Judging from our traffic, readers are enjoying this rundown of the Vault 100. We do aim to please here at ATL. We appreciate those who have offered insights about firms in the comments.

Moving on to the next group (with prestige scores in parentheses):

61. Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (5.608)
62. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP (5.583)
63. Bingham McCutchen LLP (5.583)
64. Greenberg Traurig, LLP (5.478)
65. Holland & Knight LLP (5.416)
66. Heller Ehrman LLP (5.346)
67. Foley & Lardner LLP (5.266)
68. Steptoe & Johnson LLP (5.252)
69. K&L Gates LLP (5.242)
70. Kaye Scholer LLP (5.230)

As we move down the Vault list, "notable perks" are becoming less elaborate. This group is dominated by tales of free food, from endless soda at Greenberg Traurig to weekend doughnuts and muffins at Foley. And it appears that Pillsbury lacks a monopoly on cookie benefits; over at Cahill, lawyers are plied with "twice daily cookie trays."

We note this food-related perk at Bingham: "If any lawyer takes out a more junior lawyer for drinks/dinner, he/she can submit the expense to the mentoring budget AND the senior person can get creditable hours." Can you expense the roofies?

We invite you to compare and contrast these firms' work, lifestyle, benefits... and cookies, in the comments.

Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009

Lately it seems there's been a lot of law-firm merger activity. The statistics bear this out, although there's disagreement as to degree. From a piece by Leigh Jones in the National Law Journal:

Law firms didn't slow down their march to the altar in the second quarter of 2008, but just how many mergers occurred depends on whom you ask. Altman Weil announced a sharp increase in merger activity during the second quarter. It pegged law firm mergers at 26, compared with 18 in the first quarter.

At the same time, competitor Hildebrandt International announced steady merger activity, with a total of 14, compared with 12 mergers in the first quarter of 2008.

There has also been a steady increase in rumors about law firm mergers. Some of them will turn out to be true, some not. The fact that some gossip won't pan out doesn't make it any less interesting. Lawyers need some way to pass the time, and speculating about their competitors -- or themselves -- is as good a way as any.

Here's an excerpt from a recent profile of our media idol, former Us Weekly and Star editrix Bonnie Fuller, from the New York Times:

Ms. Fuller knows the dyad of funny / hurtful, having run cover articles about people getting divorced, pregnant and tossed into rehab. Sometimes those stories were true.

"There have been a lot of false pregnancies and laugh-out-loud groaners," says Simon Dumenco, a longtime analyst of the magazine industry who writes a column for Advertising Age. "What she has done is gotten at a kind of essential truth that is less about the specifics of the gossip. This endless speculation and estimation about the lives of these people has become the stuff of culture."

In that last sentence, replace "these people" with "these law firms," and that's ATL for you. A lot of what we write in these pages may turn out to be inaccurate, but we're getting at "a kind of essential truth that is less about the specifics of the gossip."

So, with that caveat in mind, are you interested in hearing the latest law-firm merger gossip? Read more -- about rumored deals involving Baker & McKenzie, Heller Ehrman, Nixon Peabody, Pillsbury Winthrop, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, and Harris & Moure (who?) -- after the jump.

No, that's not a direct quote. But Elliott Portnoy, chairman of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, was quite candid in discussing the role played by profitability in his firm's decision to lay off almost 40 lawyers and 90 staffers (a story we broke on Tuesday night). Portnoy spoke with Nathan Koppel of the WSJ Law Blog, who wrote:

Sonnenschein laid off lawyers whose practices have slowed, [Portnoy] says, to sustain the firm's profit margins and overall profitability. It takes financial heft to pay competitive salaries for top lawyers, he says, and the firm has been focused heavily on partner recruiting. It hired 42 lateral partners last year, and is on pace to exceed that number in '08. To hunt for big game, in other words, it can't afford to carry underperformers.

"Business as usual isn't an option, and we have to take the steps necessary to make sure we are competitive for talent," Portnoy says. "A small group of firms are positioning themselves to pull away from the pack" in terms of profitability, "and we intend to be in that small group."

For more on the Sonnenschein layoffs and what they reflect about the changing culture of law firms, see this Chicago Tribune article, by Ameet Sachdev.

