Start Dates

Nationwide Start Date Watch: Who’s Late To The Party?

Which Biglaw firm's incoming associates aren't starting until 2014?

The Great Non-Deferral of 2012

Are start dates for first-year associates at major law firms back to normal, i.e., where they were before the Great Recession? And what about the class sizes for entering associates?

Firms That Are Still Deferring People Into 2012

Biglaw hiring is picking up, but deferrals are not yet a thing of the past. Proskauer is deferring some of its new blood from 2010 to 2012 (don't worry, you're still on stipend), but letting the class of 2011 start on schedule. Foley & Lardner, on the other hand, is pushing its class of 2011 back to 2012 without a stipend -- harsh.

Good News at O’Melveny & Myers

We have recently covered a number of notable partner departures from O’Melveny & Myers. While some of the losses were “not undesired,” as one source put it, others were bad news for OMM. But, in fairness to the firm, there is good news coming out of O’Melveny these days as well. Let’s discuss some of […]

Start Date Open Thread: Return To Normalcy At Many Firms

A couple of weeks ago, we asked for information about start dates at large law firms. The class of 2011 keeps peppering us with emails about when they can show up for work. Happily, we’ve been hearing that most Biglaw firms will have their incoming classes start on time, in September or October. Most of […]

Start Date Open Thread: When Can The Class of 2011 Start Earning?

During the height of the recession in 2008 and 2009, pushing back start dates was all the rage. Biglaw firms got really creative about when they’d allow people to show up for work. Now you’re not going to believe this, but it turns out that refusing to let people show up for work created other […]

Let’s Do This: Deferred (Then Rescinded) Would-Be Associate Sues Firm

This was bound to happen at some point. There have been countless associates who were promised jobs at law firms. They stopped looking for other jobs in reliance on that job offer. Then during the recession they were deferred, or their offers were rescinded. They are the leading citizens of the Lost Generation. Do they […]

DLA Piper Defers Half the Class of 2010 to 2012

DLA Piper recently rejoined the ranks of Biglaw firms paying a $160,000 starting salary. Welcome back to the pack. Unfortunately, some incoming associates hoping to start at DLA will have to wait quite a bit before they are able to cash in on that $160K dream. A tipster reports: DLA Piper just told their incoming […]

Shearman & Sterling Belatedly Sets Start Dates for Deferred Class of 2009

Shearman & Sterling is setting off some fireworks at the start of this Fourth of July weekend. It sent out a memo this morning to its deferred associates from 2009. (Remember them? They got $65,000 last year if they volunteered to go away until September 2010.) The deferred associates expected a letter two months ago […]

Baker & McKenzie Re-Deferrals Turn Into Rescinded Offers

Baker & McKenzie’s incoming class of 2009 can no longer fool themselves. If they haven’t started at the firm by now, they are never going to start. Back in September, we reported that 12 of the 18 members of the 2009 Baker & McKenzie class still waiting to start had been re-deferred until June. At […]

McDermott Will & Emery Converts Three Offers to Discovery Attorneys

In a couple of months, the class of 2012 will embark on its quest to find an elusive Biglaw summer associate gig. But let’s not forget that many in the class of 2009 are still sitting on the sidelines, waiting to start. Most of McDermott Will & Emery’s 2009 class has started already. But last […]

Incoming Bryan Cave Associates: Welcome to 2012.

Do you remember the scene in the Amityville Horror House movie where the toilet says to the family, “Get out”? That seems to be what firms are telling incoming associates when they defer first-years until 2012. Today, we’ve got another firm that has decided to put some of its incoming associates on the long march […]

Dewey & LeBoeuf Has a Backlog of Associates Returning from the Deferral Year

If your firm offered you a “voluntary” deferral option last year, they sure made a lot of promises. Chiefest among them was the understanding that the people who left voluntarily for a year would be able to come back to the firm and resume their Biglaw careers after the deferral. Well, that bond is about […]

Mintz Levin 2012 Deferral Follow Up

When it comes to deferring incoming associates, what is the new normal? A couple of months ago, we reported that Mintz Levin was deferring its class of 2010 associates to 2012. At the time, Mintz Levin didn’t reveal any information about its deferral stipend. Today, tipsters are telling us about the Mintz Levin stipend. Let’s […]

Blank Rome: Indefinite Deferral Isn’t A Subtle Signal

We’ve received tips, texts, and phone calls about Blank Rome. As spring hurtles towards summer, the firm is letting incoming associates know that they won’t be starting any time soon. A tipster reports the firm is “rescinding” offers, but that’s not technically correct: I just heard from a friend that Blank Rome has rescinded offers […]