Lawyer Pay

Associate Pay May Need to Return to 1998 Levels, Consultant Says

In 1998, law firms in Atlanta paid new associates about $72,000 a year. That may be more to the liking of Altman Weil legal consultant James Cotterman, who told participants in an Oct. 27 webinar for law firm clients that associate pay cuts didn’t go low enough, according to the…

Nov 5, 2009 3:10 PM CST

Law Firm Partner Loses Lawsuit Over Pay & Alleged Strip Club Outings

A federal judge has dismissed a suit filed by a female partner of a Pennsylvania law firm over alleged pay discrimination and sexually explicit work-related activities. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab ruled that plaintiff Alyson Kirleis, a 46-year-old partner of Dickie McCamey & Chilcote, can’t continue with her 2006 action…

Nov 3, 2009 7:45 PM CST

Partner Bloodbaths Ahead? Wary of Collection Numbers? Deal With It

Rumors of partner bloodbaths and wariness about the upcoming collections season are bound to send chills up lawyers’ spines. But the American Lawyer suggests it is time to “embrace the suck,” a military term that means the situation is bad—so deal with it. “What’s unclear is whether firms are, well,…

Nov 3, 2009 7:38 PM CST

Law Firm Leader ‘Quite Honestly Surprised’ at Cravath Bonuses

Cravath Swaine & Moore’s announcement that it is cutting associate bonuses this year has surprised at least one law firm manager—but not because the amounts are lower. Cravath was the first major law firm announcing its bonuses, ranging from $7,500 to $30,000 this year. Last year Cravath’s lowest bonus was…

Nov 3, 2009 4:26 PM CST

Cravath Cuts Associate Bonuses

For the second year in a row, one of New York’s leading BigLaw firms has cut associate bonuses. Cravath Swaine & Moore will pay associates bonuses of $7,500 to $30,000 this year, reports Bloomberg. Last year, the firm cut first-year bonuses from $35,000 to $17,500. Only a year earlier, before…

Nov 2, 2009 10:25 PM CST

Drinker Biddle Lays Off 22 Associates, Plans to Eliminate Lockstep

Drinker Biddle & Reath has reportedly laid off 22 associates and has scheduled a meeting to announce the elimination of lockstep compensation. Above the Law broke the news, reporting that most of the layoffs are in Chicago, and some are in Philadelphia. A law firm spokesman declined to comment on…

Oct 30, 2009 4:41 PM CDT

Some Kaye Scholer 1st-Years to Earn $60K to Do Firm’s Pro Bono Work

There’s good news and bad news for incoming first-year associates at Kaye Scholer. Some will do the firm’s usual corporate work at what is presumably a six-figure standard starting salary. But the rest of the class will be assigned to do the firm’s pro bono work at an annual salary…

Oct 29, 2009 10:47 PM CDT

Heller Creditors Seek $150M from Partners of Failed Law Firm

Contending that Heller Ehrman, in effect, fraudulently conveyed $150 million to partners after the law firm had become insolvent, creditors are seeking full reimbursement from the former partners of the now-defunct firm. In a confidential brief prepared for a mediation hearing tomorrow in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District…

Oct 29, 2009 5:08 PM CDT

Cost-Cutting Law Firms Are ‘Lean and Mean and Ready to Profit,’ Consultant Says

A survey of South Florida law firms shows a year of retrenchment, but 2010 could be better, according to one legal consultant. Altman Weil principal Bill Brennan told the Daily Business Review that law firms have cut costs and are now looking for ways to increase revenue, a good sign…

Oct 29, 2009 1:08 PM CDT

Lawyer’s $900/Hour Arbitration Fee Angers Transit Board Members

After casting the swing vote in an arbitration that upped the ante on New York City transit worker pay by 11.3 percent over three years, a Weil Gotshal & Manges lawyer has added insult to injury as far as Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members are concerned. John Zuccotti charged the…

Oct 28, 2009 9:25 PM CDT

Once High-Rolling Vegas Law Firms Now Watch Their Wallets

Dealing with the worst legal economy they have seen in nearly four decades of practice, senior partners at law firms in Las Vegas are cutting costs wherever they can. At Jones Vargas, that has meant partner pay cuts, rescinded job offers to a couple of incoming associates and one attorney…

Oct 27, 2009 5:58 PM CDT

Some Allen Matkins Associates Will See Another Salary Cut

Allen Matkins is laying off fewer than 10 associates and cutting pay for others in slow practice areas. Law firm executive director Mike Palmer told the Recorder that the pay cuts range from 15 percent to 30 percent, and primarily affect associates in the slow practice areas of real estate…

Oct 27, 2009 12:21 PM CDT

DLA Piper and Several Major UK Firms Cut Partner Payouts

An American law firm—DLA Piper—is among several law firms identified in a British publication that are holding back or reducing partner profit distributions. DLA Piper continues to pay monthly distributions, but held back its quarterly distribution in August, Legal Week reports. The law firm pays quarterly distributions to partners only…

Oct 22, 2009 4:18 PM CDT

In-House Counsel Defrauded Bank of $12M, Court Finds

A former deputy head of the legal department defrauded the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi out of some $12 million (7.4 million in British pounds, at the current exchange rate) by conning colleagues into signing off on large investments in a friend’s Indonesian airline, London’s Southwark Crown Court decided yesterday. Kate Johns,…

Oct 21, 2009 11:15 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Lament: Pressure to Review 80 Docs an Hour, for $23 an Hour

A contract lawyer’s complaint about a directive to review 80 documents an hour is raising questions about whether quantity sacrifices quality. The lawyer, who was being paid about $23 an hour for the document review project, told the blog Temporary Attorney that the directive was in this e-mail: “Please pick…

Oct 21, 2009 1:52 PM CDT