Deferral Stipend

Biglaw

Should Biglaw Deferral Programs Become Permanent?

With apologies to Langston Hughes, we have to ask: What happens to an associate deferred? Does he dry up, like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — and then run? Run, run — away from Biglaw. That seems to be what at least some deferred associates are doing, as reported last […]

Deferral Stipend

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 […]

Deferral Stipend

A ‘Genius’ Use of Deferral Time

A little over a year ago, law firms came up with a unique plan to deal with the problem of too many associates and not enough work to go around: the deferral. It did not apply just to incoming associates; it was also offered up to those already at the firm who were open to […]

Deferral Stipend

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 […]

Deferral Stipend

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 […]

Biglaw

How Many Firms Will Continue To Pay For A Pro Bono Year?

The “pro bono year” is to Biglaw what a “study abroad program” is to most American universities: a time for reflection, exposure to new things, and a more relaxed pace. It was a necessity born of the recession. Firms did not have enough work to go around; they didn’t want to lose perfectly good employees, […]

Blank Rome

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 […]

Deferral Stipend

What’s Up with Winston? An Update

Last week, we took a peek inside the black box of compensation at Winston & Strawn. We also discussed stealth layoffs at the firm. We felt our report was fairly hard-hitting. But one Winston source thinks we didn’t go far enough: In my humble opinion, you weren’t sufficiently critical of Winston. The real message here […]