Nate Raymond of Law.com posted an interesting blog on 2/10/10 entitled "Large Firms Balk at Plans to Revamp Law School Recruiting Process."
I thought you would be interested, so I am repeating it here today with full attribution to Mr. Raymond.
"A proposal to revamp the law school campus recruiting process is being met with resistance among some of the largest legal employers in New York.
Recruiting officials at a number of law firms have raised concerns about recommendations made last month by a commission under the National Association for Law Placement that would restrict them from making offers to second-year law students until January, five months after on-campus interviews usually take place.
The change was intended to respond to a harsh economy but would become permanent if implemented. Critics say it may add to the costs of the recruiting season and make it difficult to manage the hiring process, adding that it may even result in fewer students being hired.
"I think the net result of this will be, if it's adopted, people will make fewer offers, because everyone will be very concerned about over-hiring," said Jorge Juantorena, a hiring partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
The report was released last month by a recruiting commission formed by NALP, a national organization of law schools and employers that, among other things, sets guidelines on the annual on-campus interview season, such as how long students can hold onto a job offer before making a decision. While the process has changed in minor ways over the years, since the 1970s it has remained largely the same: Law firms recruit in the fall and make offers shortly thereafter.
But after the recession began affecting the legal market, law firms found themselves overstaffed and laid off hundreds of lawyers in New York and nationwide, and delayed by up to one year the first-year start dates. Employment in legal services in New York shrank 5.7 percent last year, according to the New York State Department of Labor.
Law firms also extended fewer offers to second-year law students in 2009 for summer associate positions in 2010.
A 17-member commission appointed by NALP examined ways to alter the recruiting season in large part in response to the pressures the recession had created on hiring demands. Its preliminary recommendations included what the group said would be the most significant change to law student recruiting since the association began developing recruiting timelines: a fixed "kick off" or offer date.
Instead of making rolling offers beginning in the fall, firms would have to wait until January, under the theory that students could consider all of their options before taking an offer, while law firms could look over the whole applicant pool instead of rushing to hire the best students at schools with early interview dates. By pushing back the offer date to January, firms would also be able to consider their year-end financial results before making offers to students to join as summer associates.
The report also recommended, among other things, shortening how long students could hold onto an offer to 14 days from 45 and encouraging employers to inform students as soon as they decide not to extend them offers.
The idea of a kick-off date has its supporters. Rosalind Kruse, the hiring partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said the firm supported having an official offer date if that meant law schools would move forward the interview date. Schools have largely scheduled on-campus interviews in late August, when many corporate lawyers are on vacation, she said.
"It would really enable us to go to more schools and send more senior attorneys if we had the [on-campus interview] date in September," she said.
J. William Dantzler Jr., a hiring partner at White & Case, said the later offer date would give firms and students more time to get to know each other.
Students have better odds of landing at the right firm by learning about a firm during the semester, rather than the way it is now, "which is rush rush rush to make a decision and move on. And of course what they trade off on their part in a little longer uncertainty."
RESISTANCE TO OFFER DATE
But many firms are resisting the proposed January kick-off date.
"The proposal is sort of nightmarish, in that most schools currently are confirming their August on-campus recruiting period," said Steven Sletten, the firmwide hiring partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. "To have to wait until January to extend offers would mean we'd have a six-month fall recruiting period instead of what would typically be two to three months. And that doesn't help anybody."
James Leipold, executive director of NALP, said reaction to its proposals among the schools and firms has been "mixed." NALP is reviewing feedback from more than 825 members, including more than 125 written comments. People agreed the system was not working, he said, but "almost universally people felt a January kick-off date was too late."
A majority of officials from law firms and schools who attended a forum in November on the recruiting system favored an offer day in early November 2010, according to a Jan. 20 memo sent to NALP by the leaders of that meeting at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Stanford University. While a January date was considered, the memo said, many were concerned it would increase the time and cost of recruiting.
