Paralegals
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Associate Bonus Watch 2008, Bonuses, Paralegals, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Thacher Proffitt & Wood
Thacher Proffitt & Wood Staff Get The Shaft
Thacher Proffitt & Wood has been struggling for some time. A memo sent by managing partner Paul Tvetenstrand to TPW staff the Wednesday before Thanksgiving provides the latest evidence of the firm’s faltering state: From: Paul D. Tvetenstrand To: Non-legal staff As you are aware. The past year has posed many challenges for the firm […] -
Layoffs, Libraries / Librarians, Paralegals, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Fried Frank Follow-Up
As promised, we bring you an update on yesterday’s coverage of staff layoffs at Fried Frank. Here are a few additional details, from the National Law Journal (subscription): Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson is reducing administrative staff in New York and Washington. The reductions, which a firm spokeswoman said were less than 10% of […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Layoffs, Libraries / Librarians, Paralegals, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Fried Frank Staff Layoffs
Last week we started hearing rumors of imminent staff layoffs at Fried Frank. The rumors have now come true, as we’ve been hearing from multiple sources. Today appears to be the big day. We submitted an inquiry to the firm. A spokesperson issued the following statement: Over two years ago Fried Frank began a review […]
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Nude Dancing, Paralegals
Lawyer of the Day: Bob Dillinger
Whatever happened to asking your paralegal to make some binders? Or asking your secretary for some photocopying, or to fill out your expense report? When it comes to support staff, why are lawyers getting so demanding all of a sudden? First this. Now this, via the Tampa Tribune: A former legal assistant in Pinellas-Pasco Public […] -
Boring Stuff, Layoffs, Paralegals, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Bingham Axes Staff(Not earth-shattering news; we just want to be thorough.)
Okay, this is not the most exciting layoff news ever. It pales in comparison to the massive bloodshed over at Cadwalader this morning, which forced us to break out the Drudge siren. It reminds us of those Kaye Scholer secretarial layoffs from May, just not as big. But when it comes to law-firm layoff coverage, […] -
Oral Sex / Blow Jobs, Paralegals, Plaintiffs Firms
Paralegal: Will Collate, Will Not Fellate
[UPDATE on 04.03.09: Case dismissed.] Paralegal-ing is a rough gig. Paralegals tend to get the legal drudgery similar to that done by first year associates, without the six-figure paycheck. And if you’re a paralegal for Richard Laminack, a titan of the Texas plaintiffs’ bar, you may also be asked to receive unwanted advances, fellate expert […] -
Biglaw, Labor / Employment, Lawsuit of the Day, Litigators, Paralegals
Lawsuit of the Day: As the Paralegal World Turns...
Legal Pad (a Cal Law blog) has a link to this amazing complaint [PDF] filed by paralegal Jason Herrera against Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Herrera’s complaint — “for discrimination, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and fraud” — reads like a reality TV show pitch about the lives of paralegals. […] -
Holland & Knight, Layoffs, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Paralegals, Real Estate, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
Nationwide Layoff Watch: More South Florida Suffering
The bad news continues to roll in. Becker & Poliakoff, which just announced across-the-board pay cuts for its lawyers, isn’t the only Florida firm that’s hurting. From a report by Julie Kay, for the upcoming issue of the National Law Journal: In another sign of the hard times facing the legal industry, particularly in real-estate […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Paralegals
Follow-up: ATL Horror Stories
On Wednesday, we reported on a D.C. paralegal/legal assistant/assistant seeking advice at Slate.com. We were disappointed in the letter writer’s horror story, and solicited readers for better stories. Here’s the cream of the crop: How about working 1.5 years with a Federal judge who hasn’t bothered to learn my name? Short, sweet, and to the […] -
Paralegals
ATL Seeks REAL Horror Stories
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 […] -
Biglaw, Brown Raysman, Layoffs, Paralegals, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Skaddenfreude, Start Dates, Thelen Reid & Priest, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner
