Lawyer Pay

NY Lawyer Loses $144K Job Over Office Computer and Credit Card Issues

An attorney who made $144,070 a year as deputy commissioner and counsel for the New York Division of Human Rights has lost his job over $530 in charges to a state credit card and use of his office computer for outside legal work. Inspector General Joseph Fisch says attorney Thomas…

Mar 20, 2009 7:24 PM CDT

Commerce Nominee, a Davis Wright Partner, Made $1M in Past Year

Gary Locke, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine who is nominated to become commerce secretary, made more than $1 million in income in the past year, more than half of it from his law firm salary. Locke reports in financial disclosure forms that Davis Wright paid him a salary of…

Mar 20, 2009 1:14 PM CDT

Katten Lays Off 69, Cuts Pay of Associates Low on Billables By 20%

Katten Muchin Rosenman announced today that it is laying off 23 attorneys and 46 staff members. And that’s not all. Among other cost-cutting measures, the firm is reducing by 20 percent the salaries of remaining associates at the Chicago-based international law firm who were 10 percent below the firm’s 2000-hour…

Mar 19, 2009 8:06 PM CDT

Good News: Big Bonuses; Bad News: Salary Freeze, McDermott Announces

Associates at McDermott Will & Emery got both good news and bad news in recent internal announcements. First the good news: Associates remaining at the firm after recent layoffs will be getting big bonuses for their work in 2008. The firm describes them as “in many cases exceed[ing] the market,”…

Mar 17, 2009 10:04 PM CDT

Some Law Firms End Lockstep Pay for Associates, as Economy Plummets

A dismal economy is driving some law firms to take cost-cutting measures that will likely reap big benefits for them in the long run. And eliminating the “medieval” lockstep associate compensation structure, in which all individuals who graduated from law school in the same year are paid the same salary,…

Mar 16, 2009 5:28 PM CDT

Dewey Cuts 66 Partners’ Pay—By As Much as 80 Percent

In a move that may not elicit much pity from lower-paid lawyers, Dewey & LeBoeuf has chopped the pay of 66 partners over the past 15 months, axing it by as much as 80 percent. But that still means the highest-paid among the lower-performing partner group are earning some $25,000…

Mar 14, 2009 12:24 AM CDT

Firm’s Radical Layoff Alternative: Reduced Schedule for All, Including Partners

As other major law partnerships reluctantly make layoffs, a BigLaw firm headquartered in the United Kingdom has come up with an unusual recession alternative. Instead of asking anyone to leave, Norton Rose plans to put everyone at the international firm, including partners, on a reduced schedule for one year, reports…

Mar 12, 2009 6:52 PM CDT

Anger over DLA Piper Layoff Pay: Only 1 Extra Month for UK Volunteers

Lawyers in the London office of DLA Piper who volunteered to walk away from their jobs in exchange for a sweeter severance package are getting only one month’s extra pay. And they and their friends still working at the megafirm aren’t happy about the “voluntary redundancy” package, reports Legal Week.…

Mar 11, 2009 6:40 PM CDT

Chicago Lawyer Makes $75,000, But Worries About Bankruptcy

Aukse Rimas earns about $75,000 a year as a Chicago trial attorney. But “I constantly feel like I am teetering on the edge of falling into the hole of financial ruin,” says Rimas, 29, in a letter to the Chicago Tribune requesting a financial makeover. “If I lose my job,…

Mar 10, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

A Sign of the Decline of Conspicuous Consumption: Lawyer Uses Coupons

Conspicuous consumption appears to be on the decline, at least in Atlanta where social butterflies are wearing older dresses and even lawyers are trying to save money. A story in the New York Times concludes the recession is affecting not only the stock market but also “the very ethos of…

Mar 10, 2009 2:42 PM CDT

Will $144K Become the Norm for BigLaw Associate Starting Pay?

A Chicago legal recruiter says the leaders of several large law firms are considering cutting associate starting pay. The problem, recruiter Kay Hoppe tells the Chicago Tribune, is that no one wants to be among the first to announce pay cuts. “I’ve heard from several chairmen who believe first-years need…

Mar 10, 2009 11:23 AM CDT

Hildebrandt: Cut Associate Salaries Now

“If you don’t cut associate starting salaries now, you are nuts. They were too high. Now we have to pay for it.” Bradford Hildebrandt’s admonition on costly associate salaries was repeated over and over as top law firm management met at Hildebrandt’s Law Firm Leaders Forum in San Francisco last…

Mar 9, 2009 7:17 PM CDT

Extra Layoff Pain for Thacher 1st-Years: Bank Wants Firm Bar Loans Repaid

At many major law firms, new associates get a stipend or a loan to cover their expenses while studying for the bar exam over the summer. At those that treat the money as a loan, it is generally considered a salary advance that first-years pay back over time after they…

Mar 7, 2009 4:11 AM CST

2 Major Law Firms Relay Bad News Today But Avoid Memos, Law Blog Says

Updated: Almost as soon as law firm leaders send out an internal memo about noteworthy management decisions in today’s Internet-oriented world, it is leaked by insiders and widely publicized on the Web. As a result of this Internet news culture, once-confidential information such as the huge number of layoffs being…

Mar 6, 2009 8:15 PM CST

How Much is a Delayed Start Date Worth? Latham: $75K, Lovells: $7K

As a growing number of law firms encourage incoming associates to push back their start dates, some firms also are offering cash to help cushion the financial blow. But exactly how much new attorneys can expect apparently varies considerably. At Latham & Watkins, recent news of huge layoffs—and generous severance…

Mar 5, 2009 11:50 PM CST