Associates

How to Tell When It’s Time to Look

Faint praise. Not enough work to do, or a lack of opportunity for advancement. A feeling of sheer misery. All are signs that it’s probably time to look for another position, experts say. “When you’re jumping for joy when the weekend arrives and when you can’t bear the thought of…

Mar 10, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

No Associates at This Law Firm, Just Consultants

A Canadian law firm says it has never has a problem with associates over billable hours requirements. That’s because it has no associates. Instead, Thackray Burgess has “consultants” who hire desk space from the 34-attorney business firm at a cost of $800 per month, and do as much or as…

Mar 10, 2008 3:14 PM CDT

Author to Would-Be Solos: Do It Now

Lawyers who are longing to pursue a solo practice shouldn’t hesitate because of a bad economy, advises an author who is herself a sole practitioner. Current technology makes it easier than ever before for a law firm associate to hang up a shingle and establish an individual law office. Meanwhile,…

Mar 7, 2008 9:43 PM CST

3 Lawyers’ New Gigs: Headmistress, Concrete Worker, Rap Artist

For lawyers unhappy in their current jobs, three recent reports of career changes by successful attorneys might offer some food for thought. Pinney Allen, 54, a top female partner at Alston & Bird, is leaving the firm July 1 to run the Atlanta Girls’ School, according to a Daily Report…

Mar 6, 2008 5:39 PM CST

Amidst Layoffs, Some Law Firms Prosper

Updated: Although some law firms are suffering as a result of the current turmoil in the U.S. economy, others are doing fine. One secret to their success: avoiding hot practice areas that now are not. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s bankruptcy practice, for instance, wasn’t cut when the economy boomed and…

Mar 5, 2008 7:35 PM CST

New Spin on Dechert Layoffs

Today is the deadline for 13 unlucky associates in Dechert’s finance and real estate group to decide whether to accept a severance package or shift to a busier practice area. But even if they opt to stay, the Philadelphia-based international firm is only guaranteeing another two months of employment, according…

Mar 4, 2008 7:09 PM CST

Are Associate Bonuses Counterproductive?

Law firm bonuses are the rule rather than the exception, but one law firm manager tells the Legal Intelligencer he thinks bonuses are counterproductive. Alexander Henderson III, managing partner of Hartman Underhill & Brubaker in Lancaster, Pa., said he doesn’t think its right to reward associates based on the health…

Mar 4, 2008 3:59 PM CST

Dechert to 13 Associates: You’re Fired ... No, You’re Not

Updated: After notifying 13 real estate and finance associates last week that they were being laid off, apparently because of a slowing economy, Dechert has reportedly changed its mind. The 13, who were originally told to depart the Philadelphia-based international firm by the close of business tomorrow, as discussed in…

Mar 3, 2008 7:41 PM CST

Heller’s Associate Bonanza: Bonuses Restored, Training Added at No Charge to Clients

Heller Ehrman has concluded it was wrong to cut some 2007 bonuses to pay for associate salary hikes, and it’s doing something about it. The law firm has announced it will restore 2007 bonuses of $15,000 to $25,000 for 2,000 hours billed, the Recorder reports. The firm had eliminated the…

Mar 3, 2008 12:11 PM CST

Attorney at Loan

Secondment grows in U.S. to link firms, clients

Mar 1, 2008 7:49 PM CST

Dechert Lays Off 13 Associates (But That’s Not the Final Answer)

Updated: In an apparent response to the slowing economy, Dechert has reportedly laid off 13 associates in offices throughout the U.S. They work in the Philadephia-based international firm’s real estate and finance practice, according to the Legal Intelligencer, which attributes the information to an unnamed source. There are 167 attorneys…

Feb 29, 2008 9:31 PM CST

How Big Law Firms Can Retain the ‘Lost Generation’ of Unhappy Associates

Associates at large law firms are a “lost generation” who are given mostly drudge work, face unceasing pressure to produce, and are kept in the dark about firm finances and the broader strategies behind the matters they handle. No wonder some firms are losing as many as half their associates,…

Feb 29, 2008 12:36 PM CST

Associate Who Settled Gay Bias Suit Buys $1.5M Penthouse Condo

The New York associate who filed a gay bias suit against Sullivan & Cromwell has apparently landed on his feet, and he’ll be using them to take the elevator to his new $1.5 million penthouse condo. Charney settled the suit last October for an undisclosed sum. Property records indicate that…

Feb 28, 2008 2:40 PM CST

Law Firm Face Time Still Required, Even in WiFi Era

Despite all the advantages that a state-of-the-art laptop, wireless Internet service and a cell phone can offer, there’s one thing that an associate working remotely for a law firm can’t accomplish. Face time. And, archaic though it might seem to some, the notion that an associate should be sitting at…

Feb 28, 2008 12:39 AM CST

Salary Wars Pit Associate Pay Against Partner Profits

Associate pay hikes have taken a bite out of profits for equity partners, according to some leaders of California law firms. Many large California firms matched their New York counterparts last year and agreed to pay starting salaries of $160,000 to new associates. Something—or more accurately, someone—had to give, the…

Feb 27, 2008 11:31 AM CST