The rumor making the rounds of lawyer and staff layoffs at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner is true. We just spoke to Thelen’s co-chair, Stephen V. O’Neal, who provided confirmation and details. The firm is in the process of laying off 26 associates and 85 staff members, on a firm-wide basis, “in response to […] -
Benchslaps, Biglaw, Paralegals, Pro Se Litigants, Tax Law
Cleary Gottlieb Associate Gets Benchslapped By Tax Court
As the old adage goes, “A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” And there is some anecdotal evidence in support of that proposition. See, e.g., Elana Glatt / Elana Elbogen (depending upon how you view the merits of her case against her wedding florist). Here’s another example of what can happen […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Contract Attorneys, Money, Paralegals, Skaddenfreude
Associate Staff Attorney Bonus Watch: Open Thread
In the absence of more associate bonus news — we’ve heard rumors of various committees at various firms meeting, but we have no new announcements — let’s move on to a related subject. What about bonuses for staff attorneys, the non-partnership-track lawyers employed by many large law firms? Here’s what one of them had to […]
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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Correspondence, Job Searches, Paralegals, Weirdness
How Not To Respond to an Ad for Temporary Paralegal Assistance
A legal staffing agency put up an advertisement soliciting applications for a temporary paralegal position. Cover letters and résumés started rolling in. Like this one: Hello there, I am not a paralegal. But, I type 85 WPM and used to be [an] executive assistant and have multiple skillsets, easy to train, that honestly set me […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Paralegals, Willkie Farr
Associate Support Staff Bonus Watch: Open Thread
We’re sorry we don’t have more associate bonus news to report. Unfortunately, we have to wait for it to happen; we can’t just make it up. So while we wait for more announcements — it’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so we’re hoping for some announcements in the afternoon — let’s talk about a related subject: […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Paralegals, Willkie Farr
Associate Support Staff Bonus Watch: Open Thread
We’re sorry we don’t have more associate bonus news to report. Unfortunately, we have to wait for it to happen; we can’t just make it up. So while we wait for more announcements — it’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so we’re hoping for some announcements in the afternoon — let’s talk about a related subject: […] -
Biglaw, Paralegals, Perks / Fringe Benefits
Biglaw Perk Watch: Paralegals
Here is today’s law firm perk post. From a devoted ATL reader: Here’s an idea for perkwatch: paralegals. As I’m sure most people can attest to, a good stable of paralegals can be invaluable in systematizing some of the more mundane routine tasks. One of my old firms had a majority of snippy, incompetent paralegals […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Hair, Job Searches, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Media and Journalism, Non-Sequiturs, Paralegals, Pornography, Sex
Non-Sequiturs: 10.25.07
* Professor Eugene Volokh wonders: Does engaging in a three-way with a current client and the client’s girlfriend count as having sex “with a current client” — a practice forbidden by state bar rules? [Volokh Conspiracy] * Professor Ann Bartow wonders: Why call it “law porn”? [Feminist Law Professors via Blawg Review] * Paralegal of […] -
Arlen Specter, Ave Maria School of Law, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Milberg Weiss, Money, Non-Sequiturs, Paralegals, Patrick Fitzgerald, Politics
Non-Sequiturs: 10.18.07
* Holy Lawsuit, Batman! Professors sue Ave Maria. [AveWatch.org] * TMI indeed; spare us talk of that burning sensation. Just say you have a doctor’s appointment, and leave it at that. [Nasty, Brutish & Short] * Just because you’re a 46-year-old man who has never been married doesn’t mean you’re gay. Plamegate prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald […] -
Biglaw, Heller Ehrman, Job Searches, Layoffs, Paralegals
The Heller Ehrman Layoffs: Don't Believe the Spin?
We recently made passing reference to the staff layoffs at Heller Ehrman, which firm management claimed were made to enhance efficiency, and not due to slow business. But one of the affected employees begs to differ: Don’t believe Heller Ehrman’s claims that the layoffs were not because of slowdowns. I was a paralegal who worked […]