A Flush Start

Jan 1, 2008 8:39 PM CST

D.C. Firm Pays New Associates $180K, But No Year-End Bonuses

Washington, D.C., law firm Williams & Connolly will pay first-year associates $180,000 beginning Jan. 1, a sum that is $20,000 more than the typical pay for new lawyers at big law firms in New York. Some but not all of the big D.C. law firms are currently paying $160,000 to…

Dec 19, 2007 1:20 PM CST

‘Lowball’ Bonuses at Some BigLaw Firms?

‘Tis the season for associates at major law firms to receive hefty year-end bonuses. But the BigLaw largesse is more generous at some law firms than others, and a number of associates receiving lesser amounts are not jumping for joy. At least two firms, DLA Piper and McDermott, Will &…

Dec 19, 2007 12:49 AM CST

Boies’ Jamaican Surprise: $168K Starting Pay

A “knowledgeable source” tells the blog Above the Law that Boies, Schiller & Flexner is raising starting pay for associates to $168,000. The pay hike was announced at a firm meeting last weekend in Jamaica, according to the blog. Second-year associates will be paid $180,000, with the amount then increasing…

Dec 14, 2007 12:21 PM CST

Pay Cut for $2M Legal Aid Lawyers

Unlike their American counterparts, some British lawyers make a more-than-comfortable living as legal aid lawyers. Barristers reportedly can earn as much as a million pounds annually—that’s a little over $2 million in U.S. dollars—for defending complex criminal cases. But this cushy situation is about to change, as the Legal Services…

Dec 10, 2007 5:27 PM CST

Wealthy Lawyers Take Social Nosedive

Pity the poor BigLaw partners and other financially successful lawyers. While many have never been richer and remain well-to-do by ordinary standards, they have taken a social nosedive in recent years compared to megabucks private equity investors and hedge fund titans. Although many BigLaw partners are taking home seven-figure profits,…

Dec 5, 2007 6:30 PM CST

Pricey Perks Risk Miami Attorney’s Job

A $300,000 office renovation. A $1,500 lunch tab. Expense-paid staff training trips—to Hawaii and Cancun. No, these aren’t the hallmarks of a successful private-practice law office. They’re some of the expenses run up by Miami City Attorney Jorge Fernandez, who envisions his municipal law office as a “world-class law firm…

Dec 3, 2007 7:38 PM CST

N.Y. Judge Ties Longer Beard to Fatter Paychecks

A New York judge is pledging he won’t shave his beard until the state judiciary gets a pay hike. Acting Judge Philip Straniere of Staten Island points out that judges haven’t had a pay raise for almost nine years, yet they are restricted in the kind of outside work they…

Dec 3, 2007 2:38 PM CST

Lockstep Associate Bonuses Are ‘Absolutely Irrational’

Lawyers at big law firms have a “herd mentality” when it comes to associate bonuses. After Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced “special bonuses” of up to $50,000 for associates—in addition to regular bonuses of up to $60,000—other big law firms quickly fell in line. “Lawyers are smart, but this herd…

Dec 3, 2007 11:31 AM CST

Difficult Choices: World Health, or Type A Person in a Power Suit

The gap between law firm and public interest salaries is growing, posing difficult choices for new graduates of top law schools. The choice becomes all the more important as law students take on increasing debt, the Washington Post reports in a story that focuses on the dilemma facing Beirne Roose-Snyder,…

Nov 30, 2007 12:30 PM CST

Women Lawyers at the Top Earn Significantly Less than Men

A new survey shows “slow progress” for women in the upper echelons of big law firms. The survey (PDF) by the National Association of Women Lawyers finds that only 16 percent of equity partners at large law firms are women, and they earn almost $90,000 less than their male counterparts,…

Nov 29, 2007 12:34 PM CST

Female Partners Strike Out on Own, Cite BigLaw Rate Hikes as Reason

Two former partners at a large San Antonio firm who left to strike out on their own report they’ve been able to retain 90 percent of their clients. Janet L. King and Eileen E. Sommer left Jackson Walker to start King & Sommer to focus on their business and real…

Nov 28, 2007 7:13 PM CST

McDermott Partners to Be Rewarded for Teamwork

Partners at McDermott Will & Emery will get fatter paychecks next spring if they share and refer clients to those in other practice areas of the law firm. Pay for the year will be partly based on factors such as referrals, teamwork, recruitment and mentoring, Legal Week reports. The compensation…

Nov 26, 2007 1:10 PM CST

Assoc. Math Problem: Same Bonus, But Different Amount

A “credit crisis” over associate bonuses reportedly is brewing at a recently merged megafirm, because the two have differing formulas about how they should be calculated. Associates who joined the newly formed Dewey & LeBoeuf from Dewey Ballantine get billable hours credit for client development, reports New York Lawyer (reg.…

Nov 21, 2007 6:20 PM CST

Older Winston & Strawn Partner Settles Pay Suit

A 74-year-old partner at Winston & Strawn has settled his lawsuit that claimed the law firm violated an agreement to exempt him from a firm policy that reduced partner pay after age 65. Terms of the deal, reached shortly before trial, were not released, the New York Law Journal reports.…

Nov 20, 2007 12:33 PM CST