We're doing a series of "2008 in Review" posts here at ATL. We've previously declared a Lawyer of the Year, as well as two three Law Students of the Year.

We will now announce what we view as the year's ten biggest stories in law-firm land. We've divided them into two groups: the top five stories on the business side, and the top five stories on the gossip side. Collectively these stories reflect the combination of edification and entertainment that we seek to provide here at ATL. We'll start with the #5 stories in each group and work our way up.

The year that's about to end has been full of "business and the law" stories. Most of the news has been terrible. But it really hasn't been all doom and gloom.

Our fifth-place story on the business end of the legal industry is objectively positive news. Read about it after the jump.

Last year, we reported on a nice perk for Cravath associates abroad: a hefty cost of living allowance, which had junior associates in London making over $300,000.

It looks like the half-Skadden mentality has made its way across the Atlantic. From a tipster:

Cravath Swaine & Moore cuts its COLA in the London office from $110,000 to $60,000 as of January 1, 2009. [A]ll the associates, one after one, where called into the office of a partner, Philip Boeckman, to receive the news. The reason mentioned for the cut is the evolution of the dollar-pound exchange rate. The COLA is the same for all associates in London regardless of the level of seniority. The COLA gets paid together with the base salary on a bi-weekly basis.

That's a big cut for the 20 associates in the London office. Before the COLA was raised to $110,000 last year, it was at $85,000.

RollOnFriday is not overly sympathetic:

Clearly the firm's partners have now got wise. This week associates were hauled in one by one and told that the COLA would be reduced by $50k from 1st January, in response to weakness of Sterling. One associate complained to RollOnFriday that this comes on top of bonuses being halved and the ski weekend being cancelled, and says that these measures "pretty badly affect associate morale". OK, no one likes to get less wedge - but low morale because of only getting £40k to live in London, when everyone else is being made redundant? Bring out the violins.

The other side of the pond just got a lot less attractive.

Earlier: Biglaw Perk Watch: Working Abroad

Cravath London associates lose £34k bonus [RollOnFriday]

When we did our series of Vault 100 open threads in the summer, Biglaw insiders shared insights into office culture, with much touting of work perks at various firms. These days, attorneys can brag if their firms are not among those laying associates off.

Reuters reports on perk cutbacks in the finance world, such as the elimination of business-class travel and free sodas in the office fridge. On ATL, we reported in October that K&L Gates was eliminating ABA dues payments and switching to one-ply toilet paper. (This was followed by news this month of staff layoffs).

A tipster from Kirkland & Ellis tells us the New York office is downsizing breakfast:

i know this is a little obnoxious because lots of other firms don't have breakfast at all, but we at kirkland ny are pretty proud of our breakfast spreads: tropicana if you get in early enough, bagels, fruit, yogurt, and fancy nature's path cereals with flax and berries and stuff. so imagine our shock and horror when we saw this hidden away in the weekly memo:

NEW BREAKFAST MENU
Beginning November 17, the breakfast menu will be changed to fresh fruit and bagels. In order to make sure there is enough for all, additional numbers of each item will be provided. We may find that the ratio of bagels to fruit needs to be adjusted to best meet preferences. Please let Pam Grazia at extension 3179 know if that is the case in the pantry on your floor.

its not the loss of the yogurt and cereal, although that does hurt. its more the sneaky way it was hidden in the memo that nobody reads!

While firms are unlikely to cut back on big perks like parental leave, this is a time for tightening the belt in other areas. We say: Better the loss of the granola than the loss of the librarian.

Are you seeing perk erosion at your firm? What is being cut back? What should be cut back? (Our Kirkland tipster tells us NY associates still get the $350 office art budget.)

Unsold Ferraris, no free drinks as crisis spikes [Reuters]

In last Monday's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we asked you whether you were taking any vacations this summer.

We received just under 900 responses, and the overwhelming majority of you reported that you will be escaping the office for at least a little while this summer.

Overall, 86% of you have taken, or will take, a vacation, or at least a vacation day:

  * About 24% of respondents are taking a quick break of 1 to 3 days.
  * Another 18% of respondents reported summer vacations of 4 or 5 days.
  * 16% are taking between 6 and 8 days, and 13% are going for two weeks.
  * About 5% of respondents are taking 3 or more weeks.

