Lawyer Pay

After Perhaps $100K in Legal Fees, Becker & Ex-Associate Settle $2K Pay Dispute

A hard-fought litigation battle between a South Florida law firm and an ex-associate over a $2,000 pay dispute has settled confidentially. The case between Becker & Poliakoff and Richard Valuntas had been scheduled to go to trial shortly in small claims court in Palm Beach, reports the Daily Business Review…

Apr 13, 2010 6:05 PM CDT

Clifford Chance Drops Billable-Hours Requirement for Associate Bonuses

Updated: Clifford Chance in London will no longer condition associate bonuses on a minimum billable-hours threshold. The law firm’s bonus system is undergoing a “radical overhaul,” the Lawyer reports. Clifford Chance has already announced that is unfreezing associate salaries, and now it is revealing a “balanced and flexible bonus scheme.”…

Apr 12, 2010 4:08 PM CDT

Ex-Associate Set for Trial in Small-Claims Suit Against Becker & Poliakoff in $2K Pay Dispute

Many an associate has complained about the sudden pay cuts imposed by a number of law firms in recent years as they struggled with a dismal economy. But Richard Valuntas didn’t just talk the talk. In a lawsuit that has already cost both sides far more in legal fees than…

Apr 7, 2010 6:32 PM CDT

Kelley Drye Defends De-Equitization of Older Lawyers in Lawsuit Response

Kelley Drye & Warren contends in response to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that a lawyer forced out of equity partnership at the age of 70 wasn’t an employee protected by federal law. Kelley Drye was responding to an EEOC suit challenging the law firm’s policy…

Apr 6, 2010 1:04 PM CDT

Sonnenschein Partner in Pay Dispute Can Seek Rescission of Firm Contract, Appeals Court Says

A onetime equity partner of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal who agreed to a “special partner” nonequity employment agreement in 2000 is back in the litigation ballgame. Donald Horwitz can seek rescission of that contract and a retroactive restoration of his rights—and pay—as an equity partner after an alleged breach by…

Apr 1, 2010 9:28 PM CDT

‘Cutting Edge’ Tiered Associate Programs Identify Those with Partner Potential

Some law firms experimenting with new pay models are making early assessments about which new lawyers have partner potential. These firms create two levels of associates—those with partner potential and those without it—and they pay accordingly, the New York Times reports. Law firm consultant Peter Zeughauser says these two-tiered programs…

Apr 1, 2010 12:55 PM CDT

Recent Law Grad Seeks $174 Per Tweet for Posting Ads on Twitter

Forget about billing $174 per hour. If recent law grad Rex Gradeless strikes it lucky, he could be making far more than that by charging advertisers $174 to post a 140-character tweet on Twitter promoting their product or service to his 76,000 followers via Sponsored Tweets. While he apparently has…

Mar 22, 2010 11:51 PM CDT

Ex-Partner and Ex-Associate Battle Anapol Schwartz PI Firm Over Pay

The pay war began when Anapol Schwartz Weiss Cohan Feldman & Smalley voted to demote Howard Levin from the partnership to counsel status last year. He initially said he would accept, then, months later, changed his mind, according to a lawsuit the firm filed in Pennsylvania state court last year.…

Mar 16, 2010 4:52 PM CDT

Google’s Top Lawyer Makes More than $2M in Bonus and Pay

Google’s chief legal officer is getting a $1.73 million discretionary bonus this year, on top of a base salary of $500,000. The compensation is outlined in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to PaidContent.org and the San Jose Mercury News. Proxy materials released last year showed Drummond…

Mar 8, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Happy Fellowship

Three associates find trading income for experience well worth it

Mar 1, 2010 8:40 AM CST

After Cutting Starting Salaries, MoFo Raises New Associate Pay to $160K

Morrison & Foerster has joined a handful of other law firms that are returning to higher starting salaries for associates. The law firm is raising starting pay to $160,000, according to the Recorder and Above the Law. The Recorder lists other firms that have raised starting salaries. Latham & Watkins…

Feb 19, 2010 3:17 PM CST

Merit-Based Associate Pay May Be a Money Saver for Law Firms

Nearly 30 large law firms have replaced lockstep compensation for associates with merit-based compensation, a system that will likely produce some winners and losers. Law firms may save money under the new system, the American Lawyer reports, but associates may take a hit. “Coming after a year when many firms…

Feb 18, 2010 1:07 PM CST

UK Hiring Partners Chide Bingham for Six-Figure Starting Salary—in Pounds

Bingham McCutchen is paying new lawyers in London 100,000 pounds—a salary that is the highest of any U.S. law firm and more than the amount paid by the United Kingdom’s highest grossing firm, Linklaters. The salary amounts to about $157,000, Bloomberg reports, citing a survey published in Lawyer 2B. James…

Feb 16, 2010 1:26 PM CST

Trustee Sues Rothstein Partner for $10M, Alleges Charges for Jewelry, Home Repairs & Reptiles

In at least the third such lawsuit filed against a partner of the South Florida law firm at the center of ex-attorney Scott Rothstein’s reported $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, a bankruptcy trustee is seeking seven-figure reimbursement from Stuart Rosenfeldt. However, the suit against the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler name partner seeks…

Feb 11, 2010 11:31 PM CST

Record Profits in ‘09 For Biggest Boston Firms

Despite economic woes and layoffs in Boston’s legal sector, senior lawyers from three of the city’s largest firms are reporting they had their most profitable year ever in 2009. Bingham McCutchen, Fish & Richardson, and WilmerHale told the Boston Globe that they recorded their highest average profits per partner last…

Feb 5, 2010 4:50 PM CST