We received 1,036 responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on where you'd most want to work, which, in turn, was based on your nominations last month.

Here's how it turned out:

Survey Results: Which Firm Would You Most Want To Work For?

Overall, Latham & Watkins dominated the field, pulling in almost one fifth of all votes. Latham was the most popular choice among voters in L.A., the Bay Area, and Washington, DC, and was particularly favored by tax lawyers and litigators.

Runner-up Wachtell was actually the top choice of respondents in New York, narrowly besting Davis Polk and Latham. It was also, by far, the most popular pick among M&A lawyers, with roughly 30% of their vote.

Kirkland placed third overall, but was the top choice of Chicago respondents and patent lawyers, with almost twice as many votes as the next most popular firm in Chicago (Latham) and almost as many patent votes as the next two firms combined (Latham and Quinn).

Williams & Connolly, Ropes & Gray, and Davis Polk tied for fourth, with Ropes & Gray dominating the Boston vote, Williams & Connolly pwning DC (and gaining the second highest vote from litigators after Latham), and Davis Polk rocking the investment management scene (with Ropes & Gray running second best in that field).

Paul Hastings was the clear winner among labor & employment attorneys, winning almost 70% of the vote, and was also the most popular choice among real estate attorneys and lawyers in Atlanta.

On the Magic Circle front, Linklaters proved more popular than Allen & Overy, and was actually the most popular choice among securities lawyers. Allen & Overy was the most popular choice among structured finance attorneys.

This month's ATL / Lateral Link survey, focused on which firm you would choose if you could go anywhere, was dominated by Latham & Watkins and Wachtell Lipton. But several firms were close behind.

  * Respondents had several reasons to applaud Latham: "Prestige", "Friends there are happy", "Awesome firm, awesome people", "They rock", "Prestige, substantive work, great litigation practice", and "Top notch clients and matters; kick ass bonuses; selective hiring in a good way (need good grades plus a good; personality); Vault top 10 without the stuffiness of originating on the east coast; good growth but no risk of Brobecking (great management + tons of funds).....should I go on?" Or, as one respondent summed it up: "ass kickers."

  * At Wachtell, with 2007 profits per partner of $4.48 million, money played a key factor in respondents' enthusiasm for the firm: "100% bonus", "money", "it's all about the cash", "I want the compensation!", "money honey" and, of course, "CASH."

  * "Money" was also a big plus for Cravath (even though their profits per partner were a mere $3.3 million). Voters also noted "Prestige, training, can go anywhere else afterwards."

  * "Prestige" and "Exit opportunities" also won several votes for Skadden, who also had more than $2 billion in revenues last year. (Their SideBar program is pretty cool, too.)

  * "Bonuses and work" were praised at Kirkland & Ellis, as was stability: "They're well positioned for the credit crunch and M&A downturn. And the pay's better, of course."

  * Sullivan & Cromwell was also coveted for "good work, and $$$$" as well as "reputation." With profits per partner of $3.13 million, that "$$$$" is appealing at multiple levels.

  * Paul Hastings surged in popularity as respondents complemented their labor & employment practice and their compensation structures in Atlanta and Chicago.

  * In an incendiary match-up, Davis Polk was heralded as "da bomb", while Boston heavyweight Ropes & Gray was declared "the bomb."

  * Among the Magic Circle firms, Allen & Overy supporters declared "Great offices, european attitude" while Linklaters was called "the best globally, both in equity and debt."

  * Debevoise won several votes for its combination of "prestige and culture".

  * Litigators were torn between Quinn Emanuel, where "hard core litigators with a great reputation" create an atmosphere where "[p]ersonality, quirkiness, and fun seem prevalent," and Williams & Connolly, as "the best litigatio[n] shop. Period."

So of these fourteen juggernauts of practice, prestige, and sweet, sweet profits, who would you most like to work for?

Cast your vote in today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, after the jump.

Not too long ago, we reported the move of Williams & Connolly to a pay scale with a starting salary of $180,000. Today we bring you more happy compensation news from W&C.

First, the firm just raised its clerkship bonus from $35,000 to $45,000. This is a welcome development, although not super-exciting; $45K is slightly below the $50K that is the market clerkship bonus, at least for the top firms.

The second piece of news is more interesting. If you have two clerkships under your belt -- e.g., a federal district court clerkship and a federal circuit court clerkship -- Williams & Connolly may be the place to be (assuming you're interested in working on sexy, high-profile litigation matters). For people with two clerkships, the firm pays a total clerkship bonus of $90,000.

Most of the firms that pay a $50,000 bonus for one clerkship pay a $70,000 clerkship bonus for two clerkships and/or two years of clerking experience. So $90,000 would appear to be a new high in terms of clerkship bonuses.

Sorry, we don't know the fine print on this offer (e.g., whether two years of clerking for the same judge will get you the $90K, what clerkships will qualify towards the two-clerkship bonus, etc.). But if you're in the small class of people who might be affected by this, and if you secure an offer from Williams & Connolly, you may wish to make a polite inquiry into the precise contours of the policy.

Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Williams & Connolly to $180K

We're a week or so into 2008, which raises the question: a new year, a new associate pay raise?

One might expect pay raises to be announced around fall recruiting time, to entice the 2Ls. Historically, however, the last two base salary increases were announced in January (perhaps in an effort to reduce the post-bonus exodus of associates). In January 2007, Simpson Thacher announced its new pay scale, with a $160,000 starting salary. The prior raise, by Sullivan & Cromwell to $145,000, was announced in January 2006.

But don't expect more of the same in January 2008. From the National Law Journal:

As law firms wrapped up operations for 2007, the associate compensation picture looked eerily similar to the boom before the bust seven years ago.

The ratio of bonuses to base salaries for first-year associates at the nation's top law firms in 2007 was on par with the figures in 2000, a year that precipitated a dramatic plunge in those annual perks that help to make the punishing associate hours more tolerable.

For 2007, beginning associates made as much as $45,000 in bonuses in addition to the $160,000 in base pay at top firms in New York and on the West Coast, with some shops doling out "special bonuses" and getting bragging rights ahead of competitors.

But all that cheer in 2007 may become a distant memory as 2008 is looking increasingly leaner.

"There's more concern out there now than there was in the summer," said James Cotterman, an attorney-compensation consultant with Altman Weil. "There's more talk about a recession."

Indeed. If we're not already in a recession, we're about to enter one. Sure, some firms have strong countercyclical practices. But litigation and bankruptcy never make as much as transactional work and M&A in boom times.

More doom and gloom, plus the promised digression on billables, after the jump.

The litigation powerhouse of Williams & Connolly has announced associate pay raises, effective January 1, 2008. We have confirmed the fact of the raise with sources at the firm.

There was no comprehensive memo, so we're not 100 percent certain of the specific numbers. But word on the street is that the new pay scale is as follows:

Year -- Salary
1st: $180,000
2nd: $195,000
3rd: $210,000
4th: $230,000
5th: $250,000
6th: $270,000
7th: $290,000

These base salaries are well above market (160 - 170 - 185, etc.). But remember that Williams & Connolly traditionally pays an above-market base salary, since it does not pay year-end bonuses. So W&C's move to a $180,000 starting salary is not as exciting as a similar move by Cravath or Simpson would be.

The old pay scale is available here. The pay raise appears to be a $15K bump for the first three classes. Fourth-year associates get a $20K increase. Fifth-year through seventh-year associates get a $25K increase.

We're reasonably confident in these numbers. But, as noted, they were not set forth in a memo. So if you see any errors, please contact us. Thanks.

Earlier: Skaddenfreude: Williams & Connolly Weighs In

We had a tough time picking our finalist couples this week, and LEWW will be the first to admit that we're not totally certain we chose the right three. (We're sure our commenters and e-mailers will let us know if we've dropped the ball.) Specifically, in addition to our three finalists, we considered these three couples, and if you work at Shearman, Simpson Thacher, Wachtell, Willkie, or Ropes & Gray, you might want to click on those links to read about your colleagues or their spawn.

But onward to this week's finalists! Here they are:

1.) Nisa Leung and James Lin

2.) Beth Schonmuller and John Williams

3.) Virginia Boyd and J. B. Lockhart IV

More on these couples, after the jump.

As we have previously bitterly lamented observed, sometimes it seems like all the blessings of life are reserved for Supreme Court clerks. And they include not just $250,000 signing bonuses and top-shelf legal jobs, but luxury real estate, too.

This latest Lawyerly Lairs post looks at the expanding digs of Joel I. Klein (Powell) and his wife, Nicole K. Seligman (OT 1984/Marshall). From the New York Observer:

New York is a city of poshly-housed public servants.

The mayor owns two mansions in the East 70’s; the governor goes rent-free in a terraced Fifth Avenue apartment (it’s owned by his dad); development chief Robert Lieber has a new $7.25 million condo at Trump International; and even Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is in the Beresford.

Now Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has bonus space on Park Avenue. He and his wife Nicole Seligman, a Sony executive vice president (and an ex-lawyer for both Oliver North and Bill Clinton) have paid $1.7 million for their second apartment at 95-year-old 565 Park Avenue.

Yes, that's right -- their second apartment in this venerable building. The couple already own the unit directly above their new acquisition. Hello, duplex!

(C'mon, get real: Did you really expect Klein and Seligman to slum it in a sub-$2 million apartment? As people have observed countless times in these pages, $2 million doesn't buy you much in NYC.)

More details after the jump.

Although the pace seems to be slowing, our open threads on Vault 100 firms continue to generate a decent quantity (and quality) of comments. So we'll press on, for the benefit of those of you who are now in the throes of the law firm application process.

Please pose questions about and share insights into these five law firms (in Vault 100 order, with prestige scores in parentheses):

16. Williams & Connolly LLP (7.234)
17. Sidley Austin LLP (7.232)
18. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (7.158)
19. O'Melveny & Myers LLP (7.105)
20. White & Case LLP (7.092)

You can discuss them in the comments. Thanks.

The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]

Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10; Vault 11-15

Confirmed news of two more firms raising their clerkship bonus amounts:

1. Williams & Connolly: From $25K to $35K.

2. Orrick: From $15K to $40K.

If you get wind of clerkship bonus news, please send it our way (subject line: "Clerkship Bonus"). Thanks.

Over in the D.C. office of Baker & McKenzie, the natives are getting restless. They've prepared this cute little bar graph (thumbnail image; click to enlarge):

The graphic above also reflects that Williams & Connolly now pays starting salaries of $165,000. We hadn't heard (or written) about that news, but it's official.

Does anyone have a memo and/or more information about what Williams & Connolly pays beyond the first year? If so, please email us. Thanks.

Update / Correction: Whoops, we forgot that W&C raised salaries back in March. What we were thinking, and meant to write, is that Williams & Connolly hasn't raised associate salaries in response to the latest round of nationwide pay hikes (as kicked off by Orrick).

Remember that W&C traditionally doesn't pay year-end bonuses, but pays an above-market base to make up for it. Their current scale -- 165, 180, 195, etc. -- is still above-market, but not by as much as usual.

Further Update / Correction: Apparently Greenberg Traurig is still at $145K in Washington. We've revised the graph accordingly.

Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: What's Up With Williams & Connolly?

We recently asked for information about compensation developments at Williams & Connolly. We haven't heard anything about base salary increases; but we do have information about two other topics.

First, we've confirmed that the firm's clerkship bonus currently stands at $25,000. If you do a district and circuit clerkship, you get $50,000.

Second, on Tuesday of this week, summer associate pay at W&C was raised to $3100 a week, retroactive to whenever the summers started. The information was conveyed orally (so no memo). From a summer: "While most of us were not overly concerned about the previous differential, the raise is definitely a nice and welcome gesture."

Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: What's Up With Williams & Connolly?

By email and in comments, readers have expressed significant curiosity about associate compensation at Williams & Connolly, the elite, Washington-based litigation boutique. We'd like to help; but we don't have anything to report at the current time.

Here are some questions that we'd like your thoughts on:

1. Base Salaries. Historically the firm has paid above-market base salaries, but no bonuses. Back in March, Williams & Connolly raised to $165K. At that time, when homegrown D.C. firms were paying 145/155/170, a starting salary of $165,000 was well above the market.

But now that Washington-based firms have raised to 160/170/185, will Williams & Connolly raise again to stay ahead of the competition? Or might they stay at $165,000, but start paying bonuses?

2. Clerkship Bonuses: Speaking of bonuses.... The last we heard, Williams & Connolly paid a clerkship bonus of $25,000. Is that still correct? Do they differentiate between district and circuit court clerkships? What about people with two years of clerkship experience? Inquiring minds want to know.

Update: A current offeree confirms that the W&C clerkship bonus is still at $25K.

3. Summer Associates. A rumor, from a tipster:

The word is that summers aren't being paid the first-year associate rate. They're getting $2500 a week, while other DC summers are getting $3100.

Is this whiny? Sure. But whining about minor salary differences is our stock in trade here at ATL.

If you can shed any light on these matters, please email us (subject line: "Williams & Connolly"). Thanks.

Earlier: Skaddenfreude: Williams & Connolly Weighs In

Last week, we exhorted candidates to step it up for the high wedding season, and this week's couples really responded. In fact, they brought the fabulosity in such a big way that LEWW has spent some anguished nights picking the three most deserving entries for this column.

Consider this: Our three featured couples are all lawyer-lawyer matings in which the least prestigious JDs are the two from Harvard! In order to narrow our list, we had to eliminate a gorgeous Harvard-Columbia offering with Skadden overtones and a robust NYU-Stanford entry with a wonderful floral bouquet.

LEWW is just sick about passing over all these shiny credentials. Now we know what a dean of admissions at a top-10 law school feels like!

Here are the amazing couples who made the initial cut:

1. Sara Galvan and Luke Bronin

2. Emily Thacher-Renshaw and Christian Pistilli

3. Rebecca Charnas and Scott Grant

Also, back by popular demand: registry links!

More on this week's couples, after the jump.

We didn't receive this information from a verified source at the firm, so please treat it as unconfirmed. We're going to fact-check this information "blog-style": we're going to throw it out there, then wait for somebody to tell us it's wrong (or to confirm it).

Anyway, here it is, from an email from an anonymous source:

On Tuesday, Williams & Connolly LLP raised its salaries across the board, retroactive to January 1. Starting salary for first-years is now $165,000.

1st years: 165,000.
2nd years: 180,000.
3rd years: 195,000.
4th years: 210,000.
5th years: 225,000.
6th years: 245,000.
7th years: 265,000.

You'll note that these numbers are higher, at least in the most junior years, than what appears to be the new standard for Washington: 145/155/170/190. They're also higher, at least in the first three years, than the new NYC scale (which also applies to the D.C. offices of New York firms): 160/170/185.

But this is consistent with the Williams & Connolly pay scale of years past. Their base salaries are somewhat higher than market; but they don't pay year-end bonuses.

As noted, if you know this information to be incorrect -- or if, on the other hand, you can confirm -- please email us. Thanks!

Update: The information appearing above, concerning Williams & Connolly, has been confirmed.

Legendary litigator Brendan Sullivan, who has been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of the past few decades, ensured his place in Bartlett's when he quipped at the Iran-Contra hearings: "I'm not a potted plant."

But despite not being a potted plant, Sullivan was unable to prevail against two of our former colleagues, Michael Martinez and Craig Carpenito, of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. Martinez and Carpenito, a pair of superb young lawyers, were given the daunting task of handling the third trial of former Cendant chairman Walter Forbes. Their triumph over Sullivan and his Williams & Connolly team is chronicled in a fascinating article by Andrew Longstreth in this month's American Lawyer.

More discussion of the piece, with a few added comments from us, after the jump.

Now it's time for a post about one of our favorite subjects: the magnificent Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. First, check out what's currently gracing the front page of the Drudge Report:

The audio clip is pretty awesome. To listen, click here.

Second, we'd like to take this opportunity to chastise any and all lawyers who enjoyed top government posts during the Clinton Administration, but now refuse to support Senator Clinton in her bid for the White House.

Here are two prominent examples. With apologies to Stephen Colbert, who isn't exactly a Hillary supporter, a "Wag of the Finger" to:

1. Gregory Craig. Washington insider Greg Craig, the Williams & Connolly partner who served as Special Counsel to President Clinton, is supporting Sen. Barack Obama.

Craig is doing this despite his close personal ties to the Clintons; the fact that he held multiple posts in the Clinton Administration, at the White House and State Department; and the alma mater he shares with the Clintons (Yale Law School -- rival to Obama's Harvard Law).

2. Jeh Charles Johnson. Paul Weiss partner Jeh Johnson, a successful New York litigator and prominent political fundraiser, served as general counsel to the Air Force under President Clinton. Yet he too has also turned his back on Senator Clinton, his home state legislator, to raise funds for Barack Obama.

Whatever happened to gratitude? To loyalty? To standing by your friends? Apparently there is no honor among thieves -- or, for that matter, political fund-raisers.

Messrs. Craig and Johnson, you may live to regret your decisions. After Senator Clinton tramples "Obambi" in the Democratic primaries, you may try to get back into her good graces. But Senator Clinton has a long memory. And you have placed yourselves on the wrong side of it.

We hope you enjoy private practice. -- 'cause you shouldn't expect a return to government anytime soon.

Kentucky Fried Hillary [iFilm]
Clinton ally, a Washington superlawyer, switches allegiance to back Obama [Chicago Sun-Times]
In Clinton's Backyard, It's Open Season as an Obama Fund-Raiser Lines Up Donors [New York Times]

We have spoken to multiple sources at Williams & Connolly in the past half hour. The rumor of good news by voice-mail is not true (unless our sources, from different class years at the firm, were somehow left out of the loop).

We think it's only a matter of time before W&C raises base salaries. Their compensation model is to pay an above-market base salary for D.C., but no year-end bonus.

As of now, though, nothing official has been announced. If you're at Williams & Connolly, and anything changes on this front, please let us know. Thanks.