Lawyer Pay

Morgan Lewis Axes 2010 Summer Program, Plans to Eliminate Lockstep

In a video conference with all associates and staff today, the chairman of Morgan Lewis & Bockius has reportedly announced a series of economy moves. They include axing the 2010 summer program and all on-campus law school interviewing this fall and pushing back the start dates for current summer associates…

Jul 14, 2009 8:56 PM CDT

8th Circuit Says Lawyer Can’t Discharge $360K in Student Debt

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Minnesota lawyer can’t discharge more than $360,000 in student debt in his Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Mark Allen Jesperson had claimed he shouldn’t be responsible for paying the loans under an “undue hardship” exception to the general rule that student loans can’t be…

Jul 10, 2009 6:11 PM CDT

Midsize Firms in California Mulling Associate Pay Cuts

Some midsize firms in California have already cut associate salaries, while others are thinking it over. The market rate for new associates at midsize firms is $160,000, and some firms claim they will continue to pay that amount, the Recorder reports. But some have already announced cuts. Howard Rice Nemerovski…

Jul 10, 2009 1:32 PM CDT

White House Lawyers Make Less Than $200K

Being a White House lawyer may be prestigious, but it’s not as high-paying as a big law firm job. Salary information released by the Obama administration shows White House counsel Gregory Craig makes $172,200—far short of the $1.7 million he made last year as a partner at Williams & Connolly,…

Jul 6, 2009 3:19 PM CDT

Alston & Bird Chops $5K Off ‘09 Pay for Associates, Says ‘Market is Shifting’

Joining a growing number of law firms that are cutting associate pay, essentially, because they can, Alston & Bird has announced that it will reduce the salaries of all 451 of the firm’s associates by $5,000 for the rest of the year. “It is no secret the market is shifting,”…

Jul 2, 2009 4:47 PM CDT

Blank Rome Cuts Pay of New Associates to $130K

New associates at Blank Rome are getting a $15,000 pay cut. New salaries for first-year associates will drop to $130,000, while others will see pay cuts ranging from 2 percent to 10 percent, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. The firm announced the slashed salaries after at least five other Pennsylvania…

Jul 2, 2009 2:11 PM CDT

By The Numbers

As the economic downturn continues to plague law firms, many are resorting to attorney layoffs as a way to cut costs. But the Project for Attorney Retention, part of the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, says not so fast.

Jul 2, 2009 3:20 AM CDT

Orrick Axes Lockstep Pay and Staffing, Amps Up Training in New Practice Model

In a press release posted on its website today, Orrick trumpets a new “talent model” that will, as the law firm puts it, “re-engineer the way the law firm delivers high-value legal service.” Central to the plan is the elimination of a so-called lockstep pay scale that ups the ante…

Jul 1, 2009 10:50 PM CDT

Pay Cuts Accelerate at Law Firms Across the Country

News today that Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis is cutting associate—and partner—pay is the latest in a series of announcements that seem to signal a seismic shift in the way well-known law firms are managing corporate law practice. Even though the firm is on budget for the year, Schnader Harrison…

Jun 30, 2009 10:18 PM CDT

Schnader Cuts Partner Pay By 5%, Chops $10K Off Associate Salaries

Adding to a growing law firm economy trend intended to add value to corporate clients’ legal spending, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis is implementing an across-the-board pay cut for associates and partners. Schnader is chopping $10,000 off of all associate salaries, and partners have also decided to cut their own…

Jun 30, 2009 7:34 PM CDT

Salary Gap Widens Between Have and Have-Not Law Grads

New salary figures for law graduates show a growing gap between associates at the big firms and everybody else. A survey of the class of 2008 shows 23 percent of the graduates made $160,000, the amount the big law firms paid to newly minted associates, according to a press release…

Jun 30, 2009 3:01 PM CDT

Despite ‘Relatively Good Start to 2009,’ Venable Cuts Associate Pay By 8-9%

In an increasingly common BigLaw scenario, Venable has announced an across-the-board associate pay cut. But in a unique twist, the firm is slicing 8 percent off most associate salaries, rather than implementing the 10 percent haircut that many major firms that have taken this approach have required, according to an…

Jun 26, 2009 8:01 PM CDT

Buchanan Cuts Associate Pay 5-10%

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is cutting the pay of all associates by 5 to 10 percent. However, the salary reduction may be higher or lower for a few associates, based on individual circumstances, according to a written statement provided by CEO Jack Barbour to Above the Law. “This decision was…

Jun 25, 2009 8:56 PM CDT

Minn.‘s Gray Plant Mooty Temporarily Cuts Associate Pay By 10 Percent

Minneapolis-based Gray Plant Mooty tried to hold the line on associate pay cuts. But, beginning next week, its associate salaries will be reduced by 10 percent for the rest of the year, reports the Pioneer Press. First-year associates start at about $120,000, so even after the July 1 pay cut,…

Jun 24, 2009 5:37 PM CDT

Snell & Wilmer Cuts Associate Pay by 10%

The 425-lawyer firm Snell & Wilmer has joined the field of firms targeting compensation to reduce costs. It will cut associate salaries by 10 percent. The Phoenix Business Journal reports that the firm held meetings to announce the reductions on June 16. The firm also announced it would be paying…

Jun 24, 2009 11:41 AM CDT