Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe

Sign of the Times: Orrick Offers Jobs in Wheeling, WV to GULC Students

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Georgetown Law logo.jpgThere’s an interesting job opening Orrick is extending to a number of recent graduates. We got this information from Georgetown University Law Center, but we understand that Orrick has posted this job at a couple of top schools:

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (Wheeling, WV) – Orrick currently has an excellent opportunity for recent law school graduates in its Global Operations Center in Wheeling, WV. The position is an entry level Career Attorney in its dynamic and growing Emerging Companies Group (ECG).

The economy is bad. Everybody knows that. But are we really living in a world where students at the nation’s best law schools are looking at “career attorney” jobs in West Virginia? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But this can’t be what GULC students were hoping for when they began their law school journey.

A tipster explains exactly what we are talking about, after the jump.

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Options for Incoming Orrick First Years

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Orrick logo.JPGOn Tuesday, we were able to tell you that Orrick would be giving a $75K stipend to 3Ls who are willing to defer for a year. We are now able to bring you additional information on Orrick’s plan for its incoming first year associates.

First and foremost, we understand that the $75K stipend is available only if 3Ls are able to secure a public interest or government fellowship. 3Ls received a memo from Orrick which listed some organizations that are hiring. But if you can’t get a job, you can’t get the money.

That said, the firm is open to suggestions. We talked with an Orrick spokesperson who said that the firm would look at any suggestions that 3Ls had for fellowship options. The firm will look at it on a case-by-case basis, looking at whether the job will give the 3Ls good legal training. The firm has put a full time pro-bono manager in charge of helping incoming first years get placements at other organizations. Speaking about the 3Ls, the spokesperson said that the firm likes all of the people that have offers to return to the firm: “We want them back.”

But that isn’t the only option for incoming first years. Details after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: A Top Ten List, Some Things We Missed, Other Sundries

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Orrick logo.JPGAmLaw is out today with a carnage top ten. They list the firms that have conducted the deepest layoffs by percentage of total associates.

Orrick leads the way, its two rounds of layoffs (in November and on Tuesday) nailed nearly 20% of the firm’s associates.

But is Orrick’s position in the top spot a little unfair? There is every indication that Orrick tied every single one of its layoffs to the economic crisis. Many firms (most firms?) simple cannot say the same. Take a firm like Latham, which ranks fifth on AmLaw’s list, laying off just over ten percent of its associates last week. But the 190 attorneys cut last week doesn’t take into account the stealth layoffs we’ve discussed. The firm has still not directly denied these “stealth” moves to Above the Law, despite our numerous inquiries.

The whole performance based or “stealth” layoff question reminds me of the great debate going on in Major League Baseball over performance enhancing drugs. Everybody is a suspect because so few people will admit the obvious.

More from the layoff list after the jump.

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Impending Layoff Watch: Orrick Ax To Fall This Week

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Orrick logo.JPGOn Friday and over the weekend, we received a lot of information about impending layoffs at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. The firm has declined to comment for this story, but we believe that significant layoffs will take place at Orrick this week.

On Friday, many people noticed that the Orrick’s chairman, Ralph Baxter, was darting in and out of partners’ offices in New York City. It’s not unusual for a chairman to check in with his partnership. But in this climate, on the very day that Latham laid off 440 people, the chairman’s conspicuous presence in NYC made a lot of people nervous.

Some associates checked the conference room schedule. New York associates found out that there are conference rooms booked for an all partner video conference Monday morning.

At ATL’s request, associates at Orrick’s non-NYC offices checked their conference room schedules as well. We now have reports that conference rooms are booked for Monday in NYC, D.C., and San Francisco for “Ralph Baxter and all.”

But our sources found out something even more disturbing than an all partner video conference on Monday.

Details after the jump.

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What is Going On With Orrick’s Bonuses?

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orrick logo.gifLet’s pretend for a moment that yesterday didn’t happen and associates were A) employed, and B) expected to be compensated.

Everybody with me? Okay.

You might remember that Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe announced its 2008 bonus structure way back in March of 2008. Once the market collapsed, people started wondering if Orrick would keep its word. But at the end of October, Orrick stated that they would keep bonuses at Skadden levels:

Today, Orrick assured us that the firm would not look to change their bonus plan. A firm spokesperson put the issue succinctly:

“We are committed to using the previously announced bonus schedule.”

But something happened on the way to actually making good on that promise. Details after the jump — and an update from the firm.

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I Do Not Think ’25 Best Paying Companies’ Means What You Think It Means

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Bingham logo.jpgLast week, Fortune released its annual list of the 100 best places to work. Shockingly, a number of law firms made the list.

Now Fortune wants to tell us about the 25 Best Paying Companies (from among the top 100 companies to work for), and once again I have no earthly clue what they are talking about.