Among the attorneys who aren't taking vacation this summer, 46% said that they just have too much work to get done. But 35% have the opposite problem: they need the hours. A surprisingly high number of respondents, 28%, said that they just don't feel comfortable taking vacations. Only 7%, however, said that a partner told them not to take a vacation this summer. Another 7% are sticking around because they want to impress people, which will perhaps cause their peers to want to take more vacations themselves.

Of course, whether in the office or out, not all attorneys can completely escape their responsibilities. An unlucky 13% of respondents have had to cancel vacation plans this summer, and 55% of respondents with uncancelled summer plans either did work or expect to work during their vacations.

But hey, a busy summer is much better than the alternative, right?

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, it's time to focus on time off.

ATL has previously reported on firms trimming the length of their summer programs, in part because of economic doldrums, but also at least purportedly in part because of vacation cycles.

As one firm's managing partner put it: "We believe that the August vacation season for our attorneys is simply not a period that is conducive to a positive Summer Associate experience."

So, it being "vacation season," are you taking any?

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

We recently reported on Winston & Strawn making iPhones available for its attorneys. Will other firms follow suit?

Some already have. This morning, Sheppard Mullin announced that it will be "adding the iPhone as a selection in our mobile device program," as of mid-September. Full memo, after the jump.

One firm that's not phalling for the iPhone: Latham & Watkins."Latham isn't going for the new version or the new software," a tipster tells us, "because of a lack of 'whole-device encryption.' They posted [a message] on the Latham [intranet]." That message, also after the jump.

Earlier today, we noted that Debevoise & Plimpton just slipped from the top spot in the American Lawyer's A-List rankings. One Debevoise associate has a solution, proposed in this open letter:

Dear Rick [Evans, Presiding Partner],

By now you have no doubt seen the AmLaw rankings. You will have been as horrified as I to see Debevoise drop from #1, a position it has held for four years now, to #5. More dramatic, though, is the drop in the Associate Satisfaction score -- we shed 90 points out of 200. Luckily, I have an effective, easily implemented solution to offer: iPhones. That's right - iPhones. For just $200/associate, you can infinitely increase our satisfaction, as well as get some great press on Abovethelaw.com.

Think about it, Rick. iPhones. Debevoise can be "that" firm -- you know, the hip, modern, generous, lifestyle-caring-about firm that law students buzz about and want to work for.

Let's reclaim our destiny. With iPhones.

Best,
[redacted]

In other iPhone news, John Carney asks over at our sister site, Dealbreaker: "Has Apple Sold So Many iPhones It Crashed Its System?"

The Sheppard Mullin and Latham iPhone announcements, after the jump.

Two pieces of good news from Winston & Strawn. First, like many other leading law firms, they've raised their maternity leave to 18 weeks (from 12 weeks). To see where your firm stands, check out our maternity leave table, continuously updated by surveys guru Justin Bernold.

Second, for all of you iPhone-atics out there:

You guys might be interested in this little tidbit. Beginning August 1st (provided there are no issues with compatibility or supply), Winston & Strawn will include the iPhone as part of its supported mobile devices. Last summer, Winston announced it would start purchasing BlackBerry devices for attorneys on a 2 year replacement cycle (prior to that time, attorneys were required to purchase their own devices but the firm reimbursed for data charges).

As noted in the announcement below, the Apple iPhone will now be among the supported devices, and the firm is even willing to purchase it for eligible attorneys (i.e., if you are not subject to a 2 year contract). For those attorneys who want the 16GB model, the firm will pay the first $200 (representing the cost for the 8GB model) and charge back the $100 additional cost to the attorney's personal account.

Check out the full announcement -- plus a handy chart comparing the iPhone with the Blackberry 8100, Blackberry 8800, and Blackberry 8830 -- after the jump.

Lawyers seem to cluster at two extremes when it comes to technology. Some are true tech geeks, who wet themselves over every shiny new gadget; others are technophobes, who are intimidated by two-sided printing.

