Stroock & Stroock & Lavan

Non-Sequiturs: 08.11.11

By David Lat

Judge Terence Evans

* Professor Eugene Volokh poses this question to his readers (we considered a similar query before): “I Got Awful Grades My First Year in Law School. Should I Quit?” [Volokh Conspiracy]

* I’m not that familiar with canon law, but I don’t think it looks favorably upon alleged groping of teenage girls. [La Crosse Tribune]

* Professor Douglas Berman wonders if there should be a social networking website designed for use by prisoners. (Commenter challenge: come up with a name for this “Facebook for jailbirds” social network.) [Sentencing Law and Policy]

* Stroock stricken with lawsuit by former partner. [Am Law Daily]

* Professor Paul Horwitz’s (thoughtful and measured) response to the law prof turned scamblogger. [Prawfsblawg]

* Seventh Circuit Judge Terence Evans, RIP. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

Which Firms Are Definitely NOT Paying Spring Bonuses?

By Elie Mystal

No bonus for you!

It’s April 29. Monarchists have long circled this day as an opportunity to praise the vestigial structures of imperial domination. But this day means a lot to people who earn their fortune through work instead of birth. Today is a huge day for Biglaw associates. For many, today is the day spring bonus payments hit their bank accounts.

Don’t spend it all in one place.

But as we all know, not every Biglaw associate will be enjoying a spring bonus this year. With the payments out, we’re no longer looking at which firms are “lagging” behind in their spring bonus announcements. Now we’re looking at firms that have simply decided they are not paying spring bonuses, regardless of what the market says. Apparently, keeping up with Cravath really will be ruinous to some firms.

So who has officially announced they will not be paying spring bonuses this year? We’ll tell you what we know about three Biglaw firms, and hopefully you can fill in any gaps…

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More Summer Associate Classes With 100% Offer Rates

By Kashmir Hill

Some summer associates are ending their summers on a very positive note. Quite a few firms have already informed law school students that after this summer fling, they’re interested in a more serious relationship.

Since our last round-up of offices extending offers to 100% of their summer associates, we’ve heard from a few more contented summers…

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Stroock Strikes Back? The Firm’s Client Sues Andrew Cuomo in Federal Court

By David Lat

We’ve previously covered a sticky situation involving an alleged drafting error by real estate lawyers at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. The dispute pits the buyers of luxury condos at the Rushmore, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, against the development company Extell, Stroock’s client. (Our prior coverage appears here, here, and here.)

When we last checked in, the New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, had sided with the buyers and ruled against Extell. But instead of just rolling over, which is what most folks do when attacked by the New York AG, Extell is fighting back. From the Real Deal (via Am Law Daily):

In a last minute and stunning move, the developers of the Upper West Side’s Rushmore condominium filed a federal lawsuit [on Monday] against state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo seeking to reverse his April rescission order to refund more than $16 million in escrow funds to buyers.

The developers, Extell Development and Carlyle Realty Partners, operating under the name CRP/Extell, also filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking a temporary restraining order that would block the release of the funds, which include down payments for more than $110 million worth of apartments.

In its moving papers, Extell kind of throws Stroock under the proverbial bus — but just a little bit….

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A Strike Against Stroock: New York AG Rules Against Extell

By David Lat

Last summer, we wrote about an apparent drafting error by lawyers at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan that “could cost Stroock’s client millions.”

Time for an update: it looks like the mistake will cost Stroock’s client millions. The Wall Street Journal reports:

A long-simmering dispute between Extell Development Co. and individuals who agreed to buy condominiums in one of the developer’s new luxury Manhattan buildings ended Friday when the New York Attorney General ordered Extell to refund $15 million in down payments.

The ruling is a setback for the New York-based developer, which stands to lose more than $100 million in apartment sales, according to person familiar with the matter.

It is also a potential embarrassment for the white-shoe law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, which prepared the offering plan for the building. The plan included a mistake that contributed to the ruling in favor of the buyers.

In our last post about this situation, several ATL commenters offered legal analysis. How did they fare?

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How Jeff Fenster Landed on the Workers’ Comp Board
Or: How to Get a Government Job

By David Lat

networking handshake businessmen shaking hands AboveTheLaw Above the Law.jpgOver the weekend — yes, we often publish over the weekend, so do check in with us — we wrote about the happy story of Jeffrey Fenster. Fenster, a 29-year-old lawyer who previously worked for a short time at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, was recently selected by Governor David Paterson to serve as executive director of the Workers’ Compensation Board of New York State.