Perhaps Sonnenschein's bottom-line focus explains why it's not paying severance to its "separated" lawyers. One of the affected individuals contacted us to complain about the lack of severance. We initially found that hard to believe, since the "market" severance package in Biglaw layoffs hovers around three months. But a firm spokesperson confirmed it for us.

Lawyers are receiving 60 days' notice of their termination, but they are not receiving a formal severance package. Unlike some other firms -- Paul Hastings, holla -- Sonnenschein is not asking its lawyers to sign releases (which the laid-off lawyers probably wouldn't sign anyway, since they're not getting severance payments).

What's the difference between two months of severance pay and 60 days notice? With the former, you get paid without having to work. "If you get severance, you can go out and get a contract job or take [another] lower paying position," explained one laid-off Sonnenschein lawyer. "Severance makes it a little less painful."

Staff members do have a formal severance plan. "Our staff are eligible for a severance package that is linked to their tenure with the firm and, accordingly, varies by individual based on service," explained Mr. Portnoy. "All staff are also, of course, eligible for outplacement and related assistance." Outgoing staff members must execute releases to receive payments under the plan, according to a firm spokesperson.

More about the Sonnenschein layoffs -- some readers thought we went too easy on the firm, so we'd like to present their (harsher) side of the story -- after the jump.

Another leading law firm has announced lawyer and staff layoffs. Elliott Portnoy, chairman of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, has confirmed to ATL the personnel changes that were announced to Sonnenschein lawyers and staff earlier today.

"We separated 75 staff and 49 timekeepers," said Mr. Portnoy, reached by telephone. "Of the 75 staff, 41 are secretaries are 34 are other support staff. Of the 49 timekeepers, 37 are lawyers, and 12 are non-lawyer timekeepers such as paralegals."

(To put the numbers a different way, the firm laid off 37 lawyers and 87 staff, if the 12 non-lawyer timekeepers are added to the 75 other staff members).

Most but not all of the affected lawyers are associates. According to Mr. Portnoy, of the 37 attorneys, six are partners, four are of counsel, and 27 are associates. The affected associates range from first-year to senior associates, with the reductions "spread pretty widely across the seniority ranges, from junior to senior."

The separations were also spread across practice groups and offices. "Real estate and litigation were the practices most directly affected," said Mr. Portnoy. "They're two of the firm's largest practices, so numerically this is not surprising."

More details, after the jump.

Several tipsters informed us that Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal was trimming its summer associate program to 10 weeks (as Pillsbury Winthrop previously did). We reached out to Sonnenschein's chairman, Elliott Portnoy, who apprised us of some changes to the firm's program:

We have made two changes to the structure of this year's Summer Associate Program. There is considerable overlap between the group of Summer Associates to whom these two policies apply.

First, we have confirmed a uniform, firm-wide policy of a 10 week maximum for the Summer Program. As our firm continues its migration towards a greater practice group orientation, we felt it necessary to make policies such as this one uniform throughout the firm.

Second, we have made a general policy decision to end the Summer Program on August 1st firmwide (with a few exceptions). We believe that the August vacation season for our attorneys is simply not a period that is conducive to a positive Summer Associate experience.

Collectively, these two decisions will affect approximately one-half of our Summer Associates in Chicago who had originally indicated an interest to be with us for more than 10 weeks this summer. They may also affect some other Summer Associates in other offices, but if so (again, I working from memory) I believe that would be relatively isolated.

If you have other questions about our Summer Program, let me know.

These changes make sense to us, considering how dead August is (although maybe we're biased 'cause we're in D.C., which basically shuts down for the whole month). We thank Mr. Portnoy for this detailed and helpful information, as well as for getting back to us so promptly.

The changes made to the summer associate programs of Sonnenschein and Pillsbury raise a broader question: When it comes to summer programs, is Biglaw cutting back? In light of the faltering economy, have firms made material changes to their SA programs -- e.g., in terms of summer class size, length of the program, or overall lavishness of events?

Will Skadden Prom be moved from Rockefeller Center to Dave & Buster's? Will farewell dinners at Per Se or Citronelle be replaced by brown-bag lunches in the firm cafeteria? Will the top-shelf booze get removed from the "booze cruises"?