Let’s start right at the top. The number one, best paying company that is also nice to work for, in the entire United States of America is … Bingham McCutchen. According to Fortune:

For the second year in a row, this law firm is the top-paying Best Company to Work For. Lawyers fresh out of school get starting salaries of $160,000 a year, topped off with fat bonuses.

Umm … okay. I mean, I think Skadden’s definition of “fat” is a little different than Fortune’s, but whatever.

More from Fortune after the jump.

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Updated Salary Freeze Round-up: Even More Firms on Ice

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pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgAs we noted in yesterday’s Morning Docket, even the New York Times has taken note of the salary freeze trend at law firms. The Times reached out to Above The Law’s own David Lat for the story:

Although many associates are angry about the freezes, others are relieved, said David Lat, founding editor of AboveTheLaw.com, a blog about law firms and the profession.

“There is this sense that firms didn’t act prudently during the boom and now they are getting religion, and that it’s better late than never,” Mr. Lat said. “Many associates we have spoken to think the freeze probably saved jobs.”

At the beginning of the month, we did a round-up of firms that have frozen 2009 salary rates at 2008 levels. That list was 16 firms long. Since then, quite a few other firms have announced freezes. Due to frequent requests, we’re updating the round-up list since the number of firms with freezes (that we know of) has more than doubled, to 33 32. Check out the as-comprehensive-as-we-can-make-it list, after the jump.

Recently announced salary freezes include “solid ice freezes” at Blank Rome and Townsend and Townsend and Crew; and “Slurpee freezes” at Bingham McCutchen, Fish & Richardson, and Texan firm Andrews Kurth.

Memorandums, as well as a new list of all firms with “solid ice” and “Slurpee” freezes, after the jump.

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Fortune Lists Top 100 Companies to Work For

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Happy workers.JPGFortune has released its annual list of the top 100 companies to work for. Despite the general feeling of malaise in the legal industry, a few law firms made the cut.

The highest ranked law firm (number 21 overall) is Arnold & Porter. Fortune reports:

Law firm offers world-class benefits to staff and attorneys: 18 weeks’ paid leave for maternity and adoption, $5,000 for adoption fees, $30,000 for fertility services, free onsite fitness center, on- and off-site child care.

I guess a salary freeze that their peer firms in the Vault 20 are largely avoiding doesn’t trump a free gym.

Fortune also released a list of the top 20 companies that are great places to work and still hiring. No law firms made that list.

So I guess we’ll focus on other law firms in the top 100 after the jump.

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ATL Salary Freeze Round-up: The Firms on Ice

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pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgThe new year is shaping up to be a cold one. As we noted in our 2008 Year in Review series, one of the biggest stories heading into 2009 has been that of the salary freeze. Rather than instituting lock-step raises for associates entering a new class year, a number of firms have informed associates that their salaries will remain at 2008 levels.

There have been two types of freezes: the “Solid Ice freeze”–with salaries frozen through all of 2009–and the “Slurpee freeze”–where firms are sticking with 2008 levels for now, but promise to revisit the decision later in the year.

Many an ATL reader has requested a round-up, and we aim to please. So find your pleasure, after the jump. Some of the firms have been reported on before, and some are new.

If you know of other frozen firms, send us an e-mail at tips@abovethelaw.com with the subject, “Salary Freeze: FIRM NAME.” Also, if your firm has raised salaries as expected, feel free to send us the news, with the subject “Salary Raise: FIRM NAME.” While freezes are news, raises as expected aren’t, so we will not be covering firm by firm, but we may do a round-up.

Find the list of the sixteen firms that have frozen, after the jump.

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Nationwide Pay Freeze Watch: Orrick follows Latham

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pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgThe latest news from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe will make Latham & Watkins associates feel marginally better. There is now another major firm freezing associate salaries:

After careful consideration, we have decided that associates in the US and Europe , and associates, senior consultants and consultants in Asia , will receive the same salary in 2009 as you received in 2008. Consistent with firm practice, of counsel salaries will be determined on an individual basis and generally will remain the same as 2008. We will ensure that our 2009 bonus program gives us additional flexibility to reward outstanding performance and remain competitive in the marketplace.

On the bright side, Orrick will be paying out the bonuses they promised earlier in the year:

We will pay full 2008 bonuses according to the terms of the program we announced earlier in this year.

That puts Orrick at Skadden levels. Notwithstanding the bonus news, a tipster puts the mood at Orrick like this:

:( Bummer.

Latham said that they were freezing salaries in part to avoid firing attorneys. But Orrick has already been through massive layoffs.

Is this move by Orrick an attempt to stave off even more layoffs?

Read the full Orrick memo after the jump.

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