In the comments, a number of you wondered how Fenster landed this gig, despite what one former board commissioner described as “absolutely no administrative experience” and “no experience in workers’ comp or labor law.” One commenter speculated that Fenster might have been helped by Martin Minkowitz, a retired Stroock partner and expert in workers’ compensation law (which is what the New York Times hinted at).

As it turns out, it appears that Fenster was helped by connections — but not through Stroock or Marty Minkowitz.

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Or: How to Get a Government Job“

Who says government jobs are impossible to get?

By David Lat

Stroock logo.JPGWe’re doing a little catch-up blogging this weekend, covering some stories we meant to cover during the week but didn’t get around to hitting. E.g., the update on Loren Friedman, a former Lawyer of the Day who doctored his law school transcript.
This post is a happier one. It’s about a lawyer at a big firm who managed to land an interesting and high-profile government post.
Laid-off lawyers, recent law school graduates, and Biglaw attorneys seeking greater job security are flocking towards positions in federal and state government. As a result, government gigs are very difficult to land these days, with hundreds of applicants applying for a single posting on USAJOBS.
But as shown by the story of Jeffrey Fenster, a former Stroock associate who was picked earlier this month to head up the Workers’ Compensation Board of New York State, getting a government job is not impossible.

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Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: Rabbit, Rabbit

By Laurie Lin

Ferrell.jpgHoly crap.
We did not Photoshop this picture. It actually appeared in a New York Times wedding announcement. Chuckle at it, if you must. But know that when you do, you’re fiddling while a venerable institution goes up in flames.
December isn’t a great month to get married, and this December was particularly bad. Still, our final Legal Eagle Wedding Watch couples for 2009 have some surprisingly strong Biglaw credentials. Here they are:

1. Nicole Schreier and Matthew Kaplan
2. Rachel Lu and Jimmy Gao
3. Elizabeth Cronise and Joe McLaughlin

Check out these couples’ bios, after the jump.

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Associate Bonus Watch: Stroock Strokes Associates With Cravath Bonus

By Elie Mystal

2009 Associate bonus watch above the law.JPGStroock’s bonus news is out. The firm will be paying the Cravath scale, if you hit 1900 hours. If you missed that target, you’re out of luck. Here’s the statement from the firm:

2009 bonuses are consistent with the “Cravath scale” with a presumptive threshold of 1900 hours to qualify for consideration. Merit has always been a factor in our bonus program and plays a significant part in determining the level of bonus awarded. In addition, associates who have made extraordinary contributions to the firm in 2009 will be getting more than the Cravath scale.

Our tipsters seem satisfied with the bonus. They are more concerned about Stroock’s pay scale.
Details on that, after the jump.

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Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 91 – 100 (2010)

By Elie Mystal

comparing.jpgHere we are. The end of the Vault 100.
To be on the Vault 100 is to be a well-known firm. Sure, maybe not well-known to law students or junior associates who can’t see past the mountain of doc review boxes in their windowless conference rooms. But known to partners … and clients. Look down your nose at these firms if you wish, but remember the old African proverb: “The smallest elephant can still crush your Lexus.”
Here is the final batch of top law firms for discussion:

91. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
92. Blank Rome
93. Seyfarth Shaw
94. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel
95. Manatt Phelps & Phillips
96. Squire Sanders & Dempsey
97. Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
98. Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
99. Wiley Rein
100. Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo

What say you about these fine firms? Some final thoughts after the jump.

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A Very Expensive Typo? Stroock Isn’t Sweating It

By David Lat

Rushmore condominium Upper West Side condo.jpgEarlier this week, we wrote about a serious drafting mistake by Stroock & Stroock & Lavan — maybe a typo, maybe not — that could cost Stroock’s client millions.

Could Stroock look to its malpractice insurer for help? Maybe not, according to the New York Post:

The gaffe exposes Stroock to the real possibility of having to pay back Extell and Carlyle out of its own pocket because sources said that if the developers sue Stroock, it’s unlikely its insurer will pick up the tab.

The basis for this prediction is not included in the Post article. If you have thoughts on the insurance issue, please do share. Stroock didn’t comment to the New York Times, which first wrote about the error, but they did offer brief comment to the Post.