Naima Walker-Fierce, director of legal recruiting at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, said she was concerned that by creating a prolonged recruiting season, firms may spend nearly half a year wining and dining top students.
"It's going to be very costly for firms, because I don't know if firms know what else to do other than throw more money at it," she said.
And some firms, such as Cleary Gottlieb and Jones Day, are opposed to the notion of a single offer date, regardless of the month. Juantorena at Cleary said a fixed date gives firms less control over acceptance levels. With so many out-of-work lawyers, he said, firms would likely decide to err on the side of under-hiring at law schools and hire more lawyers through other venues if needed.
"If there's one thing I think we've learned in this downturn, it's that it is in no one's interest if a firm over-hires, because it means you'll have trouble down the road and will either have to lay people off or have to defer people," Juantorena said.
Jones Day, in a widely publicized letter to NALP written by hiring partner Gregory Schumaker, said the recommendations would "impermissibly alter the competitive market for the hiring of law students."
law firms who laid off scores of associates, rescinded offers or delayed start dates. Those firms, he wrote, "have damaged their reputations among law students and law schools and impaired their ability to recruit effectively." By imposing the January kick-off day, he said, those firms are able to level out the playing field.
Leipold at NALP said it is "too premature" to say which proposals will be adopted. He said the commission may complete a final recommendation by the end of the week. NALP's board of directors is expected to vote on recommendations on Feb. 25-26."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. The information provided on this blog is NOT legal advice. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Attorney Partnership Is Harder to Obtain
Making partner in a law firm is a goal for many lawyers. However, that goal appears harder to achieve according to Law.com, which published the following article written by Nate Raymond. Below is the article:
"Fewer associates are winning promotion to partnership this year, a trend industry experts say is a result of the economic downturn.
This month, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton elected four new partners firmwide, half as many as in 2008, while Latham & Watkins cut its firmwide promotions 25 percent to 23. Ropes & Gray named one third fewer with eight new partners, while Proskauer Rose named four to partnership, one less than in 2008. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the most profitable firm in the country, this month named two new partners, down from six last year.
Consultants say the trend likely is a reflection of the financial condition law firms have found themselves in, with demand for legal services down and profits falling. Making partner had already become tougher in recent years, Dan DiPietro, advisory head at Citi Private Bank's law firm group, said via e-mail. With the recession, he added, "the bar has been raised on what it means to become an equity partner and to stay an equity partner."
He added, "While I don't think the economic meltdown caused this trend, I do believe the trend accelerated as a result."
The bulk of promotions at law firms are expected to be announced over the next two months. But several firms have already made their decisions known, and most have elevated smaller classes.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, for example, named eight new partners firmwide in April, down from 25 in 2008. Davis Polk & Wardwell in July named four new partners compared to six a year earlier.
Firms based outside of New York are promoting fewer associates as well. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker named six new partners firmwide, down from 11 a year earlier. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher named 11 new partners, compared to 13 in 2008. Mayer Brown on Monday named 14 partners, down from 27 in 2008.
Law firm net income through the third quarter is down 6.1 percent industrywide, according to a recent survey by Wachovia Legal Specialty Group, part of Wells Fargo Corp. Top-tier firms are experiencing a 4.3 percent decrease, Wachovia said.
Ward Bower, a consultant at Altman Weil Inc., said firms may be trying to avoid dividing their dwindling net income among even more partners.
"Profits are squeezed at big firms this year, and they don't want to dilute partnership income any more than they have to," he said.
The reduction may also relate to the firms' reluctance to promote from business practices that have slowed, said David Cruickshank, a consultant with Kerma Partners. Because transactional practices were the hardest hit by the downturn, Cruickshank said he expected fewer new partners coming out of that area this year.
"To the extent they think business-making prospects are down, they're going to defer people for at least a year," he said. "The sweet spot right now would be to be a senior associate up for partnership in bankruptcy. Whereas if you have been working in the securitization practice, even the partners don't have enough work."
