Associates

Judge won’t allow $200 hourly fee for newbie associate who worked on case partly as law clerk

A federal judge in Buffalo, N.Y., has slashed an attorney fee request by nearly $60,000 in a class action filed on behalf of exotic dancers. Chief U.S. District Judge William Skretny cut the fee request for nearly $138,000 to about $79,000, the New York Law Journal reports. The law firm…

Sep 23, 2013 6:43 PM CDT

5-lawyer tech, media and telecom group exits Dow Lohnes for Sutherland Asbill

A five-lawyer group with a tech, media and telecommunications focus has leapt from Dow Lohnes to the Washington, D.C., office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. It includes partners William “Bill” S. Dudzinsky Jr., Michael A. Hepburn and Paul R. Lang; counsel Meredith O’Leary; and senior attorney Andrea Gehman, their new…

Sep 19, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Median BigLaw pay for new associates rebounds to $160,000

Median pay for new associates at large law firms has rebounded to $160,000 after dipping to $145,000 last year. The National Association for Law Placement reported on the figure for first-year associates at firms of more than 700 lawyers in a press release. In these BigLaw firms, salaries of $160,000…

Sep 18, 2013 2:02 PM CDT

To cut costs, cut associates’ billable hours through technology, says Casey Flaherty

Bill Buster

Sep 17, 2013 1:50 PM CDT

Law firm associate disciplined for helping suspended partner practice

When Minnesota attorney Louis A. Stockman had his license suspended last year for client neglect and other misconduct, an associate took over his Duluth law practice. That got attorney Brian Campbell Fischer in ethical hot water, too. In a Friday order he was put on probation for two years by…

Sep 10, 2013 6:05 PM CDT

Shook Hardy OKs $5M settlement with trustee overseeing bankruptcy of convicted ex-client’s company

Shook Hardy & Bacon has not admitted liability. However, the 500-lawyer, Kansas City, Mo.-based law firm has agreed to settle for $5 million a bankruptcy trustee’s civil complaint contending that it and an associate attorney aided and abetted a former client’s violations of federal securities law. The ex-client, Nevin Shapiro,…

Sep 10, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Law firms in the Great Recession: looking for change in all the wrong places

The last decade, particularly the last five years during the Great Recession, have generated tremendous change within law firms. Many long-term partners in large law firms poignantly observe that the firm they joined bears little resemblance to the firm it has become. Most of this change was focused upon internal…

Sep 5, 2013 2:19 PM CDT

Glad to have jobs, midlevel associates in Am Law survey give BigLaw a major thumbs-up

Despite widespread reported discontent about the legal job market and the dubious return a number of law graduates say they are getting from their juris doctor degrees, midlevel associates who have managed to get and keep elite jobs at the nation’s highest-paying law firms say they are happy with their…

Aug 30, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Best way to make partner? Switch law firms first

Is unwavering loyalty to a firm – not to mention work ethic, skill and rainmaking ability – the best way to rise to partnership? An analysis by the Am Law Daily (reg. req.) would suggest that there’s more than one way to climb the ladder. Looking at 50 Am Law…

Aug 23, 2013 10:52 AM CDT

Justice Alito’s son is hired as an associate at Gibson Dunn

The son of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. will be joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as an associate this fall after clerking for a federal appeals judge. Philip Alito was a summer associate at Gibson Dunn in 2011 and a clerk for Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of…

Aug 22, 2013 2:06 PM CDT

See the video: Law firm puts fake associate to work with summer hires, urges actor to stir up office

In what may be the best prank of the season, a Chicago law firm put an actor to work as a purported summer associate among its actual hires during their first week of employment. Partner Jay Edelson tells the ABA Journal the idea was to to help break the ice…

Aug 19, 2013 3:17 PM CDT

New high is reached for Supreme Court clerkship bonuses

U.S. Supreme Court clerks can command bigger-than-ever bonuses when they jump to BigLaw. The new going rate is $300,000, Above the Law reports. The standard last year was $280,000. ATL had already reported that Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden in New York were offering the $300,000 signing bonus. Now the…

Aug 16, 2013 4:54 PM CDT

Greenberg ups first-year pay in 2 offices to $145K from $125K; will competitors follow suit?

Working as a first-year associate in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., offices of Greenberg Traurig just got more rewarding. The firm has increased starting salaries for new attorneys there to $145,000 annually from $125,000, the Daily Business Review reports. Such announcements of pay raises for fledgling legal eagles at…

Aug 13, 2013 6:57 PM CDT

Want associate work with fewer hours? Hundreds seek ‘department attorney’ jobs at Kilpatrick

When an Atlanta recruiter advertised for a new “department attorney” position at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, he received 412 responses on just the first day. The law firm has hired five department attorneys, positions that offer the same work handled by traditional associates, but with a reduced workload of 1,600…

Aug 13, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Day Pitney is laying off 40 attorneys and staff

One of Connecticut’s largest law firms is giving pink slips to nearly 10 attorneys and about 30 staff members. Day Pitney has confirmed the layoffs, explaining in a written statements that “As the legal industry changes, we continue to evaluate and reshape our staff to better align with industry norms…

Aug 9, 2013 11:14 AM CDT