Big Salaries Linked to Big-Name Law Schools; Small Pay Is Larger Reality

Graduates of 58 law schools make average starting salaries of $60,000 or less, a fact ignored by many of the stories touting $160,000 starting salaries at big law firms. Instead, the reality is that there are two classes of law grads, the National Jurist reports: those who earn the big…

Jan 8, 2008 2:39 PM CST

US Firms Lure U.K. Lawyers With $$$

As U.S.-based law firms have battled to establish a significant foothold in London in recent years, their U.K. counterparts have been engaged in similar efforts in New York. But one country is clearly prevailing right now in this ongoing international competition for legal market share, according to the London Times:…

Jan 8, 2008 12:43 AM CST

Legal Careers Lose Their Allure, Drop to Dentistry Status

College grads who want wealth and social status are passing up law and medicine for careers in investment banking. A career at a hedge fund or private equity firm can offer financial rewards that outpace earnings at even the biggest law firms. Partners at the nation’s largest 100 firms made…

Jan 7, 2008 11:52 AM CST

Ex-Partners Claim Boston Firm Manipulated Finances to Cut Payouts

A claim for unpaid compensation by nine former partners of Boston firm Donovan Hatem has resulted in a court order barring a 2007 profit distribution until the dispute is resolved in arbitration. The ex-partners, who left in July to join LeClair Ryan, claim name partner David Hatem manipulated the firm’s…

Jan 3, 2008 12:14 PM CST

Clients May Help End Billing by the Hour

A push by clients may force some law firms to abandon the billable hour, according to an article in Slate. Among the companies pushing for alternative billing arrangements are Cisco, Pitney Bowes and Caterpillar. They favor flat fees and discounts for volume legal work in an effort to control their…

Jan 2, 2008 6:47 PM CST

Good-Looking Lawyers Make More Money, Researcher Says

A researcher studying the impact of beauty has found that good-looking lawyers—like other professionals—make more money than their colleagues with lesser looks. Economist Daniel Hamermesh of the University of Texas based his conclusion on the photographs of graduates of an unnamed law school. Those rated attractive in the photos went…

Jan 2, 2008 2:31 PM CST

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