Partner Profits
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Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Spring Bonuses? Anybody? The Silence Isn't Funny Anymore.
Last year, Sullivan & Cromwell announced spring bonuses on January 21st. Today is February 3rd. It might be time to panic. The conceit of this entire bonus season has been that the ridiculously low bonuses bar set by Cravath, Swaine & Moore was just an opening figure. People really didn't expect that Cravath would halve bonuses. Because really, it's CSM. They can count. Their profits went up. Why would they pay out 50% less than last year? Well, we guess the answer "because they can" is going to have to be enough for Biglaw associates everywhere.... -
Biglaw, Job Searches, Law Schools, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Wall Street Journal, White & Case
Biglaw's New Normal Isn't Great For New Talent
As we mentioned in Morning Docket yesterday, the Wall Street Journal has a good article about how various recession-era cutbacks have become entrenched in Biglaw. If you have been paying attention or are a current law student, you know the issues: smaller entry-level classes, stagnant salaries, and a partnership track long enough to make a first-year Ph.D. student laugh. Other industries use economic downturns to retool their business models and develop new ways to compete. Not Biglaw.... - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
American Bar Association / ABA, Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Bloomberg, Bonuses, Job Searches, Law Schools, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Unemployment, Videos, YouTube
Is the Legal Recession Finally Ending?
At the start of this new year, what is the outlook like for legal employment? There's certainly a fair amount of bad news out there, particularly for recent law school graduates. But what about for denizens of Biglaw, the lawyers fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to work at the nation's largest law firms? What does 2012 hold for them? Earlier this month, Elie made some predictions for the legal profession. Lat will follow in his footsteps and venture some prophecies of his own for the year....
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Biglaw, Crime, Gay, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Sentencing Law, Tax Law, Weirdness, White-Collar Crime
Former S&C Partner Gets Sentenced for Tax Offenses
Last August, John J. O'Brien, who was once a highly regarded and well-liked partner in the celebrated M&A practice of Sullivan & Cromwell, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor tax offenses. In the end, he pleaded guilty to failing to file taxes relating to $9.2 million in partnership income, for tax years 2003 to 2008. Earlier this week, O'Brien was sentenced. So is O'Brien trading Biglaw for the Big House? And if so, how long a sentence did he receive? -
Advertising, Career Center, Job Searches, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: Looking for Greener Pastures - Tips for Partners Wanting to Switch Firms
Despite the lukewarm job market, the lateral market for partners is going strong. Still, not all partner candidates are created equal. Whether you are trying to lateral to a big firm or a small firm, there are several considerations firms must analyze during the partner vetting process. Unlike the promotion of an internal candidate, a […] -
Biglaw, Books, Career Alternatives, Email Scandals, Kids, Litigators, Loyola Law School, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Weirdness
A Farewell to Remember: One Partner's Dramatic Departure Memo
Every now and then, you'll come across a colorful farewell message penned by a partner. One such email, sent out last Friday by a longtime partner leaving a major law firm, is now making the rounds. Here's a teaser: "I have realized that I cannot simultaneously meet the demands of career and family. Without criticizing those who have chosen lucre over progeny, let me just say that I am leaving the practice of law." Wow. So who's the partner in question, which firm did he just leave with such flair, and what's he planning to do next? -
Akin Gump, Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Associate Salaries, Bonuses, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Ho-Love, Money, Partner Profits
Keeping Up With the Cravathians: The Ten Most Generous (or Foolish?) Law Firms
Cravath is among the most profitable firms in the world. We thought it would be interesting to see what the implications of matching Cravath are for those firms with much lower profit margins. Which firms’ partners willingly take the biggest hit by keeping up? Are these firms arguably more “generous”? After the jump, check out those firms that pay the largest percentage of PPP in bonuses.... -
Biglaw, Gender, Law Schools, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Women's Issues
New Partner Watch: Cravath and Simpson
Being a partner at a top law firm is still highly desirable. This is especially true of partners at firms near the top of the Biglaw hierarchy -- places like Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, with profits per partner in 2010 of $3.17 million and $2.64 million, respectively. They both announced new partnership classes this month. Let's learn about the new partners at CSM and STB. Maybe you know some of them -- from college, or law school, or a case or matter you've worked on.... - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Bonuses, Money, Partner Profits
You Want Your Bonus? We Want Your Time Sheets.
As we all know from the law-and-economics reasoning that was taught to us in law school, people -- yes, this includes lawyers -- respond to incentives. At one leading law firm, bonus anxiety is being shrewdly harnessed in service of collections efforts. CHECK YOU TIME SHEETS.... -
Biglaw, Gender, Litigatrix, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Women's Issues
Congratulations to the New Wachtell Lipton Partners
At Wachtell Lipton, which announced its new partners on Tuesday afternoon, three lawyers can give thanks for being named to the powerhouse firm's partnership. With profits per partner in excess of $4 million, they are the 1 percent. Who are the new WLRK partners? -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
New York to $190K? Actually, It's About Time.
