Legal Pad (a Cal Law blog) has a link to this amazing complaint [PDF] filed by paralegal Jason Herrera against Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Herrera's complaint -- "for discrimination, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and fraud" -- reads like a reality tv show pitch about the lives of paralegals. Herrera has been a paralegal in Weil's Silicon Valley office since 2004. In his complaint, he talks about:

From Legal Pad:

(For those who don't know, Matt Powers is one of the most feared, respected and successful patent litigators in the country.)

(Also for those of you don't know, the ever-useful urban dictionary defines "pimp hand" as "the hand used to smack your ho's around," but has no definition for "mojo hand")...

Reached Friday at Weil Gotshal where he still works, Herrera told Legal Pad he sued because he was out of options for resolving the problems. He has yet to serve the firm, and said he was contemplating Friday just how to do it.

Wikipedia says the mojo hand is a kind of magic charm. We still don't know what a mojo hand is, but we want one!

As a former paralegal, Kash was most amused by Herrera's complaint that he was given "repetitive, unchallenging and un-enriching tasks." Welcome to being a paralegal!

Lawyer's 'Pimp Hand' Mojos Up A Staffer's Suit? [Legal Pad]
Complaint: Herrera v. Weil, Gotshal & Manges [PDF]

In Lawyerly Lairs, we follow the real-estate moves of leading lawyers and law firms. The focus is typically residential. For example, last year we visited the Park Avenue apartment of this year's commencement speaker at Georgetown Law, Joel Klein.

But every now and then, we go commercial, and write about law firm offices. E.g., Cleary Gottlieb; Gibson Dunn; Cravath.

Today's featured tenant: Paul Weiss. From the New York Observer:

High-powered law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is in negotiations with Vornado Realty Trust for more than one-third of the tower planned for atop the Port Authority bus station, a move that, if cemented, would extend the legal establishment’s apparently inexorable drift westward from the white-shoe stronghold of midtown.

A source close to the negotiations confirmed that Paul, Weiss is in serious, though early, negotiations to take 500,000 square feet in the middle of the 42-story building slated to rise from a platform atop the seedy bus terminal.

Seedy is right -- but there are advantages to being based at Port Authority. Check out this list of shops and restaurants. It will be easy for beleaguered associates to slip away to Duane Reade, to fill that prescription for anti-anxiety medication. And lavish lunches at Munchy's Gourmet -- second floor, South Wing -- will seal the deal for PW recruits.

Meanwhile, another top law firm is venturing beyond midtown. Also from the Observer (which covers the commercial real estate world as thoroughly as we cover Biglaw):

The largest tenant in the GM Building is relocating a portion of its operations from the gilded midtown tower to the decidedly humbler environs of downtown Brooklyn.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a global law firm with a New York staff of 1,300, has signed a lease for 35,000 square feet at Brooklyn’s 15 Metrotech Center, owned by Forest City Ratner.

Over the past few years, Brooklyn has been booming, growing increasingly attractive as a residential option for young professionals. But if you're a Manhattan snob and Weil associate, have no fear. The Brooklyn digs will house information systems, finance, and operations; the lawyers will stay in the GM Building.

P.S. Speaking of the GM Building, here's a digression on "safe email." One ATL tipster likes to email us, using a non-work email account, from a computer in that building's Apple store.

But you don't need to be quite that cloak-and-dagger. It's usually safe to email us, from a non-work account, using the web browser on your wireless device (like a Blackberry or iPhone); that traffic doesn't pass through your law firm's servers.

Of course, to be ultra-cautious, wait until you get home, and email us from your personal computer. Thanks.

Law Firm Nears Lease Atop Bus Terminal [New York Observer]
Big Manhattan Law Firm Exits GM Building for ... Downtown Brooklyn [New York Observer]
Terminal Information & Services [Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]

In last month's ATL / Lateral Link survey we asked you which holidays you worked on, or expected to work on, during 2007. About half of you reported that you had worked on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Last week, we asked you how you fared this year. Did you take the day off to honor a champion of civil rights, or did you make it a "day on"?

We received just under 1,300 responses, and 44% of you reported that you took the day off. Associates in New York, Los Angeles and Boston were most likely to celebrate the holiday, while associates in Chicago, Atlanta, the Bay Area, and Texas were most likely to be working. (Respondents in the Bay Area were also most likely to work over Christmas and New Year's. Is it time for them to get New York bonuses?)