After Apple unveiled the new iPhone yesterday, we received several emails from readers in the first camp. For example:

In light of Apple's release of software making the iPhone compatible with corporate Microsoft Exchange servers, I think the iPhone merits a "Biglaw Perk Watch" post. Which firms are now allowing use of the iPhone? Which firms are paying for it?

Now that iPhones are compatible with Microsoft Exchange servers, perhaps Skadden will no longer frown upon lawyers spending their technology allowances on iPhones.

A second tipster tells us that at least one large law firm is jumping on the iPhone bandwagon:

Just watched the Apple keynote address today from MacWorld in San Francisco (watch it at apple.com). In the first 10 minutes, Steve Jobs shows a video about enterprise users adopting the new iPhone. Sonnenschein is one of three or four different companies they profile -- including Genentech, Disney, and some army thing.

Pretty cool! Looks like Sonnenschein will adopt iPhones! Are any other firms doing this?

Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal has been going through a rough patch lately. But if shiny new iPhones are on the way, things are looking up.

If you know about your firm's policy with respect to the iPhone, please chime in, in the comments. Thanks.

P.S. We know of at least one Biglaw partner who is an iPhone fan: noted Supreme Court litigator Tom Goldstein, of Akin Gump. To find out what he keeps on his iPhone, click here.

The New IPhone Is Ready for Business [Business Technology]
Apple Aims for the Masses With a Cheaper iPhone [New York Times]
Tom Goldstein's iPhone [SCOTUSblog]

Earlier: A Clarification About iPhones at Skadden
Skadden Raises To... iPhones!
Waiting for the iPhone: An iWitness Account

Several firms have announced new parental leave policies. We'll highlight them here, and Justin will be adding the information to his maternity leave and paternity leave cheat sheets.

1. Allen & Overy is one of the three firms to comply with what is becoming the industry standard of 18 weeks paid maternity leave. Paternity leave is 4 weeks. A&O also included parental leave for support staff in its e-mail: maternity leave of 12 weeks and parental leave of 4 weeks.

2. Heller Ehrman is upping its paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, while paternity leave will stay at 6 weeks.

3. Ropes & Gray is giving moms 18 weeks of parental leave (up from 13 weeks) and giving dads 4 weeks (up from 2 weeks).

The firms' parental leave announcements are available after the jump.

We've received over 900 responses to our ATL / Lateral Link surveys on the lengths and lunches of summer programs.

Today, in honor of David Lat's Above The Lard Project Truman Show, let's focus on the caloric part of the results: lunch.

Associates seem to be of two minds on the summer associate lunch. Some commenters view the lunches as a positive perk . . . sort of:

The perks are important. Lunches and events are how you meet and get to know the associates and partners at the firm. Anyone who has ever lateraled can tell you how hard it is to meet the people around you when all you do is work (and forget about meeting anyone in another practice group). I don't know if it's a good investment, but it at least brightens the miserable halls of the firm for a couple weeks a year. All the lawyers pretend that working at a law firm is really like what we hoped it would be when we were law students. It's nice.

Others, however, view the care and feeding of summer associates as an unwanted drain on their time:

As an associate, I don't want to be obligated to take summers to lunches, and I don't care about free lunches myself.

What I do want is to be left the hell alone during those daytime hours so that I can do the work I am being paid to do, which will allow me to leave two hours earlier than I otherwise would each day.

Summers are a hassle. They all want to go to lunch for two hours each day, and then when they go to happy hour or whatever event each night at 6:00, the associates get to stay in their offices billing the time that the summers stole from them earlier in the day.

Whether they're good or bad, though, one thing's clear: summer lunches are pretty pricey:

  * About a third of respondents said that their firms had a budget of more than $50 per person when lunching with summer associates, and seven percent of respondents said their firms imposed no limit at all.

  * Ten percent of respondents said that their firms impose a $50 per person budget.

  * Ten percent of respondents said that their firms will reimburse $40 or $45 per person.

  * Seventeen percent of respondents may spend $30 or $35 per person.

  * Twelve percent of respondents may spend up to $25 per person.

