We have some bad news for this year's summer associates. Based on Monday's survey, brought to you by ATL and Lateral Link, about one in four attorneys at your firm didn't like you.

The number of practicing attorneys who said "Summer associates, hate 'em" narrowly beat the number of practicing attorneys who said "Summer associates, love 'em," by a margin of 25.06% to 24.82%. And while that edge may not be statistically significant, it still has to sting a little.

Among lawyers who had been practicing for more than two years, the gap widened considerably, to 30% vs. 22%.

And in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and Miami, associates of all ages hated summer associates most of all, to the tune of at least 40%.

Mind you, half of practicing respondents were simply neutral on the question -- but that's still pretty cold comfort, in this season of cold offers.

Read more, below the fold.

Over the last several weeks, we've run quite a few ATL / Lateral Link surveys about summer associate issues like assignments, offers, and, of course, lunch.

But no matter what the survey topic, two debates have consistently emerged in the comments:

1) Are summer associates an appropriate use of firm resources and associate time?

2) Are the LOLcat pictures accompanying the surveys absolutely awesome, or really annoying?

Of course, it's not that surprising to see summer associates and LOLcats -- two creatures linked by their youth, their frequent proximity to food, their occasional fluffy nature, and, alas, their occasional misspellings -- prompting relatively parallel debates among ATL readers (especially since those similarities prompted the use of LOLcats as pictures for the summer associate surveys).

And now that the summer programs are over and the on-campus interview season has begun, both debates are in full swing.

On the substantive front, a number of firms are heavily weighing the impact of summer programs on firm resources (like cash), and many are now narrowing their on-campus recruiting or even scrapping summer programs altogether in some offices, as Kash covered over here.

Meanwhile, on the fluffier front, the LOLcat debate also surged last week. Check out some of the funnier comments, and take today's survey, after the jump.

We received about 600 responses to this week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on associate reviews, and there were some interesting twists.

First, while most firms, 60%, only conduct reviews once a year, a growing number, 35%, are providing six-month reviews as well.

A handful of firms split the difference, conducting six-month reviews for laterals and first-year associates, but then defaulting back to once a year. Others are conducting mid-year reviews for "underperforming" associates only, which doesn't appear to be a great recipe for great press.

Of course, not many associates think that they're underperforming:

 * Almost 90% of respondents said that their reviews were "positive" (29%) or "very positive" (57%).
 * Only 6% of respondents said that their reviews were "negative," and only one percent thought they were "very negative."
 * The remaining 7% thought their reviews were simply "neutral."

But even though almost 90% of respondents thought their reviews went well, that doesn't mean they thought the reviews were fair. In fact, about a quarter of associates who thought their reviews were positive still said that they were actually more likely to look for a new job in light of those reviews.

Find out more about how associates reviewed their reviews, after the jump.

One of the more contentious issues in the legal profession this year is whether firms are conducting "stealth" layoffs, or simply culling non-performing associates after bad reviews.

Even among firms doling out these bad reviews, many say that performance standards have gotten tougher during the down market. Other firms, however, claim that their firms' standards remain the same, and that the downsized departing associates simply didn't measure up.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we'll focus a bit more on the review side of the equation. How often does your firm give real feedback, and do you think it's actually fair?

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

We received 629 responses to Monday's ATL / Lateral Link survey on social networking, and it looks like most of you are avid surfers.

Overall, 81% of you use at least one social networking site or maintain a blog. Facebook was the overwhelming winner, as 94% of attorneys who use social networking sites have an account there. LinkedIn was a distant second, used by 46% of these respondents. Myspace was third with 21%.

A surprising number of attorneys are also blogging. Just over 9% maintain an account with blogger, and just under 3% use Livejournal. One percent wrote in that they use Wordpress.

Despite the occasional employer attempts to block access, about 91% of social networking attorneys log in from the office at least once or twice a month, and 61% log in at least daily. One in three attorneys logs on to his or her Facebook or LinkedIn accounts, from the office, more than twice a day.

While they may do it from the office, however, most attorneys are using their online accounts for fun, not for profit. Almost 97% of respondents with social networking accounts are using them "to keep in touch with friends", 56% are using them "for fun", and 9% are using them "to look for new friends." But less than 7% are using them "to look for jobs", and only 5% are using them "to look for clients."

More findings, after the jump.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we explore the tangled web of social networking.

Back in May, Allen & Overy made news for attempting -- unsuccessfully -- to block the use of Facebook in the London office.

The firm claimed that it was just worried about staff downloading too many videos from the site, but is that really why employers are banning (or trying to ban) Facebook use?

Odds are, at least some attorneys at any large firm will post some potentially embarassing content online. ATL commenters unearthed the youtube videos of Divljan Shatterhand Steele just eight minutes after he was named a Summer Associate of the Day.

And other associates may use their peers' profiles in unwelcome ways, like the guys at Skadden Insider who trolled myspace and facebook for pictures of their female colleagues for an online beauty contest -- without the women's permission.

And, of course, you never know what kind of dangers you might expose yourself to in cyberspace. Even David Lat once poked an alleged kidnapper on facebook, and received a painful spanking for his efforts.

So, how are you surfing the social web, and are you sharing it with your firms?

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

We received over 800 responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on layoffs, and the results are not pretty.

About 30% of respondents reported at least some level of involuntary departures at their firms.

While only about 4% of respondents said that their firms were actually conducting public layoffs, another 18% accused their firms of conducting "stealth layoffs."

Of course, it's possible that some of these "stealth layoffs" are really based on performance, a standard which tends to get tougher in a tough economy. But less than 3.5% of respondents said that their firms had been asking people to leave solely based on their performance, suggesting that associates are much more likely to blame firm performance for any downsizings.

Survey Responses: Is your firm conducting layoffs?

See who's getting hit where, after the jump.

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.

Last month, an ATL / Lateral Link survey found that roughly 28% of associates were afraid that they could lose their jobs this year, up from just 10% of associates in December.

That number might be even higher today, given recent events.

But should 28% of associates be afraid? On the one hand, there are relatively few firms listed in Bruce MacEwen's layoffs table. On the other hand, that table doesn't track "stealth layoffs", and there are rumors of stealth layoffs at several firms around the country.

So, today's survey will try to add a little more granularity. Is there really bad news afoot at your firm?

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.