How did it break down on a firm by firm basis? DLA Piper, Milbank, Sidley & Austin, Dechert, Hunton & Williams, Jones Day, Latham, Mayer Brown, McDermott, Hughes Hubbard, McGuire Woods, Morgan Lewis, Nixon Peabody, Paul Hastings, and Sullivan & Cromwell each had multiple happy associates who reported that they had taken the day off. Kirkland & Ellis, Baker Botts, Dewey & LeBoeuf, O'Melveny & Myers, Weil, and Winston & Strawn each had mixed responses. Associates at Skadden, however, uniformly reported that they had worked the holiday, as Martin Luther King Jr. day is a "floating" holiday for the firm.

Of those who spent the day at the office, about 54% reported that they weren't actually asked to work the holiday, but had things they needed to get done. About a quarter reported that their offices were open. Another quarter said that partners told them to work on the holiday. About 8% were asked to work by clients. A surprising number of respondents wrote in that other associates had told them to work on the holiday.

A little over a third of respondents who worked on the holiday thought that the work did not justify the sacrifice.

Yes, we did see Lisa Belkin's "Life's Work" column in yesterday's New York Times, entitled "Who's Cuddly Now? Law Firms." Truth be told, we didn't find it terribly exciting, since most of the law-firm lifestyle improvements she mentions are ones that are familiar to ATL readers. We also shared the reaction of the WSJ Law Blog, which found it sort of random for Thursday Styles: "Since when did the NYT Styles section become a legal trade?"

But since the article has zoomed to the top of the NYT Most Emailed Articles list, with which we are obsessed, we're compelled to write about it. Excerpts and discussion, after the jump.

As you may recall, back in November, Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced special bonuses, at market levels. In its memo, the firm explained that year-end bonuses would be announced at a later point:

As is customary, 2007 year-end bonuses will be paid at market to associates receiving an “Overall Strong” rating and will be above market for associates receiving a “Distinguished” rating in class years 2003 and above. Year-end bonuses will be paid on January 25, 2008.

That point has come. Weil just announced its year-end bonuses -- and for top performers at more senior levels, i.e., "Distinguished" associates in the class of 2003 and above, the bonuses are above market.

For details, check out the memo, after the jump.

The tipster who forwarded this invite to us pretty much said it all: "Weil: Are you joking?"

Weil is currently ranked #9 on the Vault 100. How many spots should they be docked for this?

(In case you're wondering, yes, we did contact the firm for comment. We did not hear back from them.)

WEIL GOTSHAL & MANGES -- INVITATION TO DIVERSITY RECEPTION FEATURING STAR JONES

Please join us at our diversity reception for first year law students next Tuesday, January 22nd! Please also note that the time for the reception has changed to 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Our guest speaker, Star Jones, will be arriving at 6:00pm to mingle, so plan to be there early! Further details are below.

For those of you who cannot view the JPEG, here are the details for the event:

Location: STK
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Special Guest Speaker: Star Jones of truTV (formerly Court TV)

RSVP by Friday, January 18 to [xxxx] or (212) 833-[xxxx]

[xxxx]
Legal Recruiting Coordinator
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
767 Fifth Avenue

Star Jones Reynolds [Wikipedia]
Star Jones [official website]

We've previously reported on improved parental leave policies at Latham & Watkins, Davis Polk, and Simpson Thacher. We predicted that "with respect to maternity leave for birth mothers, 18 weeks will become the new 'market rate.'"

Perhaps it already is. Tipsters have written in to advise us that Sullivan & Cromwell and Weil Gosthal & Manges went to 18 weeks some time ago -- S&C back in August, and Weil in September.

For anyone who is interested, more details appear after the jump.

We're sorry we don't have more associate bonus news to report. Unfortunately, we have to wait for it to happen; we can't just make it up.

So while we wait for more announcements -- it's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so we're hoping for some announcements in the afternoon -- let's talk about a related subject: staff bonuses.

In its bonus memo from earlier this month, Willkie Farr & Gallagher announced that it would be paying a special bonus to its administrative staff as well as its associates. And it turns out that Willkie is not alone. We're hearing that Weil, Gotshal & Manges is paying its support staff a special bonus as well.

The Weil special bonus equals one week's base salary. It will go to all support staff: "secretaries, paralegals, litigation support -- the whole nine yards."