We'd like to prepare a comprehensive report on notable changes to summer associate programs nationwide. If you have information that might interest us, please email us (subject line: "Summer Associate Program Changes"). Thanks.

Earlier: Endless Summer? Not at Pillsbury

Earlier today, in the wake of yesterday's post about troubles in the Charlotte office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, firm chairman Elliott Portnoy sent around an irate email:

From: Portnoy, Elliott I.
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 12:40 PM
To: #Attorneys-All
Subject: Rumors Regarding Charlotte and Summer Program

Many of you have recently heard claims regarding our Charlotte office that have emanated from certain blogs frequented by law students. I write today to let you know the facts, not rumor or speculation. Firmwide, we will have more than 50 Summer Associates joining us over the coming few months, and we plan to have 24 first-years joining us this Fall across the firm.

First, this fine website, while certainly "frequented by law students," is also read by many other folks - e.g., law professors; associates, partners, and recruiting personnel at top law firms; in-house and government lawyers; law clerks and judges; and legal reporters and PR professionals.

Second, Portnoy attempts to draw a distinction between "facts" and "rumor." But the core of what we reported - namely, that the firm has rescinded offers of summer and full-time employment in its Charlotte office - is a fact, acknowledged by Portnoy later on in his message.

Read the rest of that email message, with our running commentary, after the jump.

Here's a bit of follow-up on last week's post about Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. We heard from a number of tipsters, and their reports are consistent with the rumors previously reported:

1. Sonnenschein is rescinding offers of summer employment to incoming summer associates in the Charlotte office.

2. Sonnenschein is rescinding offers to full-time associates who were set to start work in the Charlotte office in the fall.

We have not heard from the firm since our initial inquiries last week -- despite repeated efforts, including some made yesterday. We are inclined to agree with this commenter:

Their lack of response must mean it's true. Rescinding offers is about the worst thing a firm can do for its rep. There's no way they're going to confirm it if it is true, and they would've immediately disputed it if it is false.

Read what our tipsters had to say, after the jump.

Over at Greedy South, various rumors are circulating about Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. One poster claimed that the firm rescinded offers of summer employment to several incoming summer associates in the Charlotte office. Later on in the thread, others chimed in to claim that the firm is rescinding offers to full-time associates who were set to arrive in the fall (possibly beyond Charlotte as well).

An ATL tipster wrote us:

I know things are really, really, slow at most firms in Charlotte (as has been noted by the firings at Cadwalader and Dechert), but is there any way that you could find out whether this is actually true? It seems like the elephant in the room is everyone's hope that securitization will magically pick up again, but everyone seems to forget that it's difficult for a market segment to "rebound" that wasn't even in existence 10 years ago.

Is this a sign of Sonnenschein closing its Charlotte office (after only 1 year)? Have you heard anything about other offices having the same types of problems? Just trying to find out what's going on.

We reached out to the firm for comment earlier this week but they never got back to us. If you have any info to share, please email us. Thanks.

Sonnenschein Firings? [Greedy South / Infirmation]

* Sadly, the Nixon Peabody theme song didn't make the cut. [TechnoLawyer]

* "Sonnenschein sued for millions by former partner." [Legal Times]

* News you can use: "How much income can parents have before losing all financial aid for their kids' college?" [TaxProf Blog]

* We're late in linking to this, but here's Blawg Review #124. [George's Employment Blawg via Blawg Review]

* We're REALLY late in linking to this, but it's timely once again in light of the imminent announcement (tomorrow) that he's officially running for president. Here are some interesting reflections from Fred Thompson on the law and his career as a practicing lawyer. [Power Line]

There's a lot going on this morning, including the resignation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general and the Michael Vick plea hearing. But none of this will prevent fall recruiting from going forward, full speed ahead. So let's continue with our open threads on Vault 100 law firms.

Here are the Biglaw shops to talk about this morning. Two of them -- Alston & Bird and Bingham & McCutchen -- are, along with Nixon Peabody, on Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.