The rest have lower budgets or no budget at all. On the bright side, though, their clothes are more likely to fit at the end of the summer.

Despite the expense, summer associates expect frequent feedings:

  * Roughly nineteen percent expect to have lunch with their firm's lawyers five times a week.

  * A quarter plan on lunching four times a week. The same number expect lunch three times a week, and another quarter will settle for lunch a mere two times weekly.

  * Five percent of summer associates think they'll only have lunch with the attorneys once a week.

  * A lonely one percent of summer associates don't think they'll have lunch with the firm's attorneys at all.

As the comment above would suggest, however, full-time associates are not nearly as enthusiastic about all that lunch time.

  * Eleven percent don't expect to have lunch with the summer associates at all.

  * Fifty-four percent expect to do lunch once a week.

  * A quarter will have lunch twice a week.

  * Seven percent will have lunch three times a week.

  * Only three percent will have lunch four or five times a week.

Perhaps the firms should budget coffee runs instead?

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

Last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on trimming summer associate programs is still open, but we've already been getting some interesting debate in the comments.

For law students, trimming the summer programs -- or at least the summer salaries -- would be a critical financial blow:

[L]aw School tuition is fucking EXPENSIVE. I take out 55k per year in loans here at CLS (45k of which goes to tuition + fees). Luckily, I have no undergrad debt. The financial aid office suggests that the average student take out 64k per year in loans. In sum, you misers need to talk to school adminstrations before cutting pay.

But once they've achieved permanent (or not so permanent) employment status, some associates would prefer to see a slimmer summer experience:

It's not right that in a market where good associates are being kicked to the curb for economic reasons we're throwing buckets of money at a bunch of kids who don't know anything and just teaching them how to be (more) entitled. Shorten the summer and pay them a salary that has some correlation to what they're worth - they are mere interns.

Other associates, however, are still in favor of lunch:

I thought ATL was on our side. The open budgets and free lunches are a perk to associates too.

And one tipster wonders just how free those lunches are from firm to firm:

Might be a good time next week or two weeks from now to do a post about summer lunch budgets. I just heard on the grapevine that we're having $25/person limits, with anything over it coming out of the associate's pockets. I know some other firms have a $30 or $50 limit.

So, today's ATL / Lateral Link survey focuses on both lunch and morale. How much can you spend on lunch with the summer associates, how often do you do lunch, and would associates at your firm be upset if the summer program went away?

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

While responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on summer associate programs continue to flow in (add your 2 cents here), let's pause to consider what last year's summer associates are going to experience over the next few months: bar exams (sorry), relocations, and sweet, sweet signing bonuses (or not).

We've received about a hundred comments and tips since we posted our "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Starting Bonuses But Were Afraid To Ask" table, which aggregated the results from our ATL / Lateral Link surveys on bar stipends and reimbursements, salary advances, and signing bonuses, relocation benefits and whether you have to pay it all back when you leave.

So today, we're updating the table to fill in some more blanks.

The table below now shows six things for each firm:

  * which bar exam expenses the firm will reimburse (send us tips to fill in the blanks),

  * whether the firm pays new associates a summer stipend or a signing bonus or graduation bonus (not counting clerkship bonuses, which are discussed elsewhere),

  * whether the firm provides salary advances (i.e., loans) in any particular amounts,

  * whether the firm provides any particular relocation benefits,

  * whether the firm provides a pro-rated bonus (a "stub bonus") for the period between your start date and the end of the year first year, and

  * whether the firm will make you pay it all back if you leave. As a general rule, payback requirements will apply to everything but a stub bonus, and will include clerkship bonuses.

And now, that introduction aside, read on to see the aggregated table of bar reimbursements, stipends and bonuses, salary advances, moving expenses, stub bonuses, and payback requirements. Check it out, after the jump.

We received 1,669 responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on children and careers.

Quite a few readers are pessimistic about the impact having a child would have on their careers. One comment summed it up:

Having a child would not, in itself, hurt anyone's career. Raising one almost certainly would, as would taking up stamp collecting or any other non-career-advancing hobby.

But just having a child, provided it was promptly deposited at a nearby orphanage (between conference calls), should not be too problematic.