The amount is not life-changing; at a week's salary, the bonus equals about 2 percent of base. But it's still a nice move, and something else for Weil paralegals to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

What other firms besides Willkie and Weil are paying special bonuses to staff? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

Weil has announced special bonuses, to be paid at the end of this month, and year-end bonuses, which "will be paid at market to associates receiving an 'Overall Strong' rating and will be above market for associates receiving a 'Distinguished' rating in class years 2003 and above."

Memo after the jump.

Warmest congratulations to our friends Junko Ozao and Jason Choy, whose lovely wedding was written up in this week's Vows column. Jason is an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, but Junko is a normal person, and that shortcoming cost them a spot in this week's Legal Eagle Wedding Watch. The news will likely ruin their three-week honeymoon, but such are the ruthless decisions our readers expect LEWW to make.

Here are the six finalists (all lawyers):

1.) Amanda Trivax and Brian Burnovski

2.) Anna Skotko and Ben Vonwiller

3.) Amy Tovar and Benjamin Horwich

We were pleasantly surprised by the robust and intelligent discussion in the comments to our earlier open thread, Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 1-5. There were over 100 comments, and many of them were quite informative. So we will press on.

The next five firms up for bids, in Vault 100 order (prestige scores in parentheses):

6. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (8.116)
7. Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP (7.759)
8. Latham & Watkins LLP (7.712)
9. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (7.672)
10. Covington & Burling LLP (7.510)

Please compare and contrast these firms, and discuss what it's like to work for them, in the comments. Thanks.

The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]

Yes, it's true -- we swear! This is not just another wild rumor. You can take this one to the bank!

The Bank of London, that is. From TheLawyer.com, a U.K.-based website:

Weil Gotshal & Manges’ London associates now earn more than their counterparts in New York after a 20 per cent pay hike in London.

The US-headquartered firm is now offering some of the most generous pay packets in the City with newly qualifieds (NQs) now receiving £90,000, representing a 20 per cent jump from £75,000. First-year associates who qualified in September 2006 will receive an average of £95,000.

If you enter the figure of £90,000 into this currency converter, you get the sum of $178,441, based on the current exchange rate. And Weil isn't even the most high-paying firm in the city:

This puts Weil towards the top of the market in terms of US firms in London. Latham & Watkins still offers NQs the most, with £96,000, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton offers them £92,000.

Latham's salary of £96,000 for new lawyers translates into $190,341. Cleary's £92,000 comes out to $182,411.

So should U.S. associates pack it all in and jump across the pond? Or does London's high cost of living, plus the crappy food -- Gordon Ramsay and good Indian joints notwithstanding -- make the move not worth it?

Feel free to discuss associate compensation in London in the comments. This will constitute the open thread on London and the U.K. that some of you have been asking for. Thanks!

Update: This is kind of random, but click here for Google Maps directions from New York to London. We especially like step #21.

Further Update: A reader notes that if you get recruited by your firm's New York office for a London position, you could do even better. More details after the jump.

Weil Gotshal ups NQ pay to £90k [TheLawyer.com]
Weil Gotshal Newly Qualified Lawyers Earning A Bundle More [LawFuel]
Universal Currency Converter [XE.com]

We're big fans of Miami. We greatly enjoyed the visit we paid back in March, when we got to meet up with readers at an ATL Happy Hour.

So we're more than happy to make Miami the next stop on our tour of the nation's legal markets. Here's a summary of the lay of the land, courtesy of the Daily Business Review:

Playing its hand in the South Florida associate pay stakes, Greenberg Traurig raised the starting base salaries of its rookie lawyers in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to $135,000 and their total compensation packages to more than $150,000....

The base salary of Greenberg’s first-year lawyers now will match that of White & Case, which in February announced that it had raised first-year salaries to $135,000 in Miami.

Holland & Knight, Hogan & Hartson and Akerman Senterfitt recently raised salaries for rookie lawyers to $130,000 in South Florida.

Hunton & Williams has raised its first-year salaries to $145,000 in Miami. Two New York-based firms, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Boies Schiller & Flexner, pay first-years $160,000 in their South Florida offices.

This article was published back in April. A quick spin through the NALP forms suggests this information is still correct.

But sometimes the NALP forms aren't updated immediately. Has anything changed since April -- or is anything about to change in the near future?

Please discuss associate compensation in the Miami legal market in the comments. Thanks.

Business of Law: Greenberg raises first-year salaries, urges pro bono work [Daily Business Review]

Related: Open threads focused on Denver, Hartford, Philadelphia, Seattle, New Jersey, Phoenix, Atlanta, Charlotte, Ohio.

It didn't take long for the $50k club to gain another member!

Multiple sources tell us that Weil, Gotshal & Manges decided last night to match the $50,000 clerkship bonus being offered by Sullivan & Cromwell, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Paul Weiss.

Who'll be the next to join this exalted group?

Programming Note: With that exciting news, LEWW is signing off for the week. We're heading up to New York for some things we can't get in Alabama: Major League Baseball and Mario Batali.

It's been an honor and a delight to fill in for David. He'll be back soon with more on this and other stories. (And of course, LEWW will return with a new wedding column next week.)

It's a little too early for a full-blown abortion debate, so let's move on to more pedestrian matters, like partner poaching. A few weeks after Mayer Brown decided it needed to fire or demote 45 partners to drive up its stock price, Gary Friedman, who chaired Mayer's employment practice, has decided he's got to get the fudge out.

Friedman has been plucked by Weil for their employment litigation practice. Three other Mayer Brown lawyers are making the move with him: Andrew Kofsky, who will join Weil as counsel, and associates Jonathan Shiffman and Jonathan Sokotch.

From the WSJ Law Blog:

Friedman was not one of the 45 demoted or asked to leave. “I was not looking to leave,” Friedman told the Law Blog. “But for this extraordinary opportunity, I would have remained at Mayer, Brown.”

Sounds like the "right thing to say" to us.

Jeffrey Klein, the chair of Weil’s national employment litigation practice, says he poached Friedman. “He was a reluctant bride.”

Mayer Brown declined to comment.

Friedman specializes in defending employment class actions including discrimination and overtime-pay cases. It’s notable that Weil is beefing up in this area, since some top firms shy away from employment law, concluding that it’s not profitable enough. But Klein and Friedman say that employment cases have grown in volume and complexity, because top plaintiffs lawyers have jumped into the field in the wake of a slowdown in securities class actions. “The plaintiffs’ securities litigation bar has . . . pursued this litigation with a vengeance,” Friedman says.

Does it help your stock price if partners start to jump ship?

Mayer Brown Employment Lawyer Jumping to Weil [WSJ Law Blog]
Gary D. Friedman to Join Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s Employment Litigation Practice in New York [Weil.com (press release)]

We reported on the rumors last week -- and now the news is official. From the New York Law Journal:

Just as Weil, Gotshal & Manges welcomes back legendary bankruptcy partner Harvey Miller, the firm is saying goodbye to four other restructuring stars who are leaving to join a rival firm.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is set to announce today that it has recruited George A. Davis, Deryck A. Palmer, John J. Rapisardi and Andrew M. Troop as partners in New York. The move, involving four of Weil Gotshal's most prominent bankruptcy partners apart from Miller and practice co-heads Martin Bienenstock and Marcia Goldstein, points to a major realignment among elite bankruptcy practices.

In our post from last week, we had all of the names except for Troop.

Our tipster chalked up the move to the departing partners' desire "to swim in Bob Link's shark tank and make the big $$$." The NYLJ piece seems to confirm that:

[Deryck Palmer] praised Cadwalader's famously performance-driven culture, where top partners are rewarded handsomely and weaker ones are winnowed out.

"Cadwalader provides an environment where every lawyer can achieve their potential," said Palmer.

And their dream of a house in the Hamptons, too.

Earlier: Musical Chairs: Weil Gotshal -- In With the Old, Out With the New?

This morning brings some big news in the world of bankruptcy law. From the WSJ Law Blog:

You can go home again, especially if you’re Harvey Miller (at right). The legendary bankruptcy lawyer is expected to rejoin to Weil Gotshal, whose partners are scheduled to vote on his return tomorrow.

“I would be delighted to have Harvey back, but it’s premature at this stage to comment on his rejoining the firm until the partnership votes on the issue,” says Stephen Dannhauser, firm chair.

Before decamping to investment bank Greenhill & Co. in 2002, Miller had spent the previous 33 years at Weil, building its bankruptcy department into one of the most prominent debtor-side practices in the country.

And from a little bird (so consider this to be nothing more than rumor at this point):

It appears four bankruptcy partners are leaving Weil and moving to Cadwalader (apparently to swim in Bob Link's shark tank and make the big $$$). Partners include Deryck Palmer, John Rapisardi, and George A. Davis.

