Lawyer Pay

Duke Ups Ante on Loan-Repay Help for Law Grads Making as Much as $75K

Duke University has announced an expanded program of federal loan-repayment assistance for law graduates in public service positions. Those making as much as $75,000 annually now qualify for help, up from $35,000 previously, reports the Triangle Business Journal. (A sliding scale applies to those earning between $60,000 and $75,000.) And…

May 25, 2010 8:36 PM CDT

Hiring Law Firms Offer ‘Reverse Signing Bonus’ Instead of Guaranteed Minimums

The nation’s most profitable law firms increased their lateral hiring of partners last year, even as they became choosier and stingier. Lateral partner hiring increased by almost 11 percent last year at the nation’s top 200 law firms, the National Law Journal reports, citing figures from its affiliate, the American…

May 13, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Orrick Partner Profits Are Now Secret Under 21st Century Redesign, Firm CEO Says

Updated: In a move intended to help Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe reconfigure its model of success for the 21st century, the law firm has announced that it will no longer publicly report its average profit per partner. “We are not going to participate any longer in the BigLaw derby to…

May 12, 2010 7:29 PM CDT

What Downturn? $1M-Plus Partner Profits the Norm, Outpacing 25 Years of Inflation

Those yearning for the good old days of practice in the nation’s top law firms may not feel the same way about yesteryear’s lower paychecks. In 1985, not a single law firm among the top 50 reported partner profits of $1 million or more, the Am Law Daily reports. Average…

May 12, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Onetime Lawyer for Usher Is Now Collecting Food Stamps

Two years ago, Cliff Lovette was doing legal work for Usher. Now the 54-year-old Atlanta entertainment attorney is practicing law out of his basement and collecting food stamps. At the top of his game, he worked for LeFace Records in Atlanta as senior vice president for business and legal affairs,…

May 7, 2010 11:28 PM CDT

Belt-Tightening Saved BigLaw, and Lateral Hiring Could Boost Its Future

Belt-tightening saved large law firms in the short term, but it may not be enough to shore up profits in the long term, according to a law firm adviser. Law firm leaders will need to begin thinking and acting like CEOs to grow revenue and control costs, according to an…

May 6, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Not-So-Bad News for BigLaw: Small Drop in Head Count, Small Boost in Partner Profits

Things weren’t so bad last year in BigLaw, new financial numbers reveal. Head count at the nation’s top 100 firms dropped by 1,219 lawyers last year, just a 1 percent decline, even as half the law firms increased in size. And profits per equity partner increased slightly, by .3 percent,…

Apr 29, 2010 12:16 PM CDT

Lawyer Takes Pay Cut to Save His Marriage and Help His Epileptic Son

A Fort Worth, Texas, lawyer expects his salary will nearly double after the new federal health insurance law takes effect. Andrew Griffin took a pay cut at the law firm he joined two years ago so he could qualify for health insurance coverage for his epileptic son under a Texas…

Apr 29, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Billionaire Harvard Alum’s Big Bucks to Help 10 Law Grads Get Public-Interest Jobs

A well-known graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School is donating $1 million to the two schools, part of which will fund public-interest jobs for 10 law school alumni. Sumner Redstone, the executive chairman of Viacom Inc., announced the donation and the funding of the 10 Redstone Fellowships for…

Apr 27, 2010 7:26 PM CDT

Law Firms Watch Howrey’s ‘Prescient’ Associate Training, Despite Drag on Profits

Howrey’s profits suffered after it capped billable work for new associates at 700 hours and lowered their billing rates, but that hasn’t stopped other law firms from expressing an interest in the program that pays less and trains more. Howrey made the changes last year as part of a “prescient”…

Apr 26, 2010 11:50 AM CDT

Law Students Push for Transparency, More Info re Law School Employment Stats

Two Vanderbilt law students have created a new website where they hope to publish better job and salary information for all ABA-accredited law schools. Students Patrick Lynch and Kyle McEntee say law schools hide their employment data in aggregate form, the National Law Journal reports. “You may know that 50…

Apr 21, 2010 1:55 PM CDT

Women JDs Experience Less Pay Disparity than Women MBAs, Expert Says

Professional women with advanced degrees in medicine, law and business will earn on average $2 million less in their lifetimes than men in their same graduating classes. But the situation is worse for women holding masters degrees in business administration than women with juris doctor degrees, the Am Law Daily…

Apr 21, 2010 12:30 PM CDT

Ex- Baron & Budd Lawyer Claims Firm Lured Him with Misrepresentations

The accusations are flying in a trial of claims by a former Baron & Budd lawyer who contends the law firm lured him to work there by misrepresenting its compensation system. A Dallas County jury begin hearing the case last week, Texas Lawyer (reg. req.) reports. The plaintiff, Gary Cruciani,…

Apr 19, 2010 3:29 PM CDT

In-House Lawyer at eBay Heads Back to Bingham, Warns of Long Hours

Lawyers who think working in-house is easier than law firm practice should consider the experience of Mary Huser, who is headed back to Bingham McCutchen after two years at eBay. Huser oversaw intellectual property and litigation matters at the online auction company, and the job required more hours than working…

Apr 16, 2010 5:53 PM CDT

Good Times Return: DLA Piper Associates in Big Cities Will Make $160,000

DLA Piper has announced that it is restoring associate salaries to $160,000 in major U.S. markets and $145,000 in secondary cities. The new salaries amount to a raise of about 10 percent, the National Law Journal reports. U.S. managing partner Terry O’Malley told the publication that the aim was to…

Apr 16, 2010 1:57 PM CDT