Lawyer Pay

In Equity Partner Ranks, Men Earn an Average of $87K More than Women

Women lawyers at large law firms earn less than their male counterparts at all levels, but the difference is especially pronounced among equity partners, according to a new survey. On average, women earn $7,000 less in annual pay than men at the associate level, $14,000 less if they are of-counsel,…

Nov 18, 2008 2:50 PM CST

Will Bonuses Be Cut? Cravath and S&C Key to the Answer

Update: Cravath Cuts 2008 Associate Bonuses, Says 2009 Bonuses Could Be Zero Will law firm bonuses be cut for associates this year? The answer could depend on decisions by Cravath, Swaine and Moore and Sullivan & Cromwell. The two law firms are usually the first to announce associate bonuses, setting…

Nov 18, 2008 1:39 PM CST

Glut of Job-Seeking Partners Creates Buyers’ Market for Hiring Firms

Law firms hiring lateral partners are in a buyers’ market that is flooded with lawyers searching for jobs. The result is that some partners can be snapped up at bargain prices, the National Law Journal reports. Lash Harrison, the chairman of 179 lawyer Ford & Harrison, told the publication that…

Nov 17, 2008 2:20 PM CST

UK Lawyer Made $25M in a Year, Now He Is Focus of Legal-Fees Controversy

Representing injured coal miners has proven to be a lucrative practice area for Jim Beresford, 58, and his three-partner law firm. At one point, the head office of the United Kingdom law firm now known as Beresfords Solicitors was shabby building near a Chinese takeout restaurant in Doncaster, in South…

Nov 14, 2008 12:31 AM CST

Legal Futurist: ‘The Party is Now Over’

A futurist argues that the legal profession is about to undergo a “fundamental transformation” in which conventional legal advisers will be much less prominent and legal services will be “commoditized” and delivered more cheaply. The man making the predictions is Richard Susskind, the author of The End of Lawyers? He…

Nov 11, 2008 3:20 PM CST

Dewey & LeBoeuf Tolls Partner Profit Payouts to Build Cash Reserve

A second law firm has temporarily stopped partner profit payouts, and this time the law firm is based in New York rather than London. Partners at Dewey & LeBoeuf have not received monthly profit distributions since August, Legal Week reports. Partners did receive smaller fixed payments during that period, and…

Nov 3, 2008 5:24 PM CST

$100K Associate Bonuses Unlikely to be Repeated, Consultant Says

Associates at big law firms hard-hit by the economic downturn should expect to see lower bonuses this year, according to an attorney compensation consultant. James Cotterman of Altman Weil told the National Law Journal that firms with hard-hit practices in real estate and structured finance are most likely to be…

Oct 31, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Eversheds Eliminates Planned Partner Profit Payouts

In the latest example of law firms battening their hatches to cope with a stormy economy, a major United Kingdom firm is eliminating quarterly profit distributions to equity partners scheduled for November and February. “Eversheds said the unusual move was aimed at encouraging partners to improve lock-up—work in progress and…

Oct 30, 2008 4:36 PM CDT

2 Ga. BigLaw Partners Join No-Frills Firm

As a partner at Hunton & Williams, James Meadows billed his time at $650 per hour. Since moving on Oct. 1 to the no-frills law firm of FSB Legal Counsel, he charges half that amount. But the rate reduction is worth it, because of the flexibility the job offers, he…

Oct 29, 2008 9:59 PM CDT

Study of Mich. Law Grads Finds Lawyer Moms Earn Up to 35% Less

Updated: Lawyer moms earn up to 35 percent less than lawyer dads, according to a study of University of Michigan law grads. Results of the draft study (PDF) found that male law grads who became fathers enjoyed a “daddy bonus” in salaries that were 15 percent to 20 percent higher…

Oct 21, 2008 2:55 PM CDT

Divorcing Lawyer Denied Interim Attorney Fees Because of $200K Salary

A New York judge has cited a New York lawyer’s $200,000 salary as a reason to deny him interim attorney fees during divorce proceedings. The lawyer is a tax associate at a major New York law firm identified as C.K., the New York Law Journal reports. His wife is a…

Oct 21, 2008 12:14 PM CDT

At Least 100 Heller Employees Laid Off on Friday

Updated: Two e-mails were dispatched to Heller Ehrman employees last Friday. One informed the recipients they were being asked to continue working at the law firm, for now. The other had bad news for at least 100 staffers: It was their last day at the firm. Both the Recorder and…

Oct 13, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Lawyers Want More Time, Less Stress, Not More Money

Asked what one aspect of their law practice they would change, if they could, 31 percent of the 300 large law firm and corporate attorneys recently surveyed by Robert Half Legal said they wanted a less stressful work life. And another 30 percent wanted to work fewer hours or increase…

Oct 7, 2008 5:03 PM CDT

Longtime Federal Judge Says Money Motivated Move to Pepper Hamilton

A longtime federal judge in Pennsylvania says he is returning to practice because of the significant difference between judicial and law firm pay. James Giles has left his job as a senior U.S. district judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to return to practice at Pepper Hamilton, where he…

Oct 7, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

Midlevel Minority Associates at Big Law Firms Have More Debt, Lower Bonuses

Midlevel associates at large law firms who are black and Hispanic appear to be at a financial disadvantage, according to a study by the Minority Law Journal. When compared to their white and Asian counterparts, these minority associates have more debt and lower bonuses, the Minority Law Journal reports in…

Oct 1, 2008 12:23 PM CDT