Lawyer Pay

L.A. Lawyer Pleads in Quellos Case, Admits He Didn’t Pay Tax on $35M Offshore Account

A Los Angeles lawyer has pleaded guilty and agreed to accept up to a five-year prison term in a tax shelter scheme that involved a $35 million offshore account. Matthew Krane, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle yesterday to tax evasion and passport fraud concerning an alleged Quellos…

Dec 12, 2009 12:10 AM CST

62 Former Heller Ehrman Partners Agree to Pay $1.6M to Creditors

Although most senior lawyers at the now-defunct Heller Ehrman firm apparently have yet to agree to a payout to the bankrupt law firm’s creditors, a group of 62 primarily junior partners has reportedly promised to ante up $1.6 million in a tentative settlement. The individual payouts aren’t disclosed in yesterday’s…

Dec 11, 2009 9:44 PM CST

Dallas-Based Gardere Trims $20K From Associate Pay, Cuts Billables

Dallas-based Gardere Wynne Sewell announced Thursday that, effective Jan. 1, first-year pay will drop to $120,000 from $140,000. Along with the salary cut, billing expectations have also been altered at the 275-lawyer firm. New associates will now be expected to bill 1,700 hours, down from 2,000, according to a news…

Dec 11, 2009 12:33 PM CST

Associate Pay Cuts Won’t Rebound with Economy

Cuts in associate pay are being blamed on the recession. But even when the market rebounds, consultants and law firm partners aren’t expecting associate pay to rebound with it. “We do not see any movement to reinstate the pre-recession pay levels” in the medium term, James Cotterman, an Altman Weil…

Dec 11, 2009 11:00 AM CST

Brinks Hofer Cuts 7 Lawyers & 19 Staff, May Reduce Associate Pay Next Year

As other law firms made layoffs, deferred start dates for new associates and cut attorney pay in response to the difficult new legal economy of the past year or so, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione stayed the course. But that changed today, when the Chicago-based intellectual property firm announced layoffs…

Dec 9, 2009 12:56 AM CST

AIG GC Reportedly Threatens to Resign if Pay Czar Cuts Her Compensation

The general counsel of American International Group is reportedly one of five corporate employees who told the company last week that they would resign if the government’s pay czar cuts their compensation. AIG general counsel Anastasia Kelly reportedly asked other employees to join her in indicating their intention to resign…

Dec 8, 2009 7:23 PM CST

Filing: Rothstein Made $35M in 2008; Name Partner: I Wasn’t Paid $6M

Observers wondered how a South Florida attorney who nobody had heard of a few years ago could have millions to spend on a lavish lifestyle and high-profile charitable donations during a recession. But, without specific evidence of wrongdoing, no one picked up the phone and called police or bar authorities…

Dec 7, 2009 6:27 PM CST

Orrick Reveals New Associate Pay Structure

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe revealed its new associate pay structure that will kick in in 2010. Orrick announced in July that it would be abandoning lockstep. According to a chart (PDF) Orrick provided to the ABA Journal, associates will be separated into three classes: associates, managing associates and senior associates.…

Dec 3, 2009 11:53 PM CST

Smaller Law Firms Struggle with Morale Issues in Bonus Decisions

The gossip mill at smaller law firms can lead to morale issues at bonus time. The Connecticut Law Tribune notes the problem. “With just a handful of employees, it’s hard to keep individual bonus totals a secret,” the story says. “That can leave a subset of employees who might be…

Dec 2, 2009 2:44 PM CST

Chadbourne’s Bonus Aims to Repay Cut Salaries

Associates and staffers at Chadbourne & Parke who saw their pay cut last April will get the money back early next year in a lump sum payment. The decision, announced internally in September, was publicly disclosed last week, the New York Law Journal reports. Chadbourne never specified the amount of…

Nov 30, 2009 12:23 PM CST

Haynes and Boone Sets Incoming Associates’ Pay to $145K

The 38 first-year associates who start Monday at Haynes and Boone offices in Texas will do so at a $145,000 annual salary—although that may only be for the last month of 2009. “We haven’t decided what we are paying in 2010. We are trying to figure out what the market…

Nov 25, 2009 9:32 PM CST

Sutherland Eliminates Lockstep, Cuts 1st-Year Pay in Atlanta

In the latest move by a market leader to eliminate the traditional lockstep progression toward partnership, Sutherland has reconfigured its 175 associates from year-by-year classes to three groups into which they advance based on skills. Their pay increases also will be tied to skills increases, recounts the Daily Report in…

Nov 23, 2009 8:39 PM CST

Double Whammy for Some at Seyfarth: Deferred Start Plus Pay Cut, Too

In a double whammy for some incoming associates who expected to start work at Seyfarth Shaw in January, the law firm has deferred half of the incoming class until October—and cut first-year pay for all first-year associates. Seyfarth is deferring eight of the 16 new associates previously expected to begin…

Nov 20, 2009 8:22 PM CST

Skadden Jumps on the Bonus Bandwagon

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has announced its associate bonuses, and they match the lower amounts being paid at two other law firms. Associate bonuses at Skadden will range from $7,500 to $30,000, according to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the American Lawyer and Above the Law. Last…

Nov 20, 2009 12:25 PM CST

Five Questions for Law Firms Abandoning Lockstep Compensation

Law firms abandoning lockstep compensation need to consider how they can make the change without sabotaging the morale of lawyers who aren’t the firm’s stars. The morale issue is one of several questions that an increasing number of firms will have to consider as they make the change, according to…

Nov 17, 2009 5:13 PM CST