The #1-seed, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, hath fallen, along with all of the other top-seeded law firms, in an Elite Eight that was good for “underdog” lovers. Heading into the Final Four are Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (#7), Davis Polk & Wardwell (#5), Latham & Watkins (#8), and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (#6).
It’s anybody’s game. Here are the updated brackets:
Time to vote down to the two “coolest” firms, defining “cool” however you please. Polls and information on the Elite Eight voting are available after the jump. Polls close Sunday at midnight!
Latest Stories
ATL March April Madness for Law Firms, Round 3: Upsets Galore Heading Into the Final Four
By
Kashmir Hill
That’s what many of you have been wondering, in emails to us and in comments. We’ve investigated the situation at Thacher Proffitt & Wood, and we now bring you this detailed report.
We’ll start off with the big rumors:
1. Thacher Proffitt laid off additional associates earlier this week.
The firm’s response: “As always, we continue to talk to associates in the areas most affected by the market conditions.”
Sounds a tad Orwellian, and suggests that some additional reductions in the associate ranks did in fact take place (since it’s not an outright denial). But we don’t have any details, in terms of numbers of lawyers affected, departments, severance, etc. If you do, we’d love to hear from you.
2. TPW is delaying the start date for the incoming first year class until late October (which may need to be extended until January).
Partly true, partly not. From the firm: “The start date for incoming litigation associates remains the same. The start date for others has been moved to October 20th.”
3. The White Plains office is being closed.
The firm denies this outright: “The rumor related to our White Plains office is not true.”
Update (10/27/08): The White Plains office is now closed.
More detailed discussion about the situation at Thacher Proffitt — which sounds rather grave, according to the former, current, and future TPW lawyers we heard from — after the jump.
Continue reading “What’s Going On at Thacher Proffitt & Wood?”
The fabulous Monica Goodling — if you’re on Facebook, join her fan club — isn’t the only person being accused of anti-lesbian bias these days. From the Daily Business Review (via JAABlog):
* You’ve come a long way, baby — but you’re not getting past the Second Circuit. Appeals court tosses $800 billion class-action lawsuit over light cigarettes. [New York Times]
* The economy is in the toilet. Does that still count as news? [AP]
* West Virginia Supreme Court, after shedding some members via recusals, rules in favor of Massey Energy once again. [Charleston Gazette via WSJ Law Blog]
* En banc Ninth Circuit rules against Roommates.com, ruling that Section 230 immunity doesn’t protect the site from being sued for violating fair housing laws. [How Appealing (linkwrap)]
* Speaking of bad news for bloggers, kinda sucks to be one in China. They’re not real big on free speech out there. [WSJ Law Blog]
The firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf — which, by the way, had a great 2007, with total firm revenue over $1 billion, and profits per partner of $1.57 million — just announced its new bonus policy. You can check out the full memo after the jump.
The new policy reconciles differences between the pre-merger firms. “Legacy Dewey” essentially gave billable-hours credit for all pro bono hours and firm-related activities (dubbed “Accountable Hours,” and including work on client alerts, business development, article research, summer associate recruiting events, etc.). “Legacy LeBoeuf” had a policy that was somewhat less generous, with limits on how much pro bono and firm-related work could be counted towards the hours cutoffs for bonuses.
One source views the new policy as a fair compromise (especially in light of a rumor that the firm was considering giving no credit for pro bono and firm activities). Also, since the firm is a bit slow right now, “if accountable hours didn’t count, we’d all be screwed for bonus.”
Speaking of D&L, we’re going to be writing about their closing of a few offices. If you have any info on that front, please feel free to email us.
Bonus policy memo, after the jump.
Continue reading “Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Post-Merger Bonus Policy”
*Naomi Campbell in trouble with the law… again. Campbell being arrested is barely novel news, but it gives us an excuse to post her photo. [Breitbart via Drudge]
*Attorneys general react to financial crisis, telling failing businesses to be sure to shred personal documents on the way out. [Law.com]
*The president of the California State Bar wants to do away with billable hours. [California Bar Journal]
*Chicago recently got love from Ropes & Gray; now it’s getting some love from Proskauer Rose. [Chicago Tribune]
*This German law professor is heading to prison, but if he gets to keep his newly-renovated Hamburg mansion, maybe he doesn’t mind. [TaxProf Blog]
*We question the legality of this new version of street justice in New York. “You must first plead your case, by submitting a plea on Punch’s web site for why the prospective punchee deserves violence.” [Thrillist]
Some of you have wondered about the delay in choosing finalists for the ATL Caption Contest. We did not forget about it; we just wanted to save a little Easter for April, the proper month for the holiday. Easter in March is just plain wrong.