61. Alston & Bird LLP (5.742)
62. Heller Ehrman LLP (5.690)
63. Vinson & Elkins LLP (5.676)
64. Bingham McCutchen LLP (5.641)
65. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP (5.635)

As you may recall, we wrote about Bingham McCutchen recently. Our post triggered some additional tips, which appear after the jump.

Please discuss these five firms 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; Vault 31-35; Vault 36-40; Vault 41-45; Vault 46-50; Vault 51-55; Vault 56-60

Two items pertaining to associate pay raises in Chicago:

1. LeBoeuf Lamb just announced that its Chicago office will be on the $160K pay scale. The firm's presence in the Windy City isn't huge, but the move does confirm that the market rate for Chi-town really is $160K. Memo after the jump.

2. Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal: To the commenter who keeps on asking if this memo is confirmed, the answer is yes. A source at the firm has verified it for us.

But you didn't need us to tell you that. Just pick up the June 5 issue of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (subscription):

Although a law firm chairman says double pay hikes for associates in 2007 harm those associates, more major law firms in Chicago have jumped on the bandwagon to raise starting pay to $160,000.

"My strong view is this is not good for associates at all," said Elliott I. Portnoy of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP.

Portnoy compared the new pay raises to a poker game. Some of the nation's top firms "up the ante" on pay "and want to see who stays in the game."

Nevertheless, Portnoy announced Tuesday that Sonnenschein will raise the salary for first-year associates to $160,000 in its Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., offices.

It's not as vociferous as Sandman's Rant, but at least we get to call it Portnoy's Complaint.

The LeBoeuf Lamb and Sonnenschein memos appear after the jump.

A few more news items concerning associate compensation:

1. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan: Multiple sources confirm that they've raised salaries in their Los Angeles office. Effective date of June 1; no changes to the bonus structure. The new scale is 160-170-185-195, plus discretionary raises for year 5 and above, who previously were at $200K plus discretionary raises (small, usually $5K a year).

In addition, we've learned that the firm pays associates 10 percent of any business they bring in. Do other large law firms have similar policies? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

2. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP: We haven't confirmed this (and their NALP form doesn't reflect it). But according to a memo posted in the comments, the firm is "increasing starting salaries in our Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC offices to $160,000. We will be adjusting salaries for all other associate classes in these offices effective July 1, 2007 to take into account the increase in the starting salary."

3. Reed Smith LLP: Also not confirmed. But according to a memo posted in the comments, the firm "ha[s] decided to increase our starting salary for first year associates in California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. to $160,000 effective January 1, 2008. In addition, we will accelerate to January 1, 2008 the implementation of the previously announced increase to $145,000 in Philadelphia/Wilmington."

The firm has also made changes to its bonus program: "In addition to the current bonus thresholds, we will make further payments of $5,000 at each of 2000 and 2100 chargeable hours and $10,000 at 2300 chargeable hours. This means, for example, that associates with 2300 chargeable hours for 2007 will earn additional bonuses of $20,000."

If you can confirm the Sonnenschein or Reed Smith news, or if you have additional info to share, please drop us a line. Thanks.

Remember that root canal we had? It's time for us to go in for a follow-up.

Hence this lunchtime open thread. Please post pay raise news in the comments. Since it's Friday afternoon, we expect at least some news to break.

Before we leave, here are some items we've recently verified:

1. From a confirmed Linklaters source, we hear that "Linklaters has reinforced its commitment to be a top player in NYC market."

We interpret this as: "We're on the $160K scale. Yippee!"

2. From a confirmed source at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal:

Our NY office is matching the New York pay raise, and our Chicago office is going to match Sidley's 145K raise to Chicago 1st years. We expect that all Chicago firms will go to 145K, and some may feel compelled to go higher (Kirkland?) to compete with Skadden.

We only announced the 1st year rates. We have not set the upper level associate structure, which is somewhat more compressed than at certain other firms.

3. Finally, Brown Rudnick has matched. Their memo appears after the jump.

We'll review your comments, and resume salary coverage, when we get back. Thanks.

Earlier: Previous announcements of law firm associate salary increases (scroll down through "Skaddenfreude" archives)

Today is the observation of Veterans' Day (which falls on Saturday). Many of you are enjoying a well-deserved day off. And so is NYLawyer.com, which assiduously covers job hopping in the legal profession.

