Old People

New Low for Law Firm Behavior During the Recession

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A number of people sent us this article from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. At first it reads like your classic “boy, this recession seems to be affecting lawyers too,” mainstream media story. Most of the stuff here are things regular Above the Law readers are fully aware of, though it’s always interesting to hear how the secondary markets like Minneapolis-St. Paul are doing.

But about halfway through the piece, the paper reveals one of the most callous stories that we’ve heard during this entire recession:

Matt Nelson graduated last week from the University of Minnesota with a law degree and an MBA. Nelson, 36, was on track to earn $145,000 his first year at a Milwaukee firm. But duty called, and while he was serving as an Army paralegal in Iraq, Milwaukee withdrew its offer.

Are you kidding me? The firm pulled an offer from somebody who was serving his country in Iraq!? What kind of bleeping bleep firm bleeps over our bleeping troops when they’re in the middle of a bleeping war, trying to make it safe for these bleeping partners to bleep their secretaries on their motherbleeping planes?

UPDATE / CORRECTION: This discussion is subject to a correction — see here.

Of course, Nelson handled this world-class rogering with more grace and class than I can even imagine…

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Old People Will Not Go Quietly

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I recently had a birthday. I’m 32-years-old, but my liver has to be at least 60. It’s pretty close to mandatory retirement age. But I’m just getting back from Vegas (full report on twitter) and I can tell you that my liver will not go quietly into the good night.

And so I have a little appreciation for the partners that recently departed Mendes & Mount. A couple of partners there bumped up against the firm’s mandatory retirement age. After a failed negotiation with firm management, the older partners decided to take most of the damn practice group with them and start a new firm. The New York Law Journal reports:

Seven partners at Mendes & Mount have departed to launch a boutique after at least one of the partners failed to persuade the firm to amend its mandatory retirement policy.

The new firm, Fitzpatrick & Hunt, Tucker, Collier, Pagano, Aubert, consists of the bulk of Mendes & Mounts’ aviation practice and will have offices in New York and Los Angeles, said partner Ralph V. Pagano. The firm will be made up of 24 lawyers from Mendes & Mount, including the partners, one of whom joins as special counsel. Mendes & Mount will be left with about 109 lawyers.

“It’s a pretty big break-off,” Pagano said.

How’s that for flexing some muscle? Push me out — I’ll take 24 lawyers and your aviation practice group with me! Screw you guys, I’m going home.

Hey, the older partners gave Mendes an opportunity to reconsider…

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Kelley Drye Strikes Back at the EEOC and Ancient De-equitized Partner

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Earlier this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Kelley Drye & Warren for stripping aging partners of equity in the firm.

Here at ATL, we have mixed feelings about the elderly. In an ATL debate over mandatory retirement policies at law firms, Elie endorsed kicking old partners to the curb, while I objected to age discrimination policies. The EEOC also sees age bias in mandatory retirement.

Five years ago, Sidley Austin paid $27.5 million to settle a EEOC complaint on behalf of 32 de-equitized partners. But it looks like Kelley Drye will resist settling, and is not afraid to rough up the ‘decrepit’ New York partner, Eugene D’Ablemont, who wants to keep raking in the big bucks…

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Mandatory Retirement Age for Partners: An ATL Debate

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old man partner.jpgThe older generation of Biglaw partners is starting to see retirement staring them in the face. At firms that have a mandatory retirement age, getting old means getting out — forced out.

This phenomenon is affecting some big-name attorneys. Word on the street (and in our comments) is that Bob Bennett left for Hogan & Hartson in part because he simply became too old for Skadden. And today the ABA Journal reports that Michael Sohn, former managing partner of Arnold & Porter, is leaving for Davis Polk & Wardwell because of A&P’s retirement age.

ELIE: To which I say: “Yay!” With all due respect to our Baby Boomer forebears, their time on the world stage is almost up. They’ve had a good run, what with getting the bag beat out of them in Vietnam, totally selling out during the 80s, and electing two different Bushes three different times. It’ll be almost sad to see them go. They won’t be forgotten, of course. No, we’ll be paying for their extended life expectancy and Cadillac health care long after they once again kill any movement towards health care reform.

I’m surprised anybody would support these aging partners hanging on, and on, and on, in the law firm context where Biglaw is facing a real problem with attrition. Young people are being fired or held back because older people won’t gracefully move and get out of the way. Boomer partners are trying to exert dead-hand control over their firms, preventing the next generation from climbing the ladder to leadership.

