Prudent or Plentiful? How Law Firms Decide Year-End Associate Bonuses

Higher associate bonuses came from Cravath Swain & Moore in 2012. Naturally other firms that see themselves–or want to see themselves–as competitors with the Wall Street firm followed suit. For the most part partners and associates are happy with the numbers, guests tell ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward, but there could be big changes in the future.

Dec 3, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Video: Deals Are Back, M&A Partner Says; CFTC Prompts Intrade Shutdown; BigLaw Bonus Time

Editor’s Note: We’re experimenting with using more video on ABAJournal.com and will be bringing you this short weekly legal news brief from Bloomberg Law for the next few weeks. Thanks for the feedback so far. Please note that adding video would not mean eliminating text-based stories. Rather, we’re exploring adding…

Nov 29, 2012 6:19 PM CST

Tis the Season: Skadden and Simpson Thacher Match Cravath Year-End Bonuses of $10K to $60K

Two other major New York-based law firms have followed the lead of Cravath Swaine & Moore, increasing end-of-year bonuses for associates to a range of $10,000 to $60,000. Both Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett made the announcement on Wednesday, reports Reuters. Annual salaries for…

Nov 29, 2012 5:30 PM CST

Attorney Who Gave Up City Job for Kids Forms ‘Top Brain’ Law Firm With Other Stay-at-Home Moms

A former London lawyer who gave up a lucrative legal job in the global financial center after she had her first child is now challenging the traditional idea that skilled corporate attorneys have to work at traditional BigLaw firms if they want a challenging legal career. Eve King joined with…

Nov 27, 2012 7:03 PM CST

Cravath Boosts Year-End Bonuses, Will Pay $10K to $60K; Last Year’s Ceiling Was $37.5K

In happy holiday news for BigLaw associates, Cravath Swaine & Moore announced on Monday that it will pay associates a year-end bonus ranging from $10,000 to $60,000. That’s a substantial increase from last year’s range of $7,500 to $37,500, reported the New York Times’ DealBook blog, which obtained a copy…

Nov 26, 2012 9:44 PM CST

Foundation’s Forgivable Loans to U of Texas Law Profs Draw Fire; Former Dean Got $500K

A program of forgivable loans used to supplement the salaries of some law professors at the University of Texas and a former law dean lacks transparency and should be ended, the general counsel for the UT System and the state attorney general’s office have recommended. Although legal, the loans, which…

Nov 15, 2012 6:42 PM CST

Video: Dramatic Pay Disparity for Non-Equity Partners; Barclays Under Fire; Photos of Ballots Legal?

Editor’s Note: We’re experimenting with using more video on ABAJournal.com and will be bringing you this short weekly legal news brief from Bloomberg Law for the next few weeks. Thanks for the feedback so far. Please note that adding video would not mean eliminating text-based stories. Rather, we’re exploring adding…

Nov 8, 2012 6:45 PM CST

Median GC Compensation Is $1.4M, and the Perks Are Also Decent

General counsel compensation is on the upswing at the same time that in-house lawyers are taking a more strategic role at their companies. The median compensation for surveyed general counsel in the Fortune 1000 is $1.4 million, an increase of 2.4 percent for the respondents who also participated in the…

Nov 8, 2012 12:14 PM CST

Nonequity Partners a ‘Mishmash’ Group; Average Pay Ranges from $1.53M to $100K

The average pay for nonequity partners at 168 of America’s top law firms is about $406,000, but the figure doesn’t tell the whole story. The nonequity partner population is “becoming more and more of a mishmash,” the American Lawyer reports, and that means wide differences in average pay for this…

Nov 6, 2012 2:01 PM CST

Scared to Expand? Experts Offer Hiring Advice in Troubled Times

Podcast transcript: This ABA Journal podcast is brought to you by WestlawNext, the legal research platform chosen by over 40,000 legal organizations for their tradition of editorial excellence combined with the most advanced technology. Learn more at WestlawNext.com. Stephanie Francis Ward: It’s often hard enough to support yourself in a…

Nov 5, 2012 2:30 PM CST

County Attorney Paid $375K to Get Raise After Spat over Merit Increases

The top lawyer in Jefferson County, Ala., won’t have to follow through on his threat to quit after winning a battle over promised merit pay raises for his office. County Attorney Jeff Sewell already was earning $375,000 a year, making him the county’s highest paid employee, Al.com reports. Now he…

Nov 2, 2012 11:37 AM CDT

Biloxi Blues: Legal-Cost Fears Have Victims of the Oil Spill Sliding out of the Middle Class

Nov 1, 2012 10:08 AM CDT

Top 10 UK Law Firms Rake In Nearly Half of BigLaw Revenue, Could Gain Even More via Foreign Growth

The top 10 law firms in the United Kingdom bring in almost half of the income earned by the country’s 100 largest legal shops, and could get an even bigger share of the pie through international expansion. Already, the top 10 bring in around 40 percent of their revenue from…

Oct 29, 2012 4:05 PM CDT

DC Ranks First—and Little Rock, Ark., Ranks Last—in List of Best Cities for Young Lawyers

According to the National Jurist, Little Rock, Ark., is the worst city for young lawyers. The median salary there is $54,000, according to the legal education publication, which gave the former home of President Bill Clinton a culture score of 2.5. National Jurist ranked Washington, D.C., as the best city…

Oct 24, 2012 3:53 PM CDT

Women at Big Firms Make Up 70 Percent of Staff Attorneys, 15 Percent of Equity Partners

A National Association of Women Lawyers survey (PDF) of the country’s largest law firms recently found that 70 percent of the businesses’ staff lawyers were female. However, women only made up 15 percent of the firms’ equity partners. Last year, the Careerist reports, women made up 55 percent of the…

Oct 23, 2012 3:30 PM CDT