There's an interesting post up on Constitutional Daily by The Philadelphia Lawyer. It's a repack from a 2007 article arguing that salaries for first-year associates should go up to $190,000 a year. And he's right. Yet the associate salary scale hasn't seen a raise for almost five years. And bonuses are down compared to 2007. Is it time for firms to start sharing the wealth? -
Biglaw, Ho-Love, Hogan & Hartson, Lovells, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Rankings
The Biggest Law Firms in the World: Meet the Global 100
Say hello to the Global 100 for 2011. This is the American Lawyer's list of the world's 100 largest law firms, ranked by total revenue. Lawyers are a competitive lot. So you're probably less interested in the overall figures than in how different firms fared in the rankings.... -
Biglaw, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Are Biglaw PPP Stats Any More Reliable Than Law School Employment Stats?
The danger in having a for profit magazine in charge of collecting and publicizing critical information is that the magazine doesn’t have any oversight audit authority to confirm that its information is accurate. As we mentioned in Morning Docket, the big scandal of the day involved the Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group unit suggesting […]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
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Biglaw, Celebrities, Crime, Legal Ethics, Lindsay Lohan, Money, Morning Docket, Music, Partner Profits, Pictures
Morning Docket: 08.22.11
* Unfortunately, it looks like law schools aren’t the only ones cooking the books. According to Citigroup, partner profits in the Am Law 100 may have been a teensy bit overstated last year. [Wall Street Journal] * A perp walk is a terrible thing to waste. Prosecutors may be dropping the charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn […]
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Biglaw, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, Law Firm Mergers, Law Firm Names, Mergers and Acquisitions, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Wildman Harrold
Law Firm Merger Mania: Edwards Angell Merges With Wildman Harrold
What results from the coupling of an angel and a wild man? One might think: angel + wild man = air traffic nightmare. In the law firm context, however, the result is quite different. Edwards Angell is merging with Wildman Harrold, to form Edwards Wildman Palmer. What else do we know about Edwards Wildman Palmer? And what might be motivating this merger? -
Asians, Biglaw, California, Feminism, Gender, Intellectual Property, Labor / Employment, Lawsuit of the Day, Litigators, Movies, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Sexual Harassment
Youngblood v. Irell & Manella: The Law Firm Fights BackFirm denies claims and moves for arbitration.
Last month, Juliette Youngblood, an ex-partner at the elite California law firm of Irell & Manella, filed suit against her former firm. Irell did not respond to the lawsuit at the time, now it has, in a blistering 22-page filing. What does the firm have to say about the specific claims made by Youngblood? -
Biglaw, Crime, Gay, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Real Estate, Tax Law, Weirdness, White-Collar Crime
Ex-Sullivan & Cromwell Partner Failed To Pay Taxes on Millions
Remember John J. O'Brien? Back in April 2009, we wrote about his mysterious departure from Sullivan & Cromwell, where he was a well-regarded and well-liked partner in the M&A department. Yesterday brought news that O'Brien was hit with federal tax-related charges.... -
Asians, Biglaw, California, Feminism, Gender, Intellectual Property, Labor / Employment, Lawsuit of the Day, Litigators, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Sexual Harassment
Lawsuit of the Day: Youngblood v. Irell & ManellaFormer partner alleges sexual harassment by Morgan Chu.
A former partner at the elite law firm of Irell & Manella is suing the firm, claiming sex discrimination and retaliation. She also alleges that she was sexually harassed -- by superstar intellectual-property litigator Morgan Chu. -
Biglaw, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
What's Going On At O'Melveny & Myers?
Last month, we broke the news of seven key corporate partners leaving O’Melveny & Myers to join Paul Weiss. Shortly thereafter, we learned that two other prominent partners were leaving O’Melveny to join Weil Gotshal. Of course, partners come and partners go at large law firms — but some of these nine were major rainmakers […] -
Antitrust, Biglaw, Department of Justice, Fabulosity, Federal Judges, Judicial Nominations, Lawyerly Lairs, Litigatrix, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Real Estate, S.D.N.Y., Senate Judiciary Committee
Ex-Cravath Partner Nominated to S.D.N.Y. Is Pretty Stinking Rich
I recently wrote about Katherine B. Forrest, the celebrated litigatrix nominated to a federal judgeship on the breathtakingly prestigious Southern District of New York. Forrest currently serves as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, but before joining the DOJ she was a longtime partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore […]