The powers that be in the Atlanta office of Paul Hastings just announced associate pay raises for fiscal year 2008, which will take effect on February 1. Apparently ATL — the website, not the city — got a shout-out at the meeting, when the announcing partner asked, “Who is going to be the first one to email Above the Law?”
Here’s the memo and salary table:
We are pleased to announce the Firm will be increasing base-level salaries for U.S. associates in the Atlanta office effective as of the new fiscal year which commences February 1, 2008.
FY 2009 Compensation by Class Year is as follows:
These increases reflect the Firm’s commitment to paying at the top tier of the market in Atlanta.
We thank you for and commend your performance, commitment and hard work throughout the year and your contributions to our success.
Paul Hastings
Cadwalader isn’t the only New York law firm with a sideline in serving as a film location. As previously reported in the ABA Journal, the recent George Clooney film, Michael Clayton, was filmed in the offices of what was then Dewey Ballantine (now Dewey & LeBoeuf).
But did Davis Polk & Wardwell also get a piece of the action? This email was recently sent to an internal email group at the firm:
“A couple of friends of mine saw ‘Michael Clayton’ last night and said they saw a credit to Davis Polk at the end. Any idea why?”
Find out, after the jump.
1. Back in May, Locke Liddell & Sapp, of Houston and Dallas, and Lord, Bissell & Brook, of Chicago, announced plans to merge. Those plans have now been finalized, and the merger will take effect on October 2.
Sadly, they didn’t take our advice about that unwieldy name: the new firm will be known as Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell. More details appear in the Texas Lawyer.
2. Some readers were impressed by the ability to earn $160,000 in Connecticut, by working in the Stamford office of Paul Hastings.
Guess it was too good to last. PH is closing its Stamford office effective December 3rd. We contacted the firm for comment, and they issued this statement:
“As transactions and cases become more sophisticated and global in scope, they require large teams of attorneys and deeper resources. We have decided to consolidate our New York and Stamford offices in order to better serve our client’s growing needs.”
Paul Hastings in Stamford, RIP.
Locke Liddell and Lord, Bissell Finalize Merger [Texas Lawyer]
Earlier: Law Firm Merger Mania: Locke Liddell + Lord Bissell
- Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Hunton & Williams, Jones Day, Kilpatrick Stockton, Money, Paul Hastings, Skaddenfreude, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Troutman Sanders
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: An Atlanta Round-Up
By David LatWe broke the news of the Kilpatrick Stockton pay raise earlier this month. Today’s Fulton County Daily Report has an article about it here.
The Kilpatrick move is old news — it was actually announced before Labor Day — but Meredith Hobbs’s piece does contain a helpful summary of where the big Atlanta firms stand:
Alston & Bird sparked this round of Atlanta pay raises on Aug. 1 when it increased associate pay across the board, starting at $145,000 for first-years and rising to $190,000 for seventh years—the same scale that Hunton & Williams instituted in February during the year’s first round of associate salary increases. At that time, most of the city’s big firms increased first-year pay from $115,000 to $130,000. That followed a similar $15,000 pay increase at the beginning of 2006, also sparked by Alston.
Other firms that have announced they will raise local first-year pay to $145,000 in January include Troutman Sanders, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Jones Day will raise first-year pay to $150,000 at that time.
Kilpatrick first-years join the $145K club [Fulton County Daily Report]
Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Kilpatrick Stockton
The devoted readership of ATL down in ATL will appreciate this update. From an article by Meredith Hobbs in yesterday’s Fulton County Daily Report:
More law firms have capitulated in Atlanta’s second round of pay raises this year.
Jones Day will raise starting pay to $150,000, and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker will go to $145,000 — an increase of $15,000 at each firm.
The raises are effective Jan. 1, 2008, when pay raises go into effect at several other Atlanta firms, including Alston & Bird, King & Spalding and Troutman Sanders.
The rest of the article, which contains discussion of salaries for more senior associates (compression!!! aargh!!!), is available here.
Three Law Firms Pump Up Pay for First-Years [Fulton County Daily Report]
- Akin Gump, Biglaw, Dewey Ballantine, Dewy Orifice, Job Searches, Paul Hastings, Willkie Farr, Winston & Strawn
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 31-35
By David LatWe’ve now covered over a third of the Vault 100 law firms in open threads. But that means we still have two-thirds to go (assuming we follow through to the end).
The next five firms are colorful. They include one firm that was featured in the Transformers movie, and another that used to employ a high-priced escort.
For your consideration (in Vault 100 order, prestige scores in parentheses):
31. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (6.545)
32. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (6.352)
33. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (6.343)
34. Winston & Strawn LLP (6.316)
35. Dewey Ballantine LLP (6.313)
Please gossip away in the comments. Thanks.
The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]
Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10; Vault 11-15; Vault 16-20; Vault 21-25; Vault 26-30
At large law firms around the country, summer associate programs are nearing their end. But we still have a decent supply of summer associate stories. If you can add to our cache, please review our submission guidelines, and then email us.
This latest SA tale is, like that of Aquagirl or Jonas Blank, something of a classic. As a result, most of you have probably heard it already. But for those of you who haven’t, here it is:
1. Superhero name: The IncrediPaul(Hastings) Hulk
2. Special power: Ability to transform from a mild-mannered South Asian fellow into a raging, belligerent a**hole — with the aid of just a few drinks.
3. Summered: Paul Hastings, Los Angeles, summer 2006.
4. Claim to fame: This narrative is a bit lengthy — but it’s worth it. Check it out, after the jump.
The rumor from the other day has been confirmed: Paul Hastings, of Transformers fame,* has raised its clerkship bonus to $50,000.
We’ve confirmed the news with two sources: an associate at the firm, and a law clerk with an outstanding offer. (We don’t know what PH pays for two clerkships, though; if you have that info, please email us.)
Update: Confirmed. Paul Hastings also pays a $70,000 bonus for two years of clerking.
* Guess the New York Times folks missed Transformers. In this article, they identify Paul Hastings as a San Francisco law firm — even though it’s really a national firm, headquartered in Los Angeles (housed in an iconic tower that looms large over the L.A. skyline).
Earlier: A Law Firm Cameo in ‘Transformers’
We previously had an open thread on London salaries, when Weil and Cleary went to 180 and Latham went to 190. Now TheLawyer.com reports that Paul Hastings has raised to £90k, or roughly $180k, in its London offices.
So we’ll ask again: does this make London more attractive than New York? Will the London raises create any additional upward pressure on salaries in New York? Let us know if this changes anything, in the comments.
Last night we watched Transformers: The Movie. In our defense, it was enthusiastically recommended to us by a friend with a very high-powered legal job.
While the special effects and action-sequence set-pieces were impressive — after all, it’s a Michael Bay film — we were disappointed on the whole. The movie is about an hour too long.
The most thrilling part for us? During the epic battle at the film’s end, in which the Autobots and the Decepticons fight to the death in downtown Los Angeles, you get a very clear shot of this building:
The camera lingers on the Paul Hastings Tower. The law firm’s name and logo are clearly visible.
Pure coincidence? Or law firm product placement?
Transformers [IMDb]
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