As a refresher, this is the photo of President Bush and his White House Counsel — Fred Fielding, former senior partner at Wiley Rein (fka Wiley Rein & Fielding), dressed up as the Easter Bunny — at the White House Easter Egg Roll last month. Without further ado, out of 200 comments, these are our ten finalists. [FN1]
A. “I left a firm with over $4 million in PPP to do THIS???” -Anonymous
B. The Mad Hatter and the March Hare discuss the legality of waterboarding the Dormouse. -Klerk
C. “Mr. President, I wanted to let you know that I put the last of those White House e-mails down the rabbit hole.” -Anonymous
D. Yeah, well, nobody wants to be the guy that told the POTUS there is no Easter Bunny and Cheney said that if I play along I’ll get a Supreme Court nomination. Hey, whatever happened with that Harriet woman? -Anonymous
E. I dressed up in this bunny suit and all I got was a feature on ATL. -Anonymous
F. After ignoring the rule of law for seven years, President Bush finally found a use for the White House Counsel. -Anonymous
G. “Someone please tell me that’s not a wombat behind me.” -Anonymous
H. I guess that answers the question of whether its better to get a JD or an MBA. -Anonymous
I. Fred (thinking): “That f-n headhunter promised me I would be supporting the President on matters of national importance. G-d D-MN it!” -Anonymous
J. George: Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?
Bunny: Why do you wear that stupid man suit? -133t
We invite you to vote for the winner after the jump. Poll closes at midnight tomorrow.
[FN1] There were many funny comments, but we exercised a bias in favor of those with a legal connection.
Earlier: ATL Caption Contest: Mr. Easter Bunny, White House Counsel Fred Fielding
The rabbit behind the man: White House counsel Fred Fielding [Washington Post]
Continue reading “ATL Caption Contest Finalists: Mr. Easter Bunny and POTUS”
Over at Greedy South, various rumors are circulating about Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. One poster claimed that the firm rescinded offers of summer employment to several incoming summer associates in the Charlotte office. Later on in the thread, others chimed in to claim that the firm is rescinding offers to full-time associates who were set to arrive in the fall (possibly beyond Charlotte as well).
An ATL tipster wrote us:
I know things are really, really, slow at most firms in Charlotte (as has been noted by the firings at Cadwalader and Dechert), but is there any way that you could find out whether this is actually true? It seems like the elephant in the room is everyone’s hope that securitization will magically pick up again, but everyone seems to forget that it’s difficult for a market segment to “rebound” that wasn’t even in existence 10 years ago.
Is this a sign of Sonnenschein closing its Charlotte office (after only 1 year)? Have you heard anything about other offices having the same types of problems? Just trying to find out what’s going on.
We reached out to the firm for comment earlier this week but they never got back to us. If you have any info to share, please email us. Thanks.
Sonnenschein Firings? [Greedy South / Infirmation]
Michigan brings us today’s Judge of the Day, and there’s a shout-out to the University of Michigan… sort of. Rockford District Judge Steven Servaas never grew out of the middle school humor stage. Apparently, he likes to doodle on court documents and make jokes about chest size:
The State Judicial Tenure Commission is trying to force Servaas off the bench with claims he made inappropriate remarks to female court employees, drew inappropriate cartoons featuring male and female body parts on court documents, and lived outside of the area his Rockford court covers.
One of the allegations involves a remark Servaas admits making to a female court worker, Rebecca Andrus.
It involved a University of Michigan sweatshirt she wore during a November 2007 retirement party at the court’s Grand Rapids Township Division and her chest size.
“I said Beck, if you are going to wear a sweatshirt like that, you need bigger chest or a smaller school, like Albion, or, I mean Alma,” said Servaas.
“Do you think it’s acceptable to make jokes of a sexual nature with employees and staffers?” he was asked by Paul Fisher, the attorney for the Tenure Commission.
“It wasn’t sexual,” Servaas replied. “It was a party and yeah, I go to a party to make jokes and hear jokes.”
We go to parties to hear and make jokes too, but that’s a bad one! We bet no one at the party, or in the court, laughed.
He’s also in trouble for living outside of his district, showing his jock strap to female co-workers at a Christmas party, and drawing what looked like a penis on court files. He denies the doodling and says no one saw him draw it. Hmmm….. We love that this story comes to us from Wood TV.
Embattled judge takes the stand [WOODTV]
There’s been some belly-aching about ATL Law Firm March Madness, but over 2300 people voted, so we shall press on! According to your votes, eight law firms have been chosen to advance. Here are the updated brackets:
Now it’s time again to vote for the “cooler” firm, defining “cool” however you like. We appreciate your definitions via comment. Polls to determine the Final Four, and more information on the Sweet Sixteen match-ups, are available after the jump. Polls close at midnight.
