Efficiency rather than billable hours will be used to evaluate associates at this large law firm

The nearly 300 associates at Jackson Lewis will no longer be evaluated based on billable hours. Beginning next year, the firm will instead evaluate associates based on efficiency, client service, responsiveness, team-orientation and pro-bono commitment, the Am Law Daily reports. A few years back, the law firm required associates to…

Nov 18, 2014 7:06 AM CST

Law schools dominate list of grad schools with highest-earning alumni; Santa Clara makes top 10

Updated: Harvard Law School graduates earned the highest median salaries among graduate-school alumni at the midpoint of their careers, according to a website that asks users to reveal their pay in return for seeing how they compare to others. At the midpoint of their careers, Harvard law grads earned $201,000,…

Oct 22, 2014 7:24 AM CDT

Former Holland Knight partner sues over alleged $1.5M underpayment

A former senior partner at Holland & Knight claims in a lawsuit that the law firm owes him $1.5 million because it underpaid him for his work after attempting to change his partnership agreement. The Sept. 23 suit (PDF) by Charles Gibbs, 80, says his pay should have been governed…

Oct 16, 2014 11:20 AM CDT

Change in BigLaw ranks leads to shrinking prevalence of $160K starting pay

Coveted starting salaries of $160,000 for associates were prevalent at large law firms in 2009, when nearly two-thirds of BigLaw starting salaries were at that level. The pay picture is quite different in 2014. Now, only 27 percent of the starting salaries paid by large law firms are at $160,000,…

Oct 9, 2014 9:10 AM CDT

Did law grad make the wrong choice? Her $300K in education debt easily fails ROI calculation

Lisa K. graduated from Pepperdine law school, but she easily flunks the return-on-investment calculation. Forbes tells Lisa’s story in a two-part article (here and here) that explains how to calculate whether grad school is worth the investment. The 39-year-old woman racked up more than $300,000 in student debt getting a…

Oct 1, 2014 7:15 AM CDT

After playing his ACES, GC Jeffrey Carr sits out a round

Oct 1, 2014 2:50 AM CDT

Ex-judge likely headed to prison is expected to get pension of up to $150K annually

A Nevada judge agreed to give up his seat on the bench and his law license last week when he took a plea in a federal wire fraud conspiracy case. But Steven Jones will retain his pension, because there is no provision under Nevada state law for forfeiture, writes a…

Sep 25, 2014 1:25 PM CDT

Law firm sues ex-partner, says he billed client for $2.3M in fictional work

A New York law firm sued a former partner Tuesday, contending that he billed a corporate client $2.3 million over an eight-year period for “nonexistent work on cases that had already been terminated and/or never existed.” David Denenberg also sought reimbursement for $800,000 in nonexistent expenses, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron…

Sep 23, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Equity partner pay continues to grow, while nonequity pay is almost flat, survey says

Average pay for equity partners has risen by $160,000 since 2010, compared to a boost of just $2,000 for nonequity partners during that period. The average yearly compensation for equity partners is $971,000 compared to just $338,000 for nonequity partners, according to the survey of partners at larger law firms…

Sep 17, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

A lawyer’s value, hour by hour

Sep 1, 2014 8:10 AM CDT

Foley partner who claimed bias because of lesser pay loses in 6th Circuit

A Foley & Lardner partner who claimed discrimination because he was paid less than minority, female and younger partners has lost his federal appeal. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Raymond Carey on Monday, the National Law Journal reports. The opinion (PDF) said Carey did not…

Aug 26, 2014 12:26 PM CDT

Diamond McCarthy files clawback suit against firm’s own ex-partner, over $1.4M Dreier trustee fee

A legal partnership known for its work in high-profile law firm bankruptcy cases has now filed a clawback suit against one of its own ex-partners. Diamond McCarthy says Sheila Gowan is contending, in contravention of the firm’s partnership agreement, that she is entitled to a $1.4 million fee for her…

Jul 21, 2014 5:10 PM CDT

Cahill Gordon announces summer bonuses of $5K to $15K

BigLaw associates expect bonuses at the end of the year, but summer bonuses can be a pleasant surprise. Now that a major New York-based law firm has announced that it will pay midyear bonuses, however, other BigLaw associates will be hoping their employers follow suit, says Above the Law. Cahill…

Jul 10, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Lawmaker lied to FBI about son’s law firm job, feds say; did lobby group fund son’s $50K raise?

A powerful longtime New York state lawmaker was federally indicted Tuesday on a single count of making false statements to the FBI concerning a job prosecutors say he helped his son get with a well-known Westchester County attorney’s law firm. Sen. Thomas Libous, 61, who serves as deputy Republican leader,…

Jul 2, 2014 6:25 PM CDT

Is law school like an undervalued stock? Job hunt could be ‘relative cinch’ for class of 2016

Is now a good time to go to law school? A Slate columnist has answered “yes,” at least for those who really do dream of becoming a lawyer, and is backing up his claim with statistics. “Right now, law school looks like a stock that crashed too far after a…

Jul 1, 2014 12:41 PM CDT