Perks / Fringe Benefits
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Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits
Biglaw Associates Offered Work/Life Balance Perks That Go Unused
Are lawyers afraid that they'll be penalized in the future if they take advantage of these reduced-hours policies? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.23.17
* “You have been very much able to avoid any specificity like no one I have seen before. And maybe that’s a virtue, I don’t know. But for us on this side, knowing where you stand on major questions of the day is really important to a vote.” Despite hours of questioning, Senate Democrats were unable to get Judge Neil Gorsuch to commit to any response beyond researched generalities. At this point, his confirmation seems inevitable. [New York Times]
* Sure, Biglaw associates want their firms to be more progressive when it comes to flexible working arrangements, but that doesn’t mean they feel comfortable taking advantage of the programs being offered. Per a survey conducted by the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance, only 8.8 percent of lawyers at firms with reduced hours policies actually work reduced hours. We’ll have more on this later today. [Big Law Business]
* Is this the end of the Swiss verein? While the legal structure has been adopted in almost every major cross-border law firm merger in recent memory, both of the last two transatlantic Biglaw tie-ups opted to use an entity called the company limited by guarantee (CLG). Apparently this legal structure is being favored for new law firm combinations because there are still questions about vereins’ proper use. [Am Law Daily]
* Dean Alex Acosta of Florida International University School of Law, a man who is better known these days as Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of Labor, not only says the fiduciary rule requiring retirement investment advisers to put their clients’ interest first goes too far, but indicated that he may decline to defend a rule doubling the salary ceiling under which employees would be eligible for overtime pay. Ouch. [Reuters]
* Now that Harvard Law has decided to accept applicants’ GRE scores in lieu of their LSAT scores for admissions purposes, other law schools have decided to try the alternative exam on for size. Suffolk Law, for example, launched a study last week and offered students $100 to take the GRE. Suffolk’s dean says that “the mad dash for the GRE is not being driven by declines in applications.” Bless your heart. [Boston Globe]
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Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits
More Biglaw Firms Join The Future Of Law Practice By Offering Telecommuting Programs
This isn't just a nice perk for associates; it's beneficial to their firms as well.
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Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits
Another Biglaw Firm Jumps On The Telecommuting Bandwagon
This isn't just a nice perk for associates; it's beneficial to the firm as well. -
Biglaw, Pregnancy / Paternity
Wow! Biglaw Firm Offers Parents MORE Pay For Doing LESS Work
Which firm is offering this outstanding benefit? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.16.16
* Many Biglaw firms have raised their salary scales, but that’s not all they’ve done in recent months to attract talent. Considering “the war for talent is intensifying,” firms are offering perks like generous parental leave and adoption assistance, student loan assistance, and lifestyle benefits. We may have more on this later today. [Big Law Business]
* A former deputy prosecutor in Vermont alleges she was paid less than a man working in the same position. She claims that a male attorney who was hired after she was earned a salary that was 26 percent higher than her own, despite the fact that they “performed equal work that required equal skill, effort, and responsibility.” [Burlington Free Press]
* The bulk of insider trading cases used to be handled by the SEC through civil suits, but now the DOJ has muscled in on the action with criminal prosecutions. What’s the difference between a case that merits a civil suit and a case that results in criminal charges? That’s what attorneys are trying to figure out. [DealBook / New York Times]
* “I think there’s a deep skepticism about the value of these programs.” Looking for a law degree as a professional that won’t set you back too far in terms of cost? Try a master’s of jurisprudence on for size. It’s considered law school for non-lawyers, and it might make actual lawyers question the validity of the degree in the first place. Hmm… [Marketplace]
* If you’re a prospective law student working on an application, it may be wise to try to incorporate a summer internship into your personal statement if it helped shape your desire to pursue a career in law, but remember, “there’s no magic internship that’s going to get someone admitted into law school.” [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
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Biglaw, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Learning To Live Without The Biglaw Perks
At a small law firm, all you need is yourself, your legal skills, and your clients. -
Biglaw, Money, Student Loans
Biglaw Firm Ponies Up Cold, Hard Cash To Help Associates Repay Law School Loans
This firm isn't just providing options and info; it's giving associates direct financial support for servicing loans. - 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
Cleary Gottlieb Matches Cravath Scale... Or Maybe Beats It?