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A Very Expensive Typo?

By David Lat

Rushmore condominium Upper West Side condo.jpgWe realize that we make our fair share of typographical errors here at ATL. But this is just a blog, not a document being sent to a client or filed with a court, and we’re more focused on substance than style, due to the speed of the news cycle and our desire to be… FIRST! So please cut us some slack.

(But do continue to point out typos to us, either in the comments or by email. Readers are our unofficial copy editors, and we frequently fix typos after they’ve been brought to our attention.)

In any event, at least our typos don’t cost anyone millions. From the New York Times:

The Rushmore, a new 41-story glass and stone condominium tower on Riverside Boulevard at the Hudson River, seemed serene on a recent visit. The flowers in the interior courtyard were in full bloom; the ground-level pool had been filled. Sixteen buyers had already moved in.

And yet an error of a single digit in an arcane document — the densely worded 732-page offering plan — could upset that happy picture, and cost the sponsors, the Extell Development Company and the Carlyle Group, tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, lawyers say.

Of course, this isn’t the first example of an expensive typo (assuming it’s a typo; this is open to debate). Remember the $900,000 comma, or the $40,000 missing “L”?

But, if given effect, the glitch in the Rushmore offering plan will certainly be one of the more expensive ones. Find out the nature of the mistake — and the law firm responsible — after the jump.

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Stroock Offers $75,000 in Stay Away Money

By Elie Mystal

Stroock logo.JPGThese incoming associate deferrals are getting out of control. Stroock is the latest firm to come up with an innovative plan to deal with its new class of first years.

Above the Law has been able to confirm that Stroock is offering incoming first years a payment of $75,000 to leave the firm by July 1st. Half of it will be paid in September 2009, the other half in January 2010.

This would make Stroock the most well-known firm to rescind (kind of) offers to 3Ls. But unlike other firms, Stroock is making it a voluntary decision, and they are offering a significant financial windfall. And give Stroock some credit for dropping the pretense that there will be more than enough work for both the class of 2009 and the class of 2010, next year.

Pillsbury offered a voluntary departure program to its associates. But Pillsbury didn’t let people know what was waiting for them if they didn’t take the offer. Stroock, perhaps learning from that mistake, isn’t asking incoming first years to make their decision in a vacuum.

The other options for Stroock first years after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: Stroock Undergoes Layoffs for 10% of Associates and Staff

By Elie Mystal

Stroock logo.JPGMore bad news on the last day penultimate day of March. We’re now able to report that the firm so nice they named it twice, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, is laying off ten percent of its associates and staff. Here’s the statement from a Stroock spokesperson:

For some time, we have watched, with concern, as firms and businesses around the country have responded to difficult economic conditions through layoffs of hardworking, dedicated employees. Over the past several months, we have sought to avoid taking similar steps. However, the economic downturn has not abated and we have determined that these conditions require us to take similar action. So, today, we have reduced the number of associates and staff by approximately 10% firm wide. We remain well staffed to serve our clients and to grow when conditions improve.

These actions sadden us greatly, but under current economic conditions are unavoidable.

We also understand that that the firm will be asking certain associates to take a pay cut. More details after the jump.

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Biglaw to Associates: ‘Surprise! Your salary is frozen’?

By Kashmir Hill

pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgWe’ve been reporting on the Biglaw salary freeze heavily over the past month. Earlier this week, we did a round-up of firms that had announced their intention to keep 2009 salaries at 2008 levels.

At that point, we knew of sixteen firms that had sent memos to their associates notifying them that raises were not forthcoming. While certainly unpleasant, everyone acknowledges that it’s more welcome than layoff news.

Today, we’re getting e-mails from several associates who are freaking out that the freeze is on at their firms, based on their first paychecks of 2009. Their paychecks came in last night at 12:01 a.m. and they are the same amount as paychecks last month. Here are the unconfirmed freeze reports we’ve received so far…

Mayer Brown:

Mayer brown checks just popped at last years levels. So apparently there is a freeze, maybe, but no memos on it yet. Please investigate.

Today was the first pay day in 2009 for Mayer Brown NY. In the past, our first pay check of the year automatically reflected salary increases. No such increase today. Smells like a pay freeze?!? With the added courtesy of letting ADP announce it instead of management.

(UPDATE (6:05 p.m.): Mayer Brown spokesman Bob Harris says the firm “has not yet announced its plans for lawyer compensation in 2009″ and that it usually makes the decision in February.)

…Steptoe & Johnson:

Steptoe & Johnson froze salaries. What stands out about this is that they did not send a memo or anything telling associates salaries would be frozen, or saying when/if the position would be reconsidered. Today was our first payday, and they just issued everyone the same checks they were getting last year. No comment. No memo. No explanation. Typical douche-baggery.

… Stroock:

They haven’t made any announcements of a salary freeze. They just haven’t announced any salary increases and continue paying the old salary. When I looked at the employee system to check the amount of tomorrow’s paycheck, it shows that I will be paid the same salary as last year.

Not everyone is freaking out. A reassuring voice, after the jump. Also, Ballard Spahr and RatnerPrestia have officially put the freeze on, with a memo and a press release, after the jump.

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Nationwide No Offer Watch: Stroock Strikes

By Elie Mystal

Stroock Stroock Lavan LLP Above the Law blog.JPGThe tips keep rolling in about firms no offering summer associates. Today’s confirmed casualty report comes from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.
Unlike Wiley Rein, Winston & Strawn, and other reports we’ve heard that suggest firms are coalescing around a 90% offer rate, Stroock made offers to only 80% of their ’08 summer class.
Stroock did not directly confirm this number, but they did not deny it either.
Instead, Stroock communications director Jim Ponichtera focused on a different percentage:

In 2007, Stroock made a strategic decision to increase the size of its
incoming class. Our summer classes were typically in the 28-30 range, and in 2008 we had 54 summer associates. Part of this was due to our decision to increase the class size, and part of this was due to an unexpectedly high acceptance rate of offers to join our summer program.
At the end of the summer, we extended a record number of entry-level offers – over 50% more than in 2007, which is consistent with our current business plan.

You hear that? 50% more offers.
More on the 20% who didn’t make the cut after the jump,

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Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 81-90 (2009)

By Kashmir Hill

comparing.jpgOur Vault 100 series is winding down. We hope that the insiders have enjoyed the opportunity to brag (or to vent) about their firms. And that the curious have appreciated insights into life at various firms in the top 100.
Here is the next bunch up for discussion (with their prestige scores in parentheses):

81. Crowell & Moring LLP (4.763)
82. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (4.754)
83. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP (4.735)
84. Arent Fox PLLC (4.726)
85. McGuireWoods LLP (4.697)
86. Venable LLP (4.676)
87. Dorsey & Whitney LLP (4.575)
88. Dickstein Shapiro LLP (4.554)
89. Baker & Hostetler (4.531)
90. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P (4.503)

Are the following statements true or false?

  • Venable attorneys like bocce ball.
  • Katten attorneys need Weight Watchers.
  • Having your tupperware washed denotes a “notable perk.”
  • Getting to leave early and have the firm respect your personal time is the best perk of all.

    • Okay, you know the drill.
    Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads – 2009

    Non-Sequiturs: 07.05.07

    By David Lat

    * American Lawyer Media: Going, going, gone. Sold, for $630 million, to Incisive Media of the U.K. [Fishbowl NY; WSJ Law Blog]
    * When animals crazy bearded men attack. [Breitbart TV (video) via Drudge Report]
    * A Biglaw partner is not like a store clerk at the local convenience store. Or is he? [National Law Journal (subscription)]
    * More about the late Tom Heftler, former managing partner of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. [New York Observer]

    Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Stroock, Reed Smith, Sonnenschein

    By David Lat

    Stroock Stroock Lavan LLP Above the Law blog.JPGA 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.

    One Stroock and He’s Out?

    By David Lat

    Stroock Stroock Lavan LLP Above the Law blog.JPGThat’s what some of you were wondering with respect to Maury B. Saiger, the associate at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York, who sent out a now infamous email yesterday. After we posted his email, his bio disappeared from the Stroock website. Had he been fired?
    No. Maury Saiger’s bio is back online. Our sources at Stroock tell us that they are not aware of any adverse employment action being taken with respect to Mr. Saiger.
    But we do hear that the firm’s Executive Committee threw a s**t fit yesterday, after we posted Saiger’s email. There were some very unhappy campers at Stroock yesterday.
    More about the fallout from this episode appears after the jump.

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