So it's a pretty quiet day. But we still have a few things to write about:

Government to Private Sector (or vice versa):

* In the weeks ahead, expect some turnover in the coveted staff positions at the Senate Judiciary Committee. Now that the Democrats will be in the majority, working for them on Judiciary just became much more appealing. It may attract high-powered, left-leaning lawyers who are spinning their wheels in private practice, but eager to get back into government -- and to burnish their credentials for top jobs in a Hillary Clinton administration.

And, correspondingly, working for Republicans on the Committee has become less appealing. If you hear of any moves, on either side of the aisle, please let us know.

Calling in the Cavalry:

* Cablevision has more legal problems than you can throw a digital converter box at (wow that's tortured). So its adding two distinguished lawyers -- Grover Brown, former Delaware Supreme Court and Chancery Court judge, and Zachary Carter, former U.S. Attorney for the E.D.N.Y. -- to its board. Brown and Carter will make up a “special litigation committee.”

Internal Promotions:

* Elliott Portnoy has no complaints: he will soon assume the chairmanship of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal (aka "Scott Turow's law firm").

(Sorry, Elliott, we couldn't resist. We know you've been putting up with that joke from every English teacher you've ever had.)

Elliot Portnoy: The Chairman-Elect of Scott Turow’s Law Firm [WSJ Law Blog]
Cablevision: Offering Internet, Digital Cable, and Legal Work [WSJ Law Blog]

A number of big-ticket moves to report today. The most notable involve government lawyers:

Government to Private Sector:

* Debra Wong Yang, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California (Los Angeles), has resigned from the USAO. She's headed to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, as a partner (duh). Ka-ching!

Yang will work out of the firm's L.A. office. She will co-chair its Crisis-Management Group, along with former Solictor General Theodore Olson and another former federal prosecutor, Randy Mastro.

At Main Justice:

* Jonathan Cohn (OT 2000/Thomas) is now the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Appellate. He was previously the DAAG overseeing the Office of Immigration Litigation (and will continue to discharge that duty until a successor is found).

At right: Jonathan Cohn and his wife, Rachel Brand (OT 2002/Kennedy), the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. Although his portfolio has changed (and we'd say for the better), he doesn't have to get new business cards, since he's still a DAAG.

Out the Door:

* Casualties of the stock options backdating scandal: Stuart Nichols, former general counsel of KLA-Tencor, and David Lubben, former general counsel of UnitedHealth.

Lateral Moves:

* Corporate lawyer Arthur Hull Hayes III, to Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, from Dewey Ballantine.

* Technology, media, and telecom lawyer Carole Aciman, to Greenberg Traurig, from Hughes Hubbard & Reed.

* King & Spalding: The intellectual property practice acquires five new lawyers: Kenneth Sonnenfeld (NY) and John Harbin, Tony Askew, Steve Schaetzel, and Jim Johnson (in Atlanta). They came from Morgan & Finnegan (Sonnenfeld), Powell Goldstein (Harbin), and Kilpatrick Stockton (Askew, Schaetzel and Johnson).

And Another One Gone, And Another One Gone... [WSJ Law Blog]
L.A. U.S. Attorney Debra Yang Resigns; Will Join Gibson Dunn [WSJ Law Blog]
NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
More NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]

Lateral Moves:

* Global trade lawyers Duane Layton, Sydney Mintzer and Jeffrey Lowe, to Mayer Brown, from Miller & Chevalier.

* Bankruptcy lawyer Stephen Gallagher, to Venable LLP, from LeClair Ryan PC.

* Intellectual property litigator Daniel McCloskey, to Greenberg Traurig (of counsel), from Dechert.

Internal Promotions:

* Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal: Kara Baysinger has been named lateral acquisition partner.

(When we read this item, we scratched our head and thought, "Lateral acquisition partner -- huh?" The firm's press release explains: "Baysinger, who joined the firm eight years ago, will lead a lateral hiring program designed to help Sonnenschein achieve its aggressive growth targets.")

Sharing a Class-Action Fee at Akin Gump [Washington Post]
Left-Coast Lawyers On the Move [NYLawyer.com]
Sonnenschein Creates Two New Management Roles [Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal]