For the record, here's some follow-up on two Bay State lawyers previously discussed in these pages, who have been cleared of the charges against them. At least to some extent.

First, remember Carl Stanley McGee (right), who was arrested after being accused of going down on a 15-year-old boy? Earlier this week, Florida prosecutors decided to drop the case.

Apparently the teen had trouble identifying McGee. But maybe he also learned that it's bad form to complain about getting a BJ. Unless teeth are involved.

Second, remember the handsome Gary Zerola (below right), named a "Most Eligible Bachelor" by People magazine, and accused of rape and attempted rape by three different women? One of the cases against him went to trial, and he was acquitted (back in January; we missed the news when it came out).

A second trial is currently underway. In that case, as reported in today's Boston Herald, Zerola's defense team argues that the victim wanted to shakedown their client for $150,000.

The third incident, which is the one that we wrote about, has not yet gone to trial.

Sex Case Against MA Guv's Aide Dropped [AP]
'Most eligible bachelor' acquitted in attempted rape case [Boston Globe]
Zerola team: Alleged victim sought $150G [Boston Herald]

Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: Carl Stanley McGee
Most Eligible Bachelor Becomes Considerably Less Eligible

Last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey asked, "If you knew then what you know today, would you still choose to join your current firm?"

We received 540 responses, and, overall 68% of you said yes. But the gruntlement (i.e., satisfaction) varied quite a bit from market to market:

  • Atlanta - 50%
  • Boston - 74%
  • Bay Area - 79%
  • Chicago - 70%
  • Dallas - 80%
  • Houston - 82%
  • Los Angeles - 71%
  • New York - 71%
  • Philadelphia - 75%
  • Washington, DC - 68%

Apparently, "everything is bigger in Texas" includes job satisfaction, and the Bay Area is close behind, followed by Philadelphia. Meanwhile, firms in Boston have managed to produce slightly happier associates than firms in New York, notwithstanding the city's often lamented bagels and challenging pizza scene -- a challenge Chicago offices, hampered by quiche deep dish pizza, have been unable to surmount. Washington, DC lags a bit behind, and Atlanta clearly needs a hug.

Associates at a few firms were particularly likely to say they'd make the same choice today. Find out which firms have especially happy campers, after the jump.

We bring you news of a career move by one of America's most fabulous young lawyers. From a press release issued by WilmerHale:

WilmerHale is pleased to announce that Rachel L. Brand and Mark D. Nelson will join the firm's Washington, DC public policy and strategy practice focusing on congressional investigations, regulatory affairs and crisis management. Ms. Brand will also be active in the firm's government litigation and defense and national security practices. Ms. Brand was most recently Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy, where she served as chief policy and regulatory advisor to the Attorney General and managed the confirmation process for Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

Wait, hold on a sec -- Rachel Brand? As in young-conservative-superstar Rachel Brand, known in some circles as the Federalist Society Prom Queen?

Are you sure there hasn't been some mistake? Maybe Brand went to another D.C. law firm whose name starts with a "W," like Wiley Rein -- perhaps a more natural home for a prominent Republican attorney?

WilmerHale, after all, is one of Washington's most high-profile, left-leaning law firms. It's home to leading liberal lawyers like former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, a possible Attorney General or Defense Secretary in a Democratic administration; former Solicitor General Seth Waxman, a possible judicial (D.C. Circuit?) nominee; Randy Moss, former head of the DOJ's super-elite Office of Legal Counsel; and Howard Shapiro, former general counsel to the FBI. [FN1]

But no, it's true -- Brand is at Wilmer Hale. Word on the street, in fact, is that the firm is actively looking for Republican lawyers like Brand and Nelson. Perhaps they need someone to hold down the fort when everyone bails to serve in the Obama Administration?

We spoke to Rachel Brand yesterday, her first day of work. You know how useless first days can be -- paperwork, orientation, technology training. "They taught me how to turn on my computer," she quipped.

As for her new gig, Brand expressed excitement about the opportunity to join WilmerHale, "a great firm with some incredible lawyers." She noted the abundance of lawyers with government experience at WilmerHale and said that her skill set fit well with the firm.

We wish Brand and Nelson the best of luck in their new professional home.

(We tried to contact Nelson but were unable to reach him. The WilmerHale telephone operator did not have an extension for him. Perhaps he isn't in the office yet? If he is, someone needs to give his phone number to the receptionist.)

[FN1] As it turns out, a number of prominent Republicans are current or former WilmerHale partners. E.g., current partner Reginald Brown, who most recently served in the White House Counsel's office, and former partner C. Boyden Gray, currently U.S. ambassador to the European Union Special Envoy for EU Affairs.

WilmerHale Adds Top DOJ and Congressional Investigation Lawyers To Public Policy and Strategy Team [WilmerHale]

The day is still young, but we already have our Lawyer of the Day -- and we doubt that anyone we hear about later today can steal this honor away from him. Via the Boston Globe:

A top official in the [Gov. Deval] Patrick administration has been placed on unpaid leave because he was arrested in Florida and charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old male in a steam room at a $500-a-night Gulf Coast resort.

Carl Stanley McGee, 38, assistant secretary for policy and planning, is scheduled to be arraigned next week for sexual battery in Lee County, Fla.... According to police reports, McGee was arrested Dec. 28 and accused of performing oral sex on the 15-year-old, who was a guest at The Gasparilla Inn & Club, a 95-year-old hotel and championship golf course in Boca Grande.

As they like to say up in Massachusetts, "Thar he blows."

McGee, a former Rhodes scholar and Harvard Law School graduate, was previously a corporate lawyer at the law firm WilmerHale. He was instrumental in the movement seeking to defeat efforts to overturn legalization of same-sex marriage, serving as director of the civic and business outreach efforts of the advocacy group MassEquality.

A year after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts in May 2004, McGee's wedding to John Finley IV was highlighted in the "Vows" section of The New York Times....

Known for his shock of platinum hair, McGee was named one of The Boston Globe's 25 most stylish Bostonians in November. In the article, he described his style as "traditional, but it's also subversive and ironic."

"Traditional," but "subversive." Sort of like married men engaging in steam-room hook-ups?

Good thing Carl McGee isn't running for office. We're reminded of the famous quotation by former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, who once boasted that he couldn't lose an upcoming election unless he was "caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

Update: Just a reminder that these are obviously mere allegations. Sources mentioned in the Globe article said they "were stunned by the news of McGee's arrest and said they do not believe the charges." One colleague of McGee told the paper, "I know it didn't happen."

Further Update: Best comment thus far, from an observant, Spanish-speaking reader: "He was arrested for blowing a 15 year old in... huhuhuh... Boca Grande..."

Key aide to Patrick accused of sex assault [Boston Globe]
John Finley IV and Stan McGee [New York Times]

Yesterday the D.C. office of WilmerHale made its bonus announcement. Here's a summary from a source at the firm:

The bonus memo came out today. Yay! Salaries are the same. For the class of 2006, the hours guideline for bonuses is:

Hours Bonus
1,850 $15,000
2,000 $35,000
2,200 $40,000
2,400 $45,000

Management gave the caveat that bonuses were awarded for 1,850 hours only in some cases, basically for practices that were slow in which 2,000 hours could not be billed. The firm repeated that it expects lawyers to bill 2,000 hours per year (including pro bono).

If you have info on other classes, feel free to send it our way by email.

Update: A second source confirms the numbers above for first-year associates, and adds: "This was conveyed in personal letters stating our salary and bonus levels. New associates who started in the fall received prorated bonuses."

Sorry, we don't have any memo (and we don't know if there will ever be one). But we can confirm for you that the New York office of WilmerHale announced bonuses yesterday.

We've been informed that the bonuses are at market levels (year-end and special). The announcement was made yesterday at a live meeting.

One tipster tells us that making the announcement at a meeting, rather than via memo, is firm tradition. But taking the meeting route does lend itself to this speculation:

I can only imagine WilmerHale didn't distribute memos because they don't want to create enmity in their DC/Boston offices.

The D.C. and Boston associates are going to find out anyway. So why not bite the bullet, and make a firm-wide announcement (a la Sidley)?

Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch 2007 archives (scroll down)

When we previously wrote about author-turned-lawyer Elizabeth Wurtzel, whom we honored as a Summer Associate of the Day, you had some strong reactions. Now Ms. Wurtzel, a Yale Law School student who summered at WilmerHale, is in the news once again. We expect no shortage of reader opinions.

Wurtzel is the subject of a generally flattering profile in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times. It's quite interesting; read it in full here. This struck us as the money quote (quite literally):

Although Ms. Wurtzel received a $500,000 advance for her second book, “Bitch” (and half of that for “More, Now, Again”), she took out loans to pay for her education. Yale’s law school tuition this year is $43,750.

“I’m badly in debt,” she said. “It’s got to be in the six figures.” Ms. Wurtzel has until Nov. 15 to take up WilmerHale’s job offer. She also has an essay collection in the works but no publisher yet.

We realize cocaine is expensive, but we still don't understand how authors can blow (haha) through six-figure advances so quickly. What next? Will Jessica Cutler, who recently declared bankruptcy, matriculate at Harvard Law School?

Discussion resumes after the jump.

Toe up, that is. After our recent post about WilmerHale having "issues," multiple sources wrote in to tell us that the firm's Baltimore office is closing, effective January 1, 2008.

Once again, the firm ignored us did not respond to our request for comment (which we, like Robert Novak, don't like very much). If you have more information, about the Baltimore office closing or any other WilmerHale developments, feel free to email us.

Here are two comments that caught our eye in the last WilmerHale thread:

"the original post about the WH employee with cancer is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. this story is not a fabrication. this person DEFINATELY [sic] exists, is back at work, in a different dept, different job. for all of you who dont believe this story, pull your head out of your a***s. wcp has gone to hell, a f*cking billable hr GULAG...."

"WH is a billable hours hell, however the summer associates get wined and dined all summer, boat trips, KenCen, pool parties at partners' houses, free lunches, breakfast sessions, receptions, goodie bags full of WH items. You name it. The support staff that babysits them all summer get diddly. The personality of WCP has changed 180 degrees since merger with H&D, and not for the good. Morale among the worker bees (support staff) is lower than snake s**t. They're even asking long time partners to leave, for whatever reason. WCP used to be based in Washington, now takes orders from the Boston office of H&D....."

A billable hours "gulag" or "hell"? Times sure have changed from the 1930s! Back then, attorneys at WH predecessor firms worked under 1,500 hours a year (but for starting salaries of $1,200). See here.

Attorney Working Hours and Salaries [RumorsDaily.com]

Earlier: What's Up With WilmerHale?

Some time ago, we received this interesting tip, about WilmerHale (in D.C.):

WH continues to go downhill. Why is it that no one ever seems to write or care about this?

I'm an associate and treated fairly well. But the support staff receives brutal treatment. I heard that one of our HR people who almost died of cancer this spring was told that the firm couldn't accommodate her disability because it didn't make "good business sense." She has been here for 13 years, [with] excellent evaluations, and has been fighting for her life. Now she has to fight for her job when her doctor says she still is disabled. She [was] given six weeks by our Chief Human Resources Officer to come back full-time. After one week she was demoted and given no particular reason why.

It won't be long before they treat the rest of us the same way. By the way, lawyers and staff alike continue to leave in droves. Does anyone care that a Washington institution has crumbled into hubris and greed?

The firm did not respond to our inquiry into this item. If you have more info, feel free to email us.

A little more about WilmerHale, including some happy news, after the jump.

Our series on the perks or fringe benefits of large law firm life has become somewhat sporadic, partly because we've covered so many of the biggies. To review our past posts, click here, and scroll down.

Today's perk: prizes for big billers. If you really kill yourself during a particular month, racking up 250 or 300 hours on some monster deal or litigation, do you get rewarded for it? Of course you might see your crazy hours reflected in your year-end bonus check. But might you get some other, non-monetary benefit? (And we're not counting being able to show up after 10 on the morning after an all-nighter.)

We don't know if this policy still exists, but a source sent us this interesting information:

When I was at Clifford Chance (f/k/a Rogers & Wells), a legacy Rogers & Wells program was that if you billed 250 in a month, the firm covered dinner for you and a guest (spouse, date, friend, etc...) with no questions asked. It was an amazing program. Historically, the Firm had no limit, but assumed associates would "just exercise the judgment expected of them."

It worked for years until a few "exceptions" decided to add very, very expensive bottles of wine to their orders. I think eventually the limit was set at $500. I know more than a handful of "superstars" tanked their careers by "not exercising the judgment expected of them" and submitting dinner bills for several thousands of dollars.

Anyone know if Clifford Chance still has this special dinner benefit?

We also hear that at WilmerHale, "super-super high billers" get vacation vouchers. Can anyone confirm and/or provide more details?

Update/Correction: Or maybe the WilmerHale workaholics get gift cards? See this comment.

Please discuss, in the comments. Thanks!

We're bummed that we can't write this week about the groom who arranges music for Yo-Yo Ma and Jay-Z. Or the one who's associate counsel for the NBA.

But lawyer-lawyer couples abound, and we know those are the pairings ATL readers crave. Here are our finalists:

1. Lisa Kutlin and Alexander Goldenberg

2. Shauna Burgess and Jonathan Friedman

3. Elizabeth Frieze and Matthew Prasse

More about these legal lovebirds, after the jump.

Since our last two threads on Vault 100 law firms have generated healthy (and generally enlightening) discussion, we'll continue to move on down the list.

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

11. Kirkland & Ellis LLP (7.492)
12. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (7.468)
13. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (7.444)
14. Shearman & Sterling LLP (7.240)
15. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (7.237)

Please discuss them in the comments. Thanks.

The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]

Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10

Here are two updates about clerkship bonuses (a subject of interest to a limited group of readers -- but those who care REALLY care):

1. Willkie Farr & Gallagher: The rumor that Willkie pays a $50,000 clerkship bonus has been confirmed. We understand this applies to both New York and Washington.

2. Akin Gump: In New York, the firm pays a $50,000 clerkship bonus. (We don't know what they do in other offices.)

In addition, one tipster calls out WilmerHale for, well, trying to pull a Latham.

If you'd like to know why WilmerHale's $35,000 clerkship bonus may not truly be a $35,000 clerkship bonus, read the rest of this post, after the jump.

Today's Washington Post has a great article, by Ian Shapira, about the adventures of summer associates here in the nation's capital. This is our favorite part (emphasis added):

[B]udding lawyers say they spend much of their office time looking for better deals. They peruse such Web sites as Above the Law, a must-read legal blog written by David Lat, a former federal prosecutor in Newark and former co-editor of the Wonkette politics and media blog.

One of Above the Law's scoops this month was headlined "WilmerHale Summers: Where's Our Raise?" The blog published an e-mail from an anonymous summer associate in the Boston office who complained that the summers weren't getting the customary pro-rated weekly equivalent of first-year associates. Instead of about $3,100 a week ($160,000 a year), the tipster wrote, they were getting only $2,800 (about $145,000 a year).

More discussion of this delightful piece, after the jump.

From ESPN.com (gavel bang: commenter):

In another [Michael] Vick-related matter, the quarterback's camp has begun interviewing candidates to beef up his legal defense team in the event he goes to trial [on federal charges of conspiracy related to an alleged dogfighting venture].

Vick's longtime personal attorney, Lawrence Woodward, is expected to remain part of the defense team, but advisors have urged that the Falcons star consider adding counsel with experience in the federal courts.

The Vick camp has solicited recommendations and is believed to have interviewed at least one prominent defender from the prestigious Washington, D.C., firm of Wilmer Hale.

And from a second commenter:

WilmerHale for Vick? Wow, doesn't seem like a dog-fighting defense shop. They do white collar defense, but that's a different ball game. From their website: "We have defended clients against allegations of insider trading; securities, healthcare, accounting and government contracts fraud; criminal antitrust violations; money laundering; and alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other statutes."

So, any speculation as to which WilmerHale lawyer is being considered by Team Vick? Or a recommendation of a top "dog-fighting defense shop" for the embattled sports star?