Ouch. Another comment was a bit more hopeful:

I recently returned full-time from 5 months of maternity leave at my Vault 5 firm. At the end of the day, I don't think that the length of a single maternity leave is that big of a deal. No one is going to remember or care how long you were gone, particularly if you are junior and still more or less interchangeable with your peers. That said, my experience was that, with all of my matters having closed about 3 months before my due date, it was really tough to find work during that time because I looked like I was going to pop at any moment. So the time I was out of the game and not able to build skills was longer than the maternity leave alone. And reminding everyone of who I am and the good work that I do has had to happen a bit more since I returned, but none of this is career-ending. It just takes patience, but that kind of perseverance comes quite naturally to me now that I am a mother.

I worked until a week before the baby was born. Though 16-hour days or longer are possible for most of a normal pregnancy, they are not a good idea in the late stages (the last 6 weeks or so). Even a normal pregnancy is a lot of work, don't get me wrong, but, honestly, the talk [in the comments] about using surrogates because you don't want a pregnancy to slow you down is just silly, and clearly the idea of a childless person who has not seriously contemplated what surrogacy involves. A few months of being pregnant, and then taking maternity leave, in my experience, just isn't going to kill your career.

Read more -- the rest of this very thoughtful email, plus the overall survey results -- after the jump.

Our last installment of the Asia Chronicles introduced our readers to the financial advantages of working as a Biglaw associate in Asia. We told you of lower taxes, additional payments in the form of (sweet sweet) COLAs, housing allowances, and other assorted goodies.

Unlike Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, all of this is real, but some of our readers commented that it all sounded like some kind of marketing ploy, "B-grade Asian job porn," and otherwise too good to be true. Perhaps we came across as too enthusiastic, or maybe we sound like one big recruiting column. Whatever the case, we really do think Asia is the most exciting place in the world to be right now, and not just because the money's better (additional advantages to be discussed in the weeks to come).

Still, it's not for everyone. For any of you considering a move to Asia, here are some questions to consider:

1. Are you willing to spend time away from your family, friends, and familiar places? Flight time from most places in Asia back to North America is at least twelve hours each way (and could be double that if you have to make connections). Add in getting to and from the airport, layovers, and getting over jet lag, and you may be spending four days on each trip just traveling or recovering from it. Not to mention that even economy airfares are well over a thousand bucks and rising, and business class is usually four times that (although arguably worth it for the fifteen-hour flight from Asia to New York). As a busy corporate associate, you will likely only visit home once a year (but at least it'll be a free trip home). Obviously if you are married and/or have children, the question gets even more complicated.

2. Can you handle frequent travel? Nervous fliers should steer clear of Asia (with the possible exception of Tokyo, where the majority of work is domestic). Lawyers out here commonly travel several times per month to wherever the deals are, from India to the South Pacific. We have seen longtime Asia lawyers with passports as thick as the stack of 1000s in our pockets when we come back from Macau. Though the clients always pay for business class, and Asian airlines, airports and hotels are generally rated the best in the world for service and comfort, some people find travel and time away from home too stressful.

3. Do you have a flexible sleep schedule? American lawyers in Asia are often working with U.S. and European offices of the banks and law / accounting firms on their deals. New York is about twelve hours behind China / Japan, and 10 p.m. Friday conference calls or 4 a.m. closings are not uncommon. Or, given the workload of many Asian offices, you might just be up that late working. Very hot market + small office = lots of billable hours.

Read more, below the fold.

The latest law firm to adopt a policy of 18 weeks of maternity leave: Kramer Levin. The email announcing the change and the new policy, after the jump.

Tables of law-firm policies on maternity leave and paternity leave, maintained by ATL surveys guru Justin Bernold, are available here and here, respectively.

In other Kramer Levin news, there is a rumor making the rounds that a certain high-profile young New York lawyer recently interviewed there for a job. If you think you know who we're talking about, and are in a position to confirm (or deny), please email us. Thanks.

Update: Yep, the commenters are correct. Aaron Charney recently interviewed for a job with Kramer Levin.

