Hiring partners and recruiting coordinators at Wachtell and S&C, it's time to break out the champagne:

CRAVATH HAS BEDBUGS!!!

Yes, that's right. The Worldwide Plaza headquarters of Cravath, Swaine & Moore -- perhaps the country's most prestigious law firm, and one of its most profitable -- has some unwelcome visitors. And no, 2L interview season ended months ago.

Here's what we've learned, from multiple sources at CSM:

1. An email was sent around Cravath last week about the presence of bed bugs at the firm.

2. A few bedbugs were found on two floors, the 21st floor and the 41st floor, which are being fumigated.

3. Two employees had bedbugs in their apartments and told the firm, which caused the firm to investigate.

4. The 21st floor is a paralegal / administration floor, but the 41st floor is a litigation floor -- which means that one of the two employees may be a lawyer.

6. Both of the employees are still with the firm (i.e., they have not been fired, like the poor soul at Cadwalader who, rumor has it, got canned after self-reporting).

7. The email about the bed bug problem was protected against forwarding or copying.

Apparently Cravath and Cadwalader have something in common other than the Bear Stearns deal. [FN1]

As you may recall, in June 2007, Cadwalader reported a bedbug problem. A few months later, they announced lawyer layoffs.

Are associate layoffs like bedbugs? Will they start off at relatively less prestigious firms -- we say "relatively," since Cadwalader is still plenty prestigious (#26 on the Vault 100) -- and move all the way to the top of the list? Will Rodge Cohen and Ed Herlihy be scratching themselves furiously as they negotiate the next big bank merger?

Words of wisdom to incoming Cravath summer associates: go to as many events as you can, and spend as little time as possible at the Death Star. May the force be with you.

We contacted Cravath, which declined comment through a spokesperson. If you have anything to add on the situation, please feel free to email us. Thanks.

[FN1] The bedbug email went around Cravath before the JP Morgan Chase / Bear Stearns deal was initiated. So there would be no merit to a conspiracy theory that Cadwalader gave the cooties to Cravath by sneaking them into a box shipment destined for Worldwide Plaza.

Earlier: Breaking: Cadwalader Overrun By Bed Bugs!!!

Sources in the New York office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft have informed us that a bed bug has been found on the 20th floor. It is believed that said bedbug infiltrated the premises through a delivery or box shipment. Perhaps it was hidden in a document production from opposing counsel?

Attorneys were notified of this breach in CWT's bed bug security via email. We haven't seen the email message, which we understand was protected against forwarding, printing, or copying.

But if you have further details, please post them in the comments (or email us). Thanks!

Update: We like this commenter's speculation: "Cameron Diaz brought it!"

Earlier: Breaking: Cadwalader Overrun By Bed Bugs!!!
Cameron Diaz at Cadwalader!

Look on the bright side, Loyola 2L. Maybe you don't have a post-graduation job lined up yet. But law students at your crosstown competition have their own challenges to deal with.

UCLA is a Tier One law school, per U.S. News & World Report (even if not a so-called "T14" school, as they like to say on the internets). But is trouble brewing in paradise?

More after the jump.

Working as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice offers many advantages over toiling as a law firm associate. Greater responsibility. Better hours. Nicer bosses (with some exceptions).

But working for the DOJ has disadvantages too. Lower pay. Less support staff. No Aeron chairs working pens.

And maybe rats snacking on your toddler. From a tipster:

Cadwalader may have bed bugs, but the Justice Department's child care center has rats. The center is... managed by a board of directors, mainly middle aged DOJ lawyers.

Here's an email making the rounds. My favorite line is "They will stay upstairs for play the rat of the day."

Check out the email, after the jump.

We hear that Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is a tough place to work these days. Over the past few years, CTW's profits per partner have skyrocketed -- but such growth has come at a price.

Today the firm is much more of a business, and much less of a partnership. Collegiality is down, and billable hours -- as well as associate dissatisfaction -- are up.

But these aren't the only problems plaguing Cadwalader. A source forwarded us an internal CWT email, with this introductory squib:

Just received this from a friend over there. As if the crushing leverage and abuse weren't enough, CWT has BED BUGS....

Don't believe us? The office-wide email, sent out about an hour and a half ago by firm chairman Robert O. Link Jr., appears after the jump.