Deferral Stipend

'When you go to law school, nobody f**ks with you.'

Which Biglaw firm's incoming associates aren't starting until 2014?

Way back in 2008, back when people were wondering just how bad the recession was going to be for Biglaw, Heller Ehrman collapsed. When the firm dissolved, there was a lot of fear that it would be the first of many to fold. While a few other firms also dissolved during the recession, we didn’t […]

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the public interest stipend Georgetown Law offered its recent graduates. Georgetown University Law Center gave a three month stipend of $4,000 to its recent graduates who are working for a public interest organization. Today, we have news that GULC is extending the fellowship for an additional three […]

We’ve done a lot of coverage about deferral stipends, public interest stipends, and other direct payments to graduates who are not able to secure prime, private practice employment. If you think about it, these programs have popped up with shocking speed. In 2007, there was no such thing as a “deferral stipend” from firms, and […]

With apologies to Langston Hughes, we have to ask: What happens to an associate deferred? Does he dry up, like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — and then run? Run, run — away from Biglaw. That seems to be what at least some deferred associates are doing, as reported last […]

This was bound to happen at some point. There have been countless associates who were promised jobs at law firms. They stopped looking for other jobs in reliance on that job offer. Then during the recession they were deferred, or their offers were rescinded. They are the leading citizens of the Lost Generation. Do they […]

DLA Piper recently rejoined the ranks of Biglaw firms paying a $160,000 starting salary. Welcome back to the pack. Unfortunately, some incoming associates hoping to start at DLA will have to wait quite a bit before they are able to cash in on that $160K dream. A tipster reports: DLA Piper just told their incoming […]

A little over a year ago, law firms came up with a unique plan to deal with the problem of too many associates and not enough work to go around: the deferral. It did not apply just to incoming associates; it was also offered up to those already at the firm who were open to […]

Do you remember the scene in the Amityville Horror House movie where the toilet says to the family, “Get out”? That seems to be what firms are telling incoming associates when they defer first-years until 2012. Today, we’ve got another firm that has decided to put some of its incoming associates on the long march […]

When it comes to deferring incoming associates, what is the new normal? A couple of months ago, we reported that Mintz Levin was deferring its class of 2010 associates to 2012. At the time, Mintz Levin didn’t reveal any information about its deferral stipend. Today, tipsters are telling us about the Mintz Levin stipend. Let’s […]

The “pro bono year” is to Biglaw what a “study abroad program” is to most American universities: a time for reflection, exposure to new things, and a more relaxed pace. It was a necessity born of the recession. Firms did not have enough work to go around; they didn’t want to lose perfectly good employees, […]

We’ve received tips, texts, and phone calls about Blank Rome. As spring hurtles towards summer, the firm is letting incoming associates know that they won’t be starting any time soon. A tipster reports the firm is “rescinding” offers, but that’s not technically correct: I just heard from a friend that Blank Rome has rescinded offers […]

Congratulations to Mr. Chuck and his co-conspirators. It appears that their efforts to exert grassroots pressure on Mayer Brown, with the goal of getting the firm to inform them of the terms of their offers, have borne fruit. As first mentioned in the comments on our post from yesterday regarding Winston & Strawn, incoming associates […]

Last week, we took a peek inside the black box of compensation at Winston & Strawn. We also discussed stealth layoffs at the firm. We felt our report was fairly hard-hitting. But one Winston source thinks we didn’t go far enough: In my humble opinion, you weren’t sufficiently critical of Winston. The real message here […]

Over a year ago, Skadden announced its Sidebar Plus program. Skadden gave associates the option to take a one-year deferral, for one-third of their Skadden salary. All indications suggest that the program was a huge success. Skadden received so many volunteers that it had to turn some people away. Skadden associates received varied and interesting […]

Class of 2010 graduates with offers in hand want to know when they’ll have firm-issued BlackBerrys in hand too. Last week, we had an open thread on start dates for 2010 graduates. Shortly thereafter, we heard from Skadden-bound associates. They’ll be starting in the new year, and they’ll have some money to keep them afloat […]

The big news out of Sidley Austin today involves Brian Schroeder, a 2009 Harvard Law School graduate who recently turned himself in for setting fire to a chapel housing the remains of 9/11 victims. Earlier today, the firm told ATL it was rescinding Schroeder’s job offer. But there are other developments at Sidley too. Regarding […]

It seems like the summer associates just arrived, yet many are already packing up their Biglaw bags to head back to school. This may be due in part to shorter summer associate programs this year, but that’s besides the point. Summer associates departing the offices of Ropes & Gray have big smiles plastered on their […]