Is this better than a raise? -
Bar Exams, Biglaw
Biglaw Firm Increases Cash For First-Year Bar Stipend Ahead Of Summer Exam
How much money is this firm offering to incoming attorneys? -
Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits, Pregnancy / Paternity
Biglaw Firm Makes Big Waves With Gender-Neutral Parental Leave Policy
Wow! The babies of Biglaw attorneys extend their thanks. -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Money
Pigs Slaughter You
In-house columnist Mark Herrmann identifies the costs of piggishness. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.22.16
* WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN THIS JURY’S PUNITIVE DAMAGES AWARD RUNS WILD ON YOU?!? Gawker was hit with an additional $25M in punitive damages yesterday in Hulk Hogan’s sex-tape lawsuit, on top of the $115M award the jury had already slapped the media company with last week. That loud typing sound you hear is the appeals being furiously written. [Reuters]
* They were gonna grant you leave to file, but then they got high? The Supreme Court has puff, puff, passed on the opportunity to hear a challenge posed by Nebraska and Oklahoma to Colorado’s legalization of marijuana. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented, contending that the case fell within the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction. [NPR]
* This took longer than the iOS 9 download: Hot on the heels of the announcement of new Apple products, we got the news that the tech giant and its rival, Samsung, will face off next term before SCOTUS in a patent case that’s been going on since the iPhone 4 was still considered the latest and greatest in smartphone technology. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “Once you start seeing leading law firms offering this, it’s going to become more prevalent and pretty rapidly, because it’s going to be required to compete.” Lawyers with law school debt will probably jump at the chance for their firms to pitch in to repay their loans, but don’t forget, all of that assistance will be taxable as income. [U.S. News]
* “My job is to enforce the law, and starting today, DraftKings and FanDuel will abide by it.” In a settlement reached with New York AG Eric Schneiderman, the
sports bettingdaily fantasy sites will cease operations in the state, and in exchange, the AG will hold off on additional litigation that could force them to pay restitution to their losers. [ESPN]
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Biglaw, Rankings
Which Biglaw Firms Are The Best Places To Work?
Which firms had pay that was high enough, perks that were good enough, and environments that were nurturing enough to make the cut? -
Biglaw
Another Firm Offers Unlimited Vacation For Associates
The new "take all the time you need" vacation model sounds great on paper, but is there a cynicism behind it? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.29.15
* Everyone was under the impression that Dickstein Shapiro and Bryan Cave would be tying the knot by the year’s end, but instead, it looks like their brief love affair has turned into a bad romance. Oh no! Will Dickstein Shapiro be left at the altar? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* “The idea they own the name ‘blue’ for a manual for legal citations is ridiculous.” A rival citation guide to The Bluebook will be released in 2016, using the name “BabyBlue.” Since a Biglaw IP attorney is involved in the copyright clash, this is already more exciting than techciting. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Ethan Couch, the Texas teen who was too rich to realize his actions had consequences, was apparently also too rich to realize he shouldn’t hide out in a ritzy vacation locale in Mexico while on the run from police with his mother. Damn you, affluenza! [CNN]
* If you’re looking for a law firm where you can take time off whenever you want and still earn a healthy paycheck, then look no further than Ashton KCJ Lawyers in England. That’s a perk we’re sure attorneys in the U.S. would love their firms to adopt. [Mirror]
* Annie, get your gun: Gun-toting Texans are going to have a very happy new year, because come January 1, 2016, the state’s new open carry law will go into effect. The open carrying of handguns had previously been banned in the state since 1865. [RT]
* Jeffrey Feulner, founder of the Men’s Divorce Law Firm, was charged with domestic violence battery after he allegedly attacked his wife. She filed for divorce three days later — and presumably used a more woman-friendly lawyer as counsel. [Orlando Sentinel]
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Biglaw, Health Care / Medicine
Leaked Memo: Which Biglaw Firm May Bar Some Attorneys From Insurance Coverage?
Today, we can add one more firm to the growing list of legal employers where workers feel they've been wronged by management in terms of their insurance coverage. -
Biglaw, Health Care / Medicine
Biglaw Compensation Leader Makes Costly Changes To Its Health Insurance Plan
Is your firm planning to institute serious changes to its health insurance plan in 2016? -
Biglaw
Sullivan & Cromwell Scales Back Vacation, Caps Overtime Dinners In Leaked Memo
When cutting costs, this Biglaw behemoth took aim at associates. -
Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits, Summer Associates
Summer Associate Perk Watch: A Warm Welcome At MoFo
What's your firm doing to show its love for summer associates?