NFL, Falcons could ask Vick to focus energies in court [ESPN.com]

Are WilmerHale summer associates missing out on the salary bump? Wilmer recently raised first-year salaries to $160,000, and you'd think the firm's summers would be earning that salary as well. But maybe not. Here's a disgruntled e-mail from a current WilmerHale summer:

I hope that this is tip-worthy - because it certainly is a topic of hot discussion amongst the Boston summers I know, and I'm curious what is going on at other firms... So here goes:

So I am a summer associate at WilmerHale in Boston. And as abovethelaw knows, after the big, drawn out jumping-of-Boston-firms to match Ropes at 160,000, Wilmer finally caved and went up as well. Now, for whatever reason, the general consensus among the summers is that we've been led to believe that the salary hike for associates applies to the weekly rate that summers are paid as well (meaning we should be getting 3100 per week). Wilmer said that the salary raise was effective June 1st.

Lo, however, the WilmerHale Boston summers have received 2 paychecks since then, and both have continued paying the 2800 a week.

More analysis from our WilmerHale contact, after the jump.

We reiterate last year's request for funny or interesting stories about summer associates. We'll use them for our new feature, Summer Associate of the Day. Like ATL's Lawyer of the Day and Judge of the Day columns -- which may be somewhat misnamed, since they don't appear daily, but whatever -- we're most interested in people making damn fools of themselves.

For today's Summer Associate of the Day, though, we're going for "notable" rather than "embarrassing." From a source:

Judging from your recent post on Shane Chase, it appears you may have a soft spot for interesting or controversial summer hires.

How's this? The New York office of WilmerHale has hired Elizabeth Wurtzel as a summer associate. You may remember her as the controversial author of Prozac Nation and Bitch, as well as a former music critic/wild card for The New Yorker and New York Magazine. She's also a looker -- see here. She's at Yale, almost 40 now, and still looks as good.

Who knows, maybe she'll use Wilmer for fodder for another article/book!

Indeed. Prozac Law Firm, anyone? It seems that commenter WilmerNY could use some antidepressants.

Or maybe Wurtzel could pen a sequel to her 1998 book, Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women? The world of Biglaw should provide ample fodder.

Elizabeth Wurtzel [Wikipedia]

Earlier: Low-Hanging Fruit: Summer Associate Stories, Please

We've confirmed with sources here in DC that WilmerHale has raised associate base salaries in its Washington office. Associates were notified individually earlier this afternoon. Accordingly, there was no memo. (But if we're wrong about that, or if a memo later materializes, please send it along.)

Because associates received individual notification, we don't have salary numbers for all classes. But the sources we've spoken with have provided us with figures for their class years that are consistent with the $160K scale. So it's safe to assume that WilmerHale in Washington is now on par with the two D.C. firms that previously raised: Akin Gump and Hogan & Hartson.

WilmerHale's move leaves Arnold & Porter and Covington & Burling as the most prominent members of the DC List of Shame. Feel free to add others in the comments.

We don't have confirmation for raises at WilmerHale in Boston yet. But rumor has it that (1) WilmerHale has raised in Boston too, and (2) the pay raise is effective June 1.

Please send us any additional details by email. Thanks.

In the comments to our last post on clerkship bonuses, there was a claim that WilmerHale has raised its clerkship bonus to $35,000.

That claim is true. This email went out yesterday:

From: Dunbar, Andrianna
Date: Apr 19, 2007 5:52 PM
Subject: Clerkship Bonus Update
To:

As part of our commitment to providing attorney compensation that is at or near the top of the markets in which we practice, the firm has increased its judicial clerkship bonus from $20,000 to $35,000. This increase reflects the value the firm places on hiring former judicial clerks, as well as our intention to continue to attract the best and the brightest legal talent. We are committed to making the firm as attractive as possible for former clerks, and we recognize that the amount of the clerkship bonus can be important.

We continue to hope that you will accept our offer to join us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Andrianna

There was also a rumor that Skadden had raised its clerkship bonus to $60,000. As far as we know -- we're happy to be proven wrong -- that comment was a joke (or wishful thinking).

If you hear of anyone else raising -- either to $35,000 or, better yet, $50,000 (the new S&C and Simpson standard) -- please email us. We will probably do an update on this in another week or two, depending upon the level of activity on this front. Thanks.

We've confirmed the fact that Wilmer Hale has raised associate base salaries, in Washington and New York. We don't have a memo, though, because associates received personal latters.

More about what we've learned, plus an open thread for your comments, after the jump.