Last week, we posted Part Four of the results from our ATL / Lateral Link survey on bar stipends and reimbursements, salary advances, and signing bonuses, covering the range of firms from Akin Gump to Young Conaway. We've also posted results from our surveys on relocation benefits and whether you have to pay it all back when you leave. And between survey responses, comments, and tips, we have a few thousand data points.

Today, we're consolidating the three tables in one place, so that we can start filling in more blanks and squeezing out some nuances.

The table below now shows six things for each firm:

  * which bar exam expenses the firm will reimburse (send us tips to fill in the blanks),

  * whether the firm pays new associates a summer stipend or a signing bonus or graduation bonus (not counting clerkship bonuses, which are discussed elsewhere),

  * whether the firm provides salary advances (i.e., loans) in any particular amounts,

  * whether the firm provides any particular relocation benefits,

  * whether the firm provides a pro-rated bonus (a "stub bonus") for the period between your start date and the end of the year first year, and

  * whether the firm will make you pay it all back if you leave. As a general rule, payback requirements will apply to everything but a stub bonus, and will include clerkship bonuses.

And now, that introduction aside, read on to see the aggregated table of bar reimbursements, stipends and bonuses, salary advances, moving expenses, stub bonuses, and payback requirements. Check it out, after the jump.

For the second installment of the Asia Chronicles, we're going interactive. Please click on this Youtube link, minimize, and read on.

Come with us, won't you, to a world of your imagination. Imagine that you're an associate at a major U.S. law firm in Asia, paid the same salary and bonus as your colleagues back home. Imagine further that $87,500 of your salary is excluded from federal income tax. Imagine that your firm pays your rent, and, even though this would normally be considered taxable income, it is excluded from taxation as well.

One of the ACLs who lived in this "world that defies explanation" paid off his entire $120K+ law school debt in one year and is on track to put away over a quarter million during the next two years. How? With extra salary and a much lower tax burden, he takes home approximately 15% more cash than he would in the U.S. He has no car or other transportation expenses (walks 10 minutes from home to office), usually works late enough to expense his dinners, and pays no rent. He takes so many business trips that frequent flier miles and hotel points take care of most of his vacation expenses. At least 80% of his paycheck goes straight into his 401K and other investments. The rest goes to magnums of Cristal (he admits he could do better).

Before we jump into the details, let's set out some assumptions:

Assumption #1: There are tons of U.S. firms in Asia; some pay less, some pay more. A sizable group of firms pays competitive packages (yes, we said "packages") at or near the top of the market. This entire discussion focuses on that group because, let's be honest, for most of us "the law" isn't our calling. We don't sit up at night thinking about Section 4(2) of the U.S. Securities Act or wonder about the components of a conversion formula in a share purchase agreement (wait, maybe someti... ok, no ... never). So, for the purposes of this discussion, let's just assume that it's mostly (almost entirely) about the Benjamins. (Or Maos? Lees?)

Assumption #2: There are U.S. lawyers in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, etc. But, to borrow from XOXO/Greedy Associates lingo, this discussion focuses on "BIGLAW" in the major Asian markets (i.e., Tokyo, Singapore and the greater China region) at "Vault"-listed firms. HTH.

On to the main event. Salaries. Three words: New York levels. Bonuses. Three words: New York levels. That's right. When you guys over in New York rejoice over the raises, so do we. But, there's more. A few years ago, there was this evil little SOB of a concept called "tax equalization" whereby firms, for whatever reason (well, we know the reason; you do the math), decided to pay their overseas U.S. associates an amount in salary that was equal, after tax, to what an associate in New York would be paid. Yes, that means poor little Billy in Asia was "theoretically" paying New York city and state tax. Firms have since moved away from this model. In a low-tax region like Singapore or Hong Kong, this means associates can take advantage of the low tax rates. What's that, you say? The U.S. taxes on worldwide income? Fear not. Certain provisions in the tax code are geared towards providing tax breaks for U.S. citizens working worldwide. Bottom line, associates in Asia at U.S. law firms also pay less in taxes each year.