Earlier: ATL March April Madness for Law Firms, Round 1: The Sweet Sixteen
Continue reading “ATL March April Madness for Law Firms, Round 2: The Elitist Elite Eight”
Over on Slate.com’s advice column, a young, struggling paralegal is seeking advice. “Deterred in the District” is happy about the high-pay and “career prospects,” but whines about a difficult partner:
The problem is that one of the partners I assist is particularly challenging. She’s intelligent and distinguished, but she is also a perfectionist. She’s an extremely daunting supervisor—especially for a legal neophyte and nonperfectionist like me. I’m functioning in high gear all day long, but I struggle to keep up. What’s worse is that she is heavy on the criticism and light on the positive reinforcement. A simple mistake like forgetting to put the “Northwest” at the end of a Washington, D.C., address in her appointment schedule will set off a string of negative interactions, while a perfectly orchestrated event will maybe muster an e-mail saying “Tks.” Our exchanges often leave me fuming yet stuck without a venue for venting. At what point can I turn to my boss and say, “Hey, I need things to be different around here” without sounding like an ingrate for the great opportunity that I have.
Slate points “Deterred” to a Wall Street Journal column on Generation Y’s need for praise and frequent feedback, and advises the paralegal to toughen up.
If we were answering this letter, we would say if you’re not a perfectionist, don’t be a paralegal. [FN1] We are annoyed by this whiny letter, because we like zombie movies and gore! Telling a horror story about a partner who only says “Tks” is lame. We invite you to tell us true ‘partner idiosyncrasy’ horror stories in the comments. We’ll round up the best ones and post them later.
Now, please give us positive reinforcement on this post. We are so Gen-Y.
[FN1] As a former Covington & Burling paralegal, Kash always remembered to include the quadrant on D.C. addresses.
Generation Y Me? [Slate.com]
The Most-Praised Generation Goes to Work [Wall Street Journal]
-
Sponsored Content
JD STUDENTS WITH AN INTEREST IN FUTURE ASIA MOVE SHOULD FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO KINNEY’S EVAN JOWERS FOR ADVICE ON 2L SUMMER CHOICES AND PRACTICE AREA FOCUS
Presented by Kinney Recruiting
Ed. note: The Asia Chronicles column is authored by Kinney Recruiting. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates, counsels and partners in Asia than any other recruiting firm in each of the past seven years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com.
It’s that time of year again when JDs are starting to apply for 2L summer jobs and 2L summers are deciding which practice area to focus on.
For those JDs with an interest in potentially lateraling to or transferring to Asia in the future, please feel free to reach out to Kinney for advice on firm choices, interviewing and practice choices, relating to future marketability in Asia, or for a general discussion on your particular Asia markets of interest. This is of course a free of cost service for those who some years in the future may be our future industry contacts or perhaps even clients.
For some years now Kinney’s Asia head, Evan Jowers, has been formally advising Harvard Law students with such questions, as the Asia expert in Harvard Law’s “Ask The Experts Market Program” each summer and fall, with podcasts and scheduled phone calls. This has been an enjoyable and productive experience for all involved.
Evan and the rest of our Asia team – Robert Kinney, Yuliya Vinokurova, Andrew Lin, Jack Hopper and Danielle Cyr - are of course happy to advise law students from other JD programs as well.
To set up a phone call with Evan or one of our other Asia team members, please email Evan Jowers at evan@kinneyrecruiting.com or asia@kinneyrecruiting.com.
The choices a JD makes during their IL and 2L summers and 2L falls can have an enormous affect on their future marketability in Asia, should they be interested in such a move.
Keep reading »Sponsored Content
The Legal Life is Not for the Weak
Presented by LexisNexisWhether you’re fresh off the bar exam or hitting your stride after hanging a shingle a few years ago, one thing’s for certain: independent attorneys who start a solo or small-law practice live with a certain amount of stress.
Non-attorneys would think the stress comes from preparing for a big trial, deposing a hostile witness, or crafting the perfect contract for a picky client.
But that’s nothing compared to the constant, nagging, real-life kind, the kind you get from the day-to-day grind of being a law-abiding attorney.
Specifically, stress from:
Keep reading »Sponsored Content
Silver Golub & Teitell Is Hiring A F/T Associate (Stamford, CT)
184 Atlantic Street, Stamford, CT 06901
Connecticut plaintiffs-side boutique litigation firm (12 lawyers) seeks full-time associate with 2-4 years litigation experience, top tier undergraduate and law school education. Journal or clerkship experience a plus; highest ethical standards and strong work ethic required. Familiarity with Connecticut state court legal practice is preferred, but not required.
The firm handles sophisticated, high-end cases for plaintiffs, including individuals and businesses with significant claims in a wide array of matters. Our cases often have important public policy implications, and are litigated in state and federal courts throughout Connecticut. Representative areas of practice include medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, business torts, deceptive trade practices and other complex commercial litigation, and products liability.
Additional information can be located on our website, at www.sgtlaw.com.
To apply, send cover letter, resume, and law school transcript to recruiting@sgtlaw.com.
Keep reading »
