Money
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Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Media and Journalism, Money, SCOTUS, SCOTUS Clerks Are Fair Game, Skaddenfreude, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerk Bonuses to $250K?
In our recent New York Times op-ed piece praising lavish signing bonuses for Supreme Court clerks, we wrote that the bonuses “are expected to reach $250,000 this year — paid on top of starting salaries approaching $200,000.” Some people have inquired into the factual basis for our statement. As it turns out, we did some […] -
Federal Judges, Money
Skaddenfreude: Chief Justice to $318,200?
One legal employer is pondering a hike in base pay from just over $165,000 to nearly $250,000: the United States courts! A bill, co-sponsored by Senators Feinstein, Graham, Hatch, McConnell, and Reid, would set judicial pay at the following levels: District Court Judges: $247,800 Court of Appeals Judges: $262,700 Associate Justices of the Supreme Court: […] - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Money, Skaddenfreude
Clerkship Bonus Watch: What's Up With Shearman?
A reader e-mails: please do a post of shearman’s pathetic clerkship bonus, currently at $15,000!!!!!!! Okay, you got our attention with the seven exclamation points. Lat posted a clerkship bonus List o’ Shame last week that featured the top firms below the new standard of $50k: 1. Wachtell ($0) 8. Latham ($35k) [see update on […]
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India, Money
Whiners Without Borders: Lawyers Complain Around the Globe
Yet another article on unhappy lawyers: This time it’s from the UK, where it seems the legal profession has lost its “lustre.” Nearly a quarter of you want to quit. In a desperately competitive recruitment market, that’s just about the last thing law firm managers need to hear. Shocking? Yes. Not many apparently sought-after professions […] -
Biglaw, Money, Summer Associates
WilmerHale Summers: "Where's Our Raise?"
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 […] -
Biglaw, Crowell & Moring, Money, Skaddenfreude
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: More Announcements, and Weekend Open Thread
Thanks for your responses to our recent call for memos. Here are two more firms that have announced associate pay raises: 1. Crowell & Moring: Starting salaries to $160,000, effective August 1. Minimum billables to 1900 hours, effective September 1. Associates who do not wish to meet the new minimum are invited to reach “alternative […] -
Biglaw, Howrey LLP, Money, Skaddenfreude, Weirdness
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: More About the Howrey Weirdness
Back on Wednesday, we reported that Howrey LLP plans to chuck lockstep compensation for its associates. Starting in 2008, the firm will employ a “competency model,” in which it would “determine salary based on individual evaluations and various forms of progress indicators.” Today our scoop was picked up by The Recorder (and then by the […] -
Biglaw, Cheapness, LeBoeuf Lamb, Money, Skaddenfreude
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: A Few More Memos
A quick reminder: We want your memos. We hear rumors of associate pay raises at particular firms all the time, but we generally don’t treat the news as official until we see a memorandum (assuming there is one). Please send them to us by email. We reprint below two memos that arrived in our inbox […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Pittsburgh
We thought we were done with our series of posts profiling various “secondary” legal markets. But then several of you reminded us about Pittsburgh. So sure, Pittsburgh. From a recent Pittsburgh Business Times article: [S]tarting pay for law school graduates entering the local work force is increasing this year…. Pitt grads joining Morgan Lewis & […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner
Thelen Reid Associates: On the Trail of Tiers
We recently wrote about the two-tier associate compensation system just announced by Thelen. Associates who work 2,000+ hours a year are paid on the $160,000 scale, while associates who work less remain on the old $145,000 scale. Sounds sensible and fair, right? Well, maybe not so much. What if you WANT to be on the […] -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Money, Skaddenfreude
Clerkship Bonus Watch: Latham & Watkins Joins the $48,333 Club
Before those big Supreme Court opinions start drifting in, let’s put in a quick word about clerkship bonuses. As several commenters suggested yesterday, we contacted Latham & Watkins to find out about their clerkship bonus policy. We confirmed that the firm effectively pays a clerkship bonus just shy of $50,000, which does not vary depending […] -
Biglaw, Howrey LLP, Money, Skaddenfreude, Weirdness
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Howrey Is Planning Something Weird
As associate salaries climb (further) into the stratosphere, will firms start experimenting with different compensation schemes? Is lockstep compensation for associates headed for the dustbin of history? As we mentioned yesterday, Thelen Reid just moved to a two-tier system. And now we’re hearing that Howrey LLP may have something odd up its sleeve. Today the […] -
Biglaw, Money, Partner Profits, Skaddenfreude
Skaddenfreude: Life Is Good in Miami
We’re more or less done with our series of posts profiling various “secondary” legal markets. We thought about putting up the Portsmouth thread that some trolls commenters have been demanding, but we decided against it after reading this. So now we’re going to loop back to a city that we previously covered, to wit, Miami. […]
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
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Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls.
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Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Money, Skaddenfreude, Willkie Farr
Clerkship Bonus Watch: Covington (New York), Willkie, and a List of Shame
Some good news for law clerks heading to the New York office of Covington & Burling after their clerkships. A source at the firm directed us to check out this updated section of their website: We reward judicial clerks who come directly to the firm following their clerkship(s) with credit for purposes of both salary […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Thelen Reid, and A Tale of Two Tiers
Associates at Thelen Reid were clamoring for a post shining the spotlight on their firm. Here are some representative emails: “Since your posting on Bingham worked so well, how about starting one on Thelen? The silence from OTC [Office of the Chair] is deafening, and people are super-disgruntled.” “We’ve waited long enough here, and they […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Texas, Take Two
We did a post on associate salaries in the Texas markets last month. But since a number of you have been clamoring for another, and we haven’t done one as part of our recent series on various non-New York markets, here’s another post going out to the Lone Star State. In our last Texas post, […] -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Money, Skaddenfreude
Clerkship Bonus Watch: Debevoise Joins the $70K Club
Good news for clerks with offers from Debevoise & Plimpton: the bonus is no longer flat. Debevoise is joining the $70K Club for two-year clerks. The announcement email appears after the jump. -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
National Pay Raise Watch: Portland
To wrap up the week, we stay in the West and move up the coast to Portland, Oregon. Portland is the nation’s 23rd largest city, and probably the greenest one. We hear the quality of life is pretty good, but what about the money? This comes from a February New York Times article: Holland & […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
National Pay Raise Watch: Perkins Coie to $160k in California
Perkins Coie is raising to market in California, with a catch. To get the raise, associates must 1) be “on pace” of 1900 hours; and 2) have “no outstanding timesheet penalties.” The memo’s after the jump. -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
National Pay Raise Watch: California
From Vegas we take a short drive through the desert into the beautiful state of California. Since Los Angeles, San Francisco and Silicon Valley are regularly covered on ATL, this open thread will be for the rest of California: San Diego, Sacramento, or any other not-regularly-covered market in the Golden State that you care to […]