I’m not saying that everybody over the age of 70 should be forcibly marched to manicured concentration camps in Florida and Arizona. There are a lot of awesome things you can do with your “golden years.” Spend time with your family, start a blog, write op-eds of significance.

But for the love of God, stop getting in the way of the younger generation that is eager to take their shot at making decisions (and profits). I know you old guys don’t see the point of Facebook, Twitter, and a totally revamped fall recruiting program — and that’s fine. Nobody is asking you to totally change your way of thinking; we wouldn’t want you to break a hip. Just admit that with age comes a certain ossification of the brain that makes it resistant to necessary change, and ease your way out of positions of power.

Of course, not everybody agrees with me; some people like it when the old guys stick around. Next up: Kash explores her Daddy issues….

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Quote of the Day: That sounds a lot better than law school…

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Most of the time, the other students acted like I wasn’t even alive. Some of them asked if I was really serious. I told them I could take a first-class trip around the world and not spend as much money and not have to work as hard.


– Alice Thomas, 79, who will graduate from McGeorge School of Law in May. And yes, she has an offer. At a Reno law firm, where she will work on legal issues involving the elderly.

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Morning Docket 02.02.10

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old man partner.jpg* Kelley Drye has been hit with an age discrimination suit for forcing its partners to de-equitize at 70, raising the question once again of whether law firms that force retirement on their partners are breaking the law. [Chicago Tribune]
* Big pay day for J&J. Boston Scientific will pay Johnson & Johnson $1.73 billion to settle stent patent dispute. [Wall Street Journal]
* UC San Diego and California Western School of Law are getting ideas from Massachusetts. They’re in talks to establish a public law school. [San Diego Business Journal]
* The SEC sued Stephen Czarnik, a partner at Cohen and Czarnik LLP, yesterday for allegedly writing bogus opinion letters to help promote “penny” stocks. [Dow Jones]
* On white collar crime defense fees. [Dealbook/New York Times]
* Steven Tyler will sue if Aerosmith replaces him. [Rolling Stone]

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Justice Ginsburg’s Dozing During SOTU

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg cancer surgery.jpgHere’s one talk that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg didn’t fall asleep during: her own, a conversation with Nina Totenberg at the 92nd Street Y on Thursday night.
We took note of the fact that RBG dozed off a bit during President Obama’s State of the Union address. As it turns out, Justice Ginsburg has an explanation.

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SCOTUS Retirement Watch? Zzzzzz…

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Justice Alito was barely able to contain himself during Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech. Justice Ginsburg, on the other hand, was barely able to stay awake:

For Obama, a polite State of the Union [Washington Post]
Earlier: SCOTUS Slammed at SOTU
Breaking: Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized (Again), But Released
Ginsburg Falls Asleep: Media Pretend Not to Notice [News Busters]

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J.D. Salinger, R.I.P.

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Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger.jpegJ.D. Salinger, the celebrated (and reclusive) author of The Catcher in the Rye, passed away yesterday. He was 91.
Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire, according to a statement from Salinger’s literary representative.
Is there a legal angle here?

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Musical Chairs: Former New York D.A. Bob Morgenthau to Wachtell Lipton

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Robert Morgenthau Robert Morris Morgenthau Robert M Morgenthau Bob Morgenthau.jpgPerhaps Herb Wachtell and Marty Lipton wanted some company as Legendary Old Dudes at 51 West 52nd Street. From the Associated Press:

Former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has joined the New York-based law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Morgenthau retired at age 90 as district attorney, after 35 years in the job.

In a release Wednesday, Morgenthau said he’s long admired Wachtell Lipton. He said it has helped to advance the law and the legal profession.

As well as the residential real estate markets in Manhattan and Westchester County. Wachtell Lipton routinely tops the American Lawyer’s list of the nation’s most profitable large law firms. The firm had profits per partner of just over $4 million in 2008, according to the 2009 Am Law 100 survey.

The firm represents many financial institutions.

That’s an understatement. The firm’s financial institutions group, led by the unstoppable Ed Herlihy, is second to none in the field of banking M&A (with the possible exception of Sullivan & Cromwell’s FIG group, headed by Rodge Cohen).
So what can Bob Morgenthau expect while working at the CBS Building?

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