Ohhh, and it doesn't stop there. Remember the reference we made to "packages" above? Firms in Asia (except in, only God knows why, Singapore ) foot the bill for their associates' housing expenses. Many firms pay this housing allowance in cash each month, some pay the rent directly to the landlord. Many firms then let associates keep the difference between the rent and the allowance. The word on the street is that a certain Wall Street law firm whose name begins with an S and ends with a T pays top of the market at about $80,000 a year. So, if you're an associate at this unnamed Wall Street firm that rhymes with Pimpson Cratcher and your rent is $40,000 each year, you're pocketing an extra $40,000. It's the "special bonus" that never stops giving.

According to Evan Jowers of Kinney Recruiting (who has eyeballed perhaps more offer letters from the major US and British firms in Hong Kong / China than any other person in the industry), "The housing / expat packages at the top U.S. and British firms in Asia are likely to go higher in the next year or two. Many of these firms have substantially raised their packages in only the past 6 months, with there now being many more firms in the what I consider to be competitive housing allowance range in Hong Kong, $65,000 to $80,000, than a year ago. In fact, the number of firms with housing packages over $70,000 in Hong Kong has more than doubled in the past six months."

More delicious details, after the jump.

Last week, we posted Part Three of the results from our ATL / Lateral Link survey on bar stipends and reimbursements, salary advances, and signing bonuses (which covered the range of firms from Akin Gump to Proskauer Rose). We got quite a few tips in response, as well as quite a few comments in person, at the NALP conference in Toronto.

Find out whether today's installment will at last make it to Wachtell, Weil, WilmerHale and beyond . . . after the jump.

But before we get there, let's quickly review what we said about the table last week:

The table below shows four things for each firm:

  * how the firm helps new associates with bar exam expenses (reimbursement of actual expenses or a fixed stipend),

  * whether the firm pays new associates a signing bonus or graduation bonus (not counting clerkship bonuses, which are discussed elsewhere),

  * whether the firm provides salary advances (i.e., loans) in any particular amounts, and

  * whether the firm provides a pro-rated bonus (a "stub bonus") for the period between your start date and the end of the year first year.

As always, please send us a tip if any of the details about your firm are missing or wrong or fraught with nuance. Also feel free to let us know whether these stipends and bonuses are subject to repayment if you leave, and whether your firm helps out with relocations, both topics of surveys last week.

And now, that introduction aside, read on to see the fourth batch of results from our ATL / Lateral Link survey on bar stipends and reimbursements, salary advances, and signing bonuses. Check it out, after the jump.

Some of this information is -- or soon will be -- reflected in Justin Bernold's nifty tables of maternity leave and paternity leave. But in the spirit of positive reinforcement, we thought that we should separately highlight -- and commend -- the following firms for recent enhancements to their parental leave policies:

1. Akin Gump: Now at the industry-standard 18 weeks for "[b]irth or adoptive parents who serve as primary caregivers." Memo after the jump.

2. Andrews Kurth: Also now at 18 weeks. More details in this press release.

3. Morrison & Foerster: They moved to 18 weeks last month, actually, but we haven't noted it until now. Several MoFo tipsters wrote in requesting a shout-out, including one who pointed out:

[T]he new policy has something I've not seen elsewhere: an automatic option to go on reduced hours for the first year after a child is born. Can't say whether that's the de facto policy elsewhere, but it is the first time I have seen any firm put it in writing.

Memo and more details, also after the jump.

So far this year, our ATL / Lateral Link survey results have produced tables on clerkship bonuses, signing bonuses and bar expenses, and relocation benefits, as well as parental leave (kudos, by the way, to Akin Gump and Andrews Kurth for moving to 18 weeks maternity leave recently).

But for many of these charts, there's a worrisome question lurking in the background: will you have to pay the firm back if you leave?

We received almost 400 responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on payback policies, and the most common answer appears to be "yes, but only if you leave relatively quickly." Most of you reported that your firms would require you to return clerkship bonuses, signing bonuses, bar stipends and expenses, and even moving expenses if you left your jobs within a year after starting. But relatively few firms imposed longer terms, and a fair number reported no payback requirement at all.

Find out which firms fall where, after the jump.