE: We understand that Finnegan has frozen support staff salaries as well.

Two additional items about Finnegan, after the jump.

On Wednesday, we reported that Fenwick & West paid $60,000 in “go away” money money to some members of its incoming associate class. Today, we have news about Fenwick’s 2009 summer program, i.e., the most recent summer program, and the firm’s offer rate.

Fenwick took on 36 2Ls and 3Ls this past summer. But the summer was only eight weeks long, and Fenwick’s summer salary was on a $145K scale instead of $160K.

Still, most summers probably would have been okay with Fenwick’s program if it had ended with a strong offer rate. But it didn’t. Sources report that the firm only made offers to 17 of the 36 summers. A tipster reports the breakdown:

Ultimately the firm extended 17 offers (47%): 8 litigation, 8 corporate and 1 patent.

During orientation the hiring partners told us those who did not receive an offer would receive a letter that they could show other firms as a means to explain why we did not get an offer.

Is anybody else interested in this letter that will explain everything to other firms? Let’s check it out after the jump.

So what’s happening at Akin Gump these days? There has been some happy news — e.g., a thriving energy M&A practice, lawyers honored by the Washington Business Journal as top D.C. lawyers, and a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index of the Human Rights Campaign.

And there has been some less happy news. We’ve heard there have been a number of cuts to the staff ranks in Akin’s D.C. office in the past few weeks, as well as a few attorney dismissals here and there (not couched as “layoffs”).

Through a spokesperson, the firm confirmed some trimming of staff ranks, but declined to provide numbers:

While we do not discuss specific personnel matters, we continue to review and streamline our operations to fit the current size of the firm. This has resulted in a small number of staff reductions across the firm. We are not involved in a larger effort aimed at reducing our staff or lawyer workforce.

We hear the severance was around three months, although the firm would not confirm this.

The firm did, however, respond to our inquiry about offer rates.

Just the other day, we told you that things were looking pretty good for 2Ls who want to be part of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s 2010 summer program.

That positive report is of no consolation to participants in Schulte’s 2009 summer program. It looks like those kids had the bad fortune of going to law school a year too early. Their summer program was only eight weeks long, and yesterday Schulte finally got around to making offers. A tipster reports:

We’re all talking. Seems like Schulte was about 2/3rds [offer rate] or so … We had a listserv of everyone. Seems like a ton of no offers. They did no offers first.

The two-thirds of Schulte summers who received offers were not given a start date. But the benefit of having a listserv is that they are still pretty excited to have offers in comparison to their colleagues that were rejected by the firm.

Schulte declined to comment for this story. But we understand that it is full steam ahead for summer 2010.

Earlier: Schulte Roth Feeling Good About 2011

* Can someone please explain to me why coffee needs to be roughly the temperature of fire when it is handed to me? I want something to drink, not something I can use to sanitize a bathroom. [Torts Prof Blog]

* Marin asked me if the good days of Biglaw were gone forever. My response can be summed up in one word: “outsourcing.” [Technolawyer]

* How should you handle a rude recruiter? I don’t know, sweep the leg? [Let’s Talk Turkey]

* Do you ever lie in bed wondering if Biglaw would take you back? [Ivy League Insecurities]

* Tips on snagging a clerkship from NYU Law. [Blackbook Legal]

* Idle hands are the Devil’s playthings. [Litination]

* You might remember that I thought former law student of the day, Janero Marchand, got a raw deal from some ATL commenters. Still, it’s an important lesson every buppie should know. [True/Slant]

American Lawyer has released its annual summer associate survey. Not surprisingly, summer associates were generally terrified:

“The economic times suck,” one clerk at New York’s Skadden, Arps, Meagher, Slate & Flom wrote bluntly in response to our most recent summer associates survey. “The firm can’t change that. But the times have made for a difficult summer.” A Bryan Cave intern put it this way: “It is a scary time to be a law student.”

One indication of just how scary: The number of summer clerks who said they expected to receive full-time job offers was down sharply, according to our survey, while anecdotal evidence culled from respondents’ answers to open-ended questions suggested that stress and anxiety levels were up.

I had thought that many summers were stuck in the anger stage of grief. But this report suggests that many summers have actually jumped all the way ahead to stage four: depression. I guess that is progress?

As we suspected, 2009 summers took more of an “every man for himself” approach to this year’s summer experience. Details after the jump.

Are billing disputes between law firms and their clients on the rise in the recession? We feel like we’ve seen a lot of them lately.

The most recent disagreement involves Bingham McCutchen. A Boston-area investment company, Tuckerbrook Alternative Investments, has sued Bingham, claiming it was overcharged for legal services provided in connection with preparing an SEC registration statement.

The case isn’t that exciting — it seems like a garden-variety fee dispute — but this aspect struck us as interesting. From Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (subscription):

The Sept. 16 complaint accuses Bingham of stacking the case with young associates who had “inadequate” experience. “The billing statements reflect that these junior lawyers in essence were enjoying the benefits of on-the-job-training at Tuckerbrook’s expense,” the complaint states.

So the allegation is that young lawyers were being trained on the client’s dime. But is that an indictment of Bingham McCutchen, or of the billable hour?

Grumpy in-house lawyers regularly complain about paying for the training of Biglaw’s junior associates. This is why some corporate counsel explicitly refuse to pay for first- and second-year associates (and provide for that in their retainer agreements; presumably Tuckerbrook could have done that here).

More news about Bingham, including its summer associate offer rate and its real estate needs in New York, after the jump.

* David Lat, Tony Mauro, and Matt Welch discuss how the new media covers the law. [Legal Blog Watch]

* The 25 “most dangerous” colleges in America. Yes, of course Yale is on this list! [Tax Prof Blog]

* Muammar Gaddafi has some thoughts on international law. [Miss Trials]

* Ladies, “flaunting your curves” does get you noticed. I’m not sure if that is a good thing. [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]

* Complicated laws v. Simple laws. [The Volokh Conspiracy]

* A Red Sox fan was allowed to temporarily leave jail to see a Red Sox game. This bears repeating: post the second, 2007 championship, there is no difference between Sox fans and Yankee fans. None. You’ve become what you beheld and your children will never know the joy of rooting for an underdog. [Yahoo]

Tuesday and Wednesday, offers went out to people who want to participate in Skadden’s summer program. We haven’t heard any solid numbers yet, but so far it appears that prospective summers are satisfied with the results.

No news is good news regarding Skadden. In August, Skadden announced that it would be cutting its summer hiring in half. This morning, Bloomberg News reminded everybody that Skadden will be trying to keep its summer numbers down:

The stark reality of the legal marketplace was illustrated by yesterday’s 2010 job offers by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, the highest-grossing U.S. law firm. It projected a 50 percent cut in summer hiring, said Howard Ellin, the recruiting partner for Skadden. The firm hired 225 students this summer and plans to hire less than half that for summer 2010.

But just because Skadden plans to reduce hiring does not mean the firm intends to reduce its offer rate. If the firm planned this right — and based on the NALP forms it looks like it has — Skadden could have simply invited fewer people to be part of its 2010 summer program. Skadden could still give a robust offer rate to the summers that did commit to the firm.

Hopefully, everything will work out for prospective Skadden summers.

After the jump, Bloomberg has some interesting data on how this year’s fall recruiting is going at a couple of top law schools.

On Friday, we mentioned that Harvard Law School took on Sullivan & Cromwell over how long to firm would hold open offers for summer associates. It was a good show by HLS.

But the question of what 2Ls should do if they get multiple summer associate offers remains open. Earlier, we suggested that instead of just holding open an offer while they mull it over, we suggested that 2Ls affirmatively accept all of the offers they receive. Later — once the 2Ls have had time to make a considered and wise decision based on relevant financial information about the law firms — 2Ls can call up their firms and revoke the agreement to summer with a particular firm. Hey what is good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

Apparently, bloggers out at U.C. Berkeley disagree. From the Nuts & Boalts blog:

Harvard’s Dean impressed me, and ATL’s advice disgusts me. Boalties: don’t hoard offers. If you have more than one opportunity at your door, it’s time to start making decisions, because the earlier you decline an offer the more likely it will redound to one of your peers.

Whoa. Above the Law-2008 just called, and they want their open thread back.

We’re heading into the weekend and the autumnal equinox is not far off. It got us to thinking, who is still waiting on news about their offers from the summer? We know that some firms have already indicated that they would be making late decisions, but it occurred to us that some summers are honestly still in the dark.

Is there anybody out there in that situation? I feel we keep hearing about one firm in particular that hasn’t made offers yet, but gosh I just can’t remember which one. I think the first name starts with an M, and the last name rhymes with “frown.”

Are there other firms that aren’t even telling 2009 summers when a decision will be made?

Vent in the comments. We’re sure your firms haven’t completely forgotten about you. But you know what they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of no offers

We have reported extensively on the difficult offer situation for people who summered at Philadelphia area firms in 2009. Morgan Lewis & Bockius had an offer rate below 28%. Pepper Hamilton offered about 63% of its summers. Dechert told half of its summers that the firm would wait until January to make a decision offers, yet continues to interview 3Ls this recruiting season.

Let’s close the loop on the Philadelphia market with two other well known firms: Drinker Biddle and Cozen O’Connor. The Legal Intelligencer reports that Drinker Biddle did slightly better than its area competition:

The firm gave offers to about 68 percent, or 25, of the 37 2L summer associates it had firmwide in 2009. The offer rate was about the same in Philadelphia, where 13 of the 19 2Ls received offers, the firm confirmed.

After the jump, Drinker Biddle chairman, Alfy Putnam, explains the firm’s decision.

Summer associates with Alston & Bird in 2009 are starting to get a little anxious. We know that so far, none of you have received offers. But that is going to change. Alston & Bird will make offers to some people. The firm is just still trying to figure out how many offers to extend. This email was sent from Alston & Bird to its summers on Friday:

Hi everyone -

Just wanted to give you a quick update regarding the timing of offers. You may recall that we’re coordinating our decisions as a Firm this year rather than by office (though offers will be office specific). Unfortunately, not all of our offices are ready with their decisions and as a result, we won’t be able to communicate our decisions this week. We apologize for the delay, and assure you that we will be in touch as soon as possible. Please don’t hesitate to give me a call if you need anything. Many thanks.

One tipster doesn’t think Alston is wondering what its summers need:

She knows what we need…f****** job offers. Hate to say it, but this is definitely bringing the morale of the summer class down. Also seems really sketchy—there are rumors they were interviewing 3L’s. Wonder if that is what the delay is about?

Patience dear 3Ls, patience. Morale is irrelevant. Stick to your 3L interviewing schedule. Alston will get back to you when it is ready.

Earlier: Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Alston & Bird Makes ‘Temporary’ Cuts
Prior ATL coverage of No Offers

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has already canceled its 2010 summer program. We received information that Squire Sanders decided not to extend offers to anybody in its 2009 class. A tipster reports:

SSD no-offered EVERYONE this year. This isn’t that surprising given that they’ve deferred this year’s class, canceled their 2Ls who were supposed to return for a cameo and have scrapped summer 2010 already. The hiring partner cited the economy and said that they are making no offers at this time but are keeping everyone on an “offer eligible” list for a potential look again some time in the future.

Our tipsters report that this decision came down yesterday.

Above the Law asked the firm about its decision. Apparently, the firm has had a change of heart.

After the jump, Squire Sanders’s new offer plan, and reports of additional stealth layoffs at the firm.

It seems that many of our friends in the upper Midwest are preparing for a long hard winter back on the 3L recruiting circuit. Above the Law has confirmed that Dorsey & Whitney made offers to only 56% of its 2009 summer associates. A Dorsey & Whitney spokesperson broke the news to Above the Law:

Firmwide, Dorsey made 28 offers of employment to the 50 2Ls who were with us this summer, including offers of employment to 16 2Ls in Minneapolis.

The competition was so tough this year that even the 1Ls summering with the firm felt the pinch:

Dorsey also made offers to return for Summer 2010 to 3 of the 8 1L candidates who were with us.

Those 3 1Ls are very lucky. In August, the firm announced that it was canceling its 2010 summer program in offices outside of Minneapolis.

After the jump, the firm and Above the Law tipsters say that economics caused the low offer rate.

It has not been a great offer season for firms in Philadelphia. Yesterday, we learned that Morgan Lewis & Bockius offered only 27.5% of its summer class.

The news coming out of Pepper Hamilton isn’t quite as bad. But it is not great. Multiple tipsters report that Pepper Hamilton made offers to seven summers, out of 13 people its summer program.

Last year, the firm brought on 38 summers and made offers to 30. Some of our tipsters expressed concern that Pepper significantly reduced the size of its summer program, but still couldn’t find offers for everybody:

There were only a dozen of us. If they didn’t need all of us, why bring us on for the summer? You’d think a major law firm would have better counting skills.

It’s a cautionary tale for 2Ls interviewing with law firms now. Just because firms are reducing the size of their summer programs, it doesn’t mean that the firms are planning on giving offers to all of their 2010 summer associates.

Earlier: Nationwide No Offer Watch: Rocky Balboa Division Blank Rome and Pepper Hamilton
Morgan Lewis No Offer Follow Up

Morgan Lewis & Bockius has finally come clean about its offer rates to its 2009 summer class. The numbers are not pretty. The Legal Intelligencer reports:

Now that the firm has finished informing summer associates of their status and has made a firmwide announcement Tuesday morning regarding the decisions, Morgan Lewis has provided more concrete numbers when it comes to offer rates.

Firmwide hiring partner Eric Kraeutler said there were 102 eligible 2Ls across the country in this year’s summer program. Of that group, 28, or 27.5 percent, were given offers to start as first-year associates in the fall of 2011 — a year later than would normally be the case given the deferrals of the 2009 first-year class until the fall of 2010.

Last week we reported that MLB would be “extend[ing] only a limited number of offers.” The Morgan Lewis offer rate is certainly limited, but the numbers are much lower than what we’ve seen so far from peer firms.

And remember that Morgan Lewis has already canceled its 2010 summer program. So if the firm needs any more fresh talent over the next couple of years, it will have to be successful in the lateral market. That might be hard to do if the firm slashes base pay as it moves to a “performance based” compensation model.

After the jump, let’s take a look at offer rates in specific offices.

We’ve compiled a lot of information about the summer associate offer rates at Kirkland & Ellis and at Orrick. Overall, summer associates had a pretty good chance at nailing down an offer at these firms — though individual results varied significantly depending on which you summer at.

At Kirkland & Ellis, sources report that the firm’s offer rate was a solid 85% firm wide. In Chicago and New York, that offer rate climbed to around 90%.

But out west, things were not as rosy. Multiple tipsters reported that the offer rate out of Kirkland’s Los Angeles office was between 60% and 65%. In Palo Alto, things were even worse. Sources there report a 50% offer rate.

Firm wide, a summer class of around 158 summer associates yielded approximately 135 offers for full time employment. In this market, those are good odds.

After the jump, let’s take a look at Orrick.