Could the return of Harvey Miller to Weil be related to the (rumored) departures of these younger partners?

We are following up on this rumor and will let you know what we find out.

Update: Harvey Miller's return to Weil is official. The WGM press release is available here. A longer version of the release, which was circulated by email at Weil, appears after the jump.

Bankruptcy King Harvey Miller Expected to Rejoin Weil [WSJ Law Blog]

We haven't confirmed it 100 percent. But the Weil Gotshal memo reprinted below, which has been posted several times in the comments, strikes us as pretty safe to consider authentic.

(We're waiting to hear back from certain contacts at Weil. When we do, we'll update this post.)

Update (6:30 PM): Official sources at Weil declined to comment: "We're not in the business of confirming internal memos or emails."

But unofficial sources have confirmed, informing us that the "Town Hall Meeting" mentioned below took place at 4:10 PM. So you can regard the memo below as a true copy.

WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES

To: US Associates
From: Stephen J. Dannhauser

As announced at today's Town Hall Meeting, effective January 1, 2007, annual U.S. associate base salaries have been increased, as set forth below. You will receive a retroactive adjustment reflecting this increase in your paycheck or direct deposit on February 9th. Bonuses will be paid this Friday, January 26th. As we have previously told you, it is our intention to pay our associates commensurately with our peer firms.

The firm has enjoyed a very good year, and we recognize that your dedication and hard work have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to our success.

Class Year 2007 Salary

2006 $160,000
2005 $170,000
2004 $185,000
2003 $210,000
2002 $230,000
2001 $250,000
2000 $265,000
1999 $280,000

Base salaries for associates in the class of 1998 and more senior will be determined on an individual basis.

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

A few of the more prominent moves within this noble profession:

From government to private sector:

* Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton is joining Royal Dutch Shell, as general counsel for its "unconventional resources division" (e.g., extracting oil from "oil shale" and "extra heavy oil" -- don't ask us, we don't know).

(A WSJ Law Blog commenter sniffs: "One would think that she could have secured a more lucrative and high profile job, given her resume." We agree somewhat on the "high profile" part, but don't know enough about the filthy lucre associated with this gig.)

* Former assistant U.S. attorney Mauro Wolfe, with whom we used to work, to Dickstein Shapiro. He will be a partner in the firm's securities practice, in the New York office.

* Mark Paoletta and Andrew Snowdon, to the D.C. office of Dickstein Shapiro (as partner and of counsel, respectively). Paoletta previously served as served as Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Snowdon previously served as a lawyer on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. They join the government law & strategy practice.

Within government:

* The United States Attorney for Connecticut, Kevin O'Connor, has been named associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department. His DOJ work will focus on violent crime, gangs, and guns. O'Connor plans to retain his post as U.S. Attorney for at least six months.

Lateral moves:

* M&A lawyer Michael Aiello, to Weil Gotshal, from Dewey Ballantine (as previously noted).

* Finance lawyer Philip Haber, to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, from Nixon Peabody.

New partners:

* Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: Seven new partners. Names here (PDF).

* LeBoeuf Lamb: Five new partners. Names here.

* Patterson Belknap: White-collar defense lawyer Daniel Ruzumna, promoted from counsel to partner. Ruzumna served for six years as an AUSA in the legendary Southern District of New York. His final post in the S.D.N.Y. was Acting Chief of the Major Crimes Unit.

The voluminous links are collected after the jump.

The indefinitely delayed, potentially troubled merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe isn't being well-received by Dewey support staff.

From a Dewey Ballantine tipster:

As far we non-attorney types go, it seems like more of a hostile takeover than a merger. So far, Orrick management is calling the shots on all the administrative areas of the merger. In the meetings I have been in or have heard about, Orrick is having their way with us.

Many in Payroll, Finance and IT [information technology] have already been given hard end dates. Many others are actively looking for other positions. Orrick has their IT department in Wheeling, West Virginia, whereas Dewey's IT department is in New York. Having met some of the Orrick IT types and, I believe that the merged firm is going to lose out in that area.

In this merger, Dewey is looking like the receptive partner -- the one getting f***ed.

Update: In the meantime, Dewey continues to hemorrhage key lawyers. The WSJ Law Blog just reported that Michael Aiello, who had been one of Dewey's top M&A partners, has left the firm for Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Top Dewey M&A Partner Decamps to Weil [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Dewy Orifice (scroll down)