Skadden Arps

Wolfowitz Hires Robert Bennett to Save His Job

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paul_wolfowitz.jpgWhat’s that you say? You’re a major international political figure, and you’re embroiled in a scandal that could cost your job? What should you do? Why, hire a rock star lawyer of course!
Paul Wolfowitz has done just that, hiring Robert Bennett to represent him in his fight to save his job as president of the World Bank. Bennett, who represented Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones case, is a partner at Skadden Arps.
From the New York Times:

Robert S. Bennett, the lawyer selected by Mr. Wolfowitz, said in an interview that before the bank’s board acted on charges of ethical lapses, he and Mr. Wolfowitz wanted more time to prepare a case showing that the bank president had acted properly on all matters that the board is investigating.

“I am very worried about the rush to judgment,” Mr. Bennett said. “We just had a wonderful example of that in the Duke lacrosse case. I have reviewed the essential documents, and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Mr. Wolfowitz exercised good faith and that everything he did was in the best interests of the bank.”

Interesting that Wolfowitz would choose an attorney known for representing Clinton. Then again, the allegations do involve a female staffer, so maybe Bennett’s experience with Clinton makes him the perfect choice.
Still, though, is there much Bennett can do for Wolfowitz? What exactly is Wolfowitz’s recourse if the Bank fires him unfairly? Isn’t Bennett basically being hired as a PR guy on this one? Which is not to say that attorneys acting as PR reps is anything new, but it usually takes place within the context of criminal or civil litigation.
Anyway, we’re kind of rooting for the Wolfman. I mean, what’s the point of a job like president of the World Bank if you can’t give you preferential treatment to your girlfriend?

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Skaddenfreude: Wilmer Raises Its Clerkship Bonus

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGIn the comments to our last post on clerkship bonuses, there was a claim that WilmerHale has raised its clerkship bonus to $35,000.
That claim is true. This email went out yesterday:

From: Dunbar, Andrianna
Date: Apr 19, 2007 5:52 PM
Subject: Clerkship Bonus Update
To:

As part of our commitment to providing attorney compensation that is at or near the top of the markets in which we practice, the firm has increased its judicial clerkship bonus from $20,000 to $35,000. This increase reflects the value the firm places on hiring former judicial clerks, as well as our intention to continue to attract the best and the brightest legal talent. We are committed to making the firm as attractive as possible for former clerks, and we recognize that the amount of the clerkship bonus can be important.

We continue to hope that you will accept our offer to join us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Andrianna

There was also a rumor that Skadden had raised its clerkship bonus to $60,000. As far as we know — we’re happy to be proven wrong — that comment was a joke (or wishful thinking).
If you hear of anyone else raising — either to $35,000 or, better yet, $50,000 (the new S&C and Simpson standard) — please email us. We will probably do an update on this in another week or two, depending upon the level of activity on this front. Thanks.

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Our Favorite Skadden Associate Moves On

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Jonas Blank Skadden Arps Above the Law blog.jpgRemember Jonas Blank? He was the fellow who, while working at Skadden Arps as a summer associate in 2003, sent out this infamous email:

“I’m busy doing jack shit. Went to a nice 2hr sushi lunch today at Sushi Zen. Nice place. Spent the rest of the day typing emails and bullshitting with people. Unfortunately, I actually have work to do — I’m on some corp finance deal, under the global head of corp finance, which means I should really peruse these materials and not be a fuckup…”

“So yeah, Corporate Love hasn’t worn off yet… But just give me time…”

Despite this problematic email — which he meant to send to one friend, but instead sent to the firm’s entire underwriting group, partners included — Blank went on to full-time employment at Skadden after graduating from Harvard Law.

After several (no doubt thrilling) years at Skadden, Blank — accurately described by the New Yorker as “handsome” (see photo) — is moving on.* As reported by the Skadden Insider blog, next month Blank will be starting work as an associate at Richards, Kibbe & Orbe. We wish him the best of luck.

P.S. If you haven’t done so already, check out Skadden Insider, which started up in January. Here is its mission statement:

Welcome to the Skadden Insider, a blog created to collect and pass along (and sometimes comment on) the gossip and news making its way through the halls of a certain law firm’s offices. Whether its New York, Boston, Washington DC or Palo Alto, Skadden Insider will be your place to read the latest.

May similar blogs sprout up for every large law firm in the land! Especially Sullivan & Cromwell.

* If it appears in the New Yorker, you KNOW it’s true, because their fact-checking process is second-to-none. For purposes of this Talk of the Town item, a New Yorker fact-checker asked us: “Is it fair to say that you have ‘a boyish face’?” So presumably some recent Ivy League grad with literary aspirations had to ask Jonas Blank: “Do you consider yourself to be handsome?”

Jonas Has Left the Building [Skadden Insider]
OOPS [New Yorker / Talk of the Town]
Jonas Blank [Friendster]

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Brokeback Lawfirm: More Ancient History

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Skadden Power Money Lincoln Caplan Above the Law blog.jpgYesterday we posted an interesting excerpt from Lincoln Caplan’s book, Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire, which discussed Sullivan & Cromwell. The excerpt concerned a closeted gay associate at S&C who committed suicide after being passed over for partner.
A comment on that post:

“Does this anecdote show anti-gay bias, or just that S&C partners are a**holes? The S&C lawyer who committed suicide was closeted.”

“Would the failure of partners to attend his funeral represent hostility towards gays? Or just general indifference by S&C partners to associates who don’t make partner?”

The “we’re not homophobes, just a**holes” line of defense probably won’t do wonders for S&C’s recruiting this fall. But one of you has brought our attention to an excerpt from later on in the book (pp. 160-61) that speaks more specifically to the issue of gays at S&C.
It concerns the late Jonathan Bowie, a partner at Skadden at the time of his passing. As one commenter noted, “Bowie was passed over for partner at S&C, that’s why he moved to Skadden. On a sad note, he later died of AIDS.”
From Skadden, by Lincoln Caplan:
Skadden Arps 2 Sullivan Cromwell Lincoln Caplan Above the Law.JPG
Unlike the S&C associate from the earlier excerpt, Bowie wasn’t “very closeted” during his time at the firm. He had a boyfriend at S&C, and “people knew” about him. So his story, and his being passed over for partnership, may be slightly more revealing than the prior anecdote.
Note our use of the word “slightly.” It’s worth pointing out that the above excerpt contains no clear, objective evidence of anti-gay bias at S&C. People get passed over for partner for all sorts of reasons. The anecdote rests entirely upon perceptions of S&C held by lawyers at a different, rival firm. And it’s over two decades old; a lot can change over 20 years.
We just thought it was interesting (as did the source who sent it to us). So we’ve posted it here for your consideration. You can decide how much weight to place upon it.
P.S. We try not to miss a single news article about the litigation between Aaron Charney and Sullivan & Cromwell. But we did fail to mention this interesting Gay City News article, by Professor Arthur Leonard, which appeared late last week.
Professor Leonard analyzes S&C’s recent motion to dismiss Aaron Charney’s complaint. We never offered our own thoughts on that motion, but we agree with much of Professor Leonard’s thoughtful analysis.
Charney Litigation Heats Up [Gay City News]
Earlier: Brokeback Lawfirm: A Walk Down Memory Lane

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Brokeback Lawfirm: A Walk Down Memory Lane

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We love our tipsters. You’re the best research team anyone could ask for.
Several years ago, we read Lincoln Caplan’s excellent book, Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire. Unfortunately, we don’t remember as much from the book as we might like.
(Our memory problems, as well as our typing skills, have gotten worse with increased blogging. Someone should conduct research into blogging and what effect it has on your attention span, concentration, and overall brain functioning.)
Fortunately, one of you does have a better recall of the book’s contents. A tipster directed us to this interesting excerpt, from page 89 of Skadden:
Skadden Arps Sullivan Cromwell Lincoln Caplan Above the Law.JPG
Our source comments:

I thought that it was pretty amazing that a 1993 book about another law firm would have two separate references about Sullivan’s negative reputation toward gay attorneys. I’ve attached the first page from Skadden that mentions it; the second comes much later in the book (and is along the same lines, but a different occassion).

Very interesting. Perhaps proof that the more things change, the more they stay the same?
(Yes, David Braff: We know that you and several other gay partners are very very happy over at S&C.)
Update: Please don’t read too much into our bringing this excerpt to your attention. You can draw whatever conclusions you like from it.
We’re just agreeing with our tipster that it’s interesting. That’s all.
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell (scroll down)

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Musical Chairs: Cadwalader Antitrust Moves to Skadden

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Steven Sunshine Stephen Sunshine antitrust lawyer Above the Law.jpgBlind items: they’re not just about adulterous tycoons and drug-addicted celebrities.
Sometimes they’re about antitrust lawyers at large law firms. Here’s a blind item from, of all places, Antitrust Review:

We hear that the entire antitrust group of a major firm is moving to an even more major New York firm, effective Monday Jan 29 (all partners, special counsels and associates, both in the NY office and in the DC office). The group has been at the current firm only for a relatively short time and is now moving again. And this time, none of the group are staying behind.

Keep your eyes peeled on Monday, this move will be big news, we’ll post more detail once the story hits the papers.

The story has now hit the papers, including the Wall Street Journal. It’s the antitrust group of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, which just left for Skadden Arps.
The group is led by Steven Sunshine (above right), a former DOJ antitrust official who is based in Washington, and Jess Biggio and Matthew Hendrickson, who practice out of New York. Sunshine and Biggio are coming onboard as partners; Hendrickson is joining Skadden as counsel.
Major Antitrust Group Moves [Antitrust Review]
Skadden Adds Sunshine To Its Antitrust Practice [Wall Street Journal via WSJ Law Blog]

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Skaddenfreude: Let’s Make Our Own Skadden Memo!

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGHere’s what the associate pay raise memo for Skadden’s Class of 2003 looked like:
From: Garfinkel, Jodie
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 12:26 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Compensation
TO: Class of 2003
We are pleased to advise you that we are increasing base salaries retroactive to January 1, 2007. The salary for most associates in the class of 2003 will be increased from $190,000 to $210,000. Increases will be reflected in paychecks of February 15th and retroactive payments will be made only to those attorneys who are employed with the Firm on February 15th.
Annual bonuses will be determined at year end based upon individual performance, levels of activity in the Firm’s practice areas and the economic environment as it affects our Firm.
We thank you for your continued commitment and dedication.
SASM&F
********************************
If you’re a Skadden associate in a class other than 2003, please provide your new base salary in the comments. We will “Wiki” our way towards a comprehensive Skadden memo. Thanks everyone!
Earlier: Previous announcements of law firm associate salary increases (scroll down through “Skaddenfreude” archives)

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Associate Bonus Watch: More Skadden Data; Friday Open Thread

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stack of bills cash money.jpgA follow-up on our two prior Skadden Arps bonus posts.
What we’re now hearing is that Skadden’s non-New York offices have circulated their bonus memos, but that nobody in the New York office has received a memo yet. This strikes us as odd. But it is true that all the numbers we’ve received thus far have been from offices outside New York.
To recap, these are the data points we do have (from non-NY offices). All are consistent with the standard market bonuses, except as indicated.
Class of 2005: $35,000
Class of 2004: $40,000
Class of 2003: $40,000*
Class of 2002: $50,000
Class of 2001: $55,000
Class of 1999: $65,000
Class of 1998: $70,000**
Class of 1997: $75,000**
* Below market; but Skadden’s base of $175,000 for 2003 grads is $5,000 higher than the other firms, so total compensation is the same.
** Just like Sullivan & Cromwell bonuses, Skadden bonuses don’t top out at $60K or $65K (unlike bonuses at most other firms).
Update (8:30 PM): According to this comment, Skadden NY bonus memos were delivered this evening, after the close of business. Same numbers as the other offices.
If you have any more Skadden info, please email us.
Finally, this is the Friday open thread. We’re stepping away from our computer for a while. Feel free to post breaking news or random thoughts, on Biglaw bonuses or any other (vaguely law-related) topic, in the comments. Thanks.
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: The Skadden Shoe Has Dropped?

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Associate Bonus Watch: More Skadden Scuttlebutt

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stack of bills cash money.jpgThe previously discussed rumor about Skadden matching the market bonuses is looking pretty accurate.
In addition to the Greedy NY poster, a class of 2002 member who received a market bonus, we’ve heard from a class of 2004 member who received a $40,000 bonus — which is, of course, consistent with the market.
Skadden bonuses will be paid on December 21. If you have any more Skadden info, please email us. Thanks.
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: The Skadden Shoe Has Dropped?

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Associate Bonus Watch: The Skadden Shoe Has Dropped?

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stack of bills cash money.jpgThat’s what we’re hearing on the Rialto.
But this is not confirmed, certainly not as to all classes (because Skadden doesn’t circulate a firm-wide memo listing compensation for all seniority levels). The Greedy NY poster claims to be class of 2002.
If you can confirm, or provide us with the text or a scanned version of your memo, please email us. Thanks.
Skadden Matches [Infirmation / Greedy NY]

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