Joseph Altonji, a consultant at Hildebrandt International, said firms had more relaxed standards in the boom years as firms expanded in New York and across the globe. With demand for legal services down, firms are not as willing to extend partnership to as many senior associates, he said.
"Going forward, the requirement for making partner at many firms is going to get tighter," Altonji said.
The head of one New York firm, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the promotion process, concurred. He said he expected New York City firms to cut the number of new partners by one third to one half of 2008 levels because of the slide in demand for legal services.
"If you have a superstar and the superstar is eligible, you'll probably make the superstar partner anyway," the law firm leader said. "But for anyone else, you'll probably want another year to look at the economy and the law firm economy in particular."
AGAINST THE TREND
A few firms are announcing larger new partner classes. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy last week elected five attorneys to partner, up from four in 2008.
"We certainly pay attention to the economy in making new partner decisions, but we also pay attention to the fact that we're strong enough that we should mostly be focusing on long-term investments," said Mel Immergut, Milbank's chairman.
None of Milbank's new partners in New York come from its corporate side. Instead, it promoted two restructuring associates and a litigator. One new partner is in Munich and the other in Tokyo, regions where Milbank is trying to grow.
Milbank promoted all of the lawyers who were nominated by the practice groups, Immergut said, though he acknowledged it was possible some groups did not nominate anyone because they did not see a need for more partners.
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in September named seven new partners, up from five a year earlier. The promotions followed a year where Fried Frank shrank firmwide more than any other law firm, according to data collected by The National Law Journal, with the number of lawyers falling 26.4 percent to 468 attorneys.
Sullivan & Cromwell in October elected five new partners, the same as a year earlier.
"We're obviously not going to stop making partners because of the financial conditions," said H. Rodgin Cohen, chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell.
Firms that have made fewer partner promotions, such as Cleary Gottlieb and Latham, generally say that while competitors may be factoring in the economy in their decisions, they themselves are not reducing promotions because of it.
"At least on our end, it's not any sort of strategic decision," said Francesca Odell, a partner at Cleary. "We select candidates from a pool of eligible candidates, and this year it happened to be smaller."
Odell said Cleary would never reduce its promotions because of a bad economic year "because it would hurt you five years down the road."
Cleary named four partners, down from eight in 2008.
Latham & Watkins named 23 globally this year, down from 28 in 2008. Richard Bress, who chairs Latham's associates committee, said the drop was "typical variation year to year." The firm was not considering profits per partner or the level of activity in certain practice areas in making partner decisions, he said.
"The easiest way to understand that is we made the same number of transactional partners this year as we did last year," Bress said. "And that's really the aspect of the economy that's been hardest hit."
Kirkland & Ellis in October promoted 51 lawyers to partner globally, a 27 percent drop from last year. In New York, the firm named nine partners in restructuring, corporate, litigation and intellectual property, down from 15 in 2008. As is typical at the firm, all of Kirkland's new partners entered as non-equity, a spokeswoman confirmed.
Kirkland, like all firms, has been facing a tough economic climate. In September, it laid off 20 associates in New York, as well as lawyers in Washington, D.C., a source familiar with the situation said.
Yet despite the smaller number of new partners, Kirkland partner Jay Lefkowitz said the firm "didn't change our criterion for partnership" because of the economy. A source at Kirkland familiar with the process said the firm had a smaller senior associate pool to promote from and estimated that roughly the same percentage of senior associates made partner as did last year. "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
"Fewer associates are winning promotion to partnership this year, a trend industry experts say is a result of the economic downturn.
This month, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton elected four new partners firmwide, half as many as in 2008, while Latham & Watkins cut its firmwide promotions 25 percent to 23. Ropes & Gray named one third fewer with eight new partners, while Proskauer Rose named four to partnership, one less than in 2008. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the most profitable firm in the country, this month named two new partners, down from six last year.
Consultants say the trend likely is a reflection of the financial condition law firms have found themselves in, with demand for legal services down and profits falling. Making partner had already become tougher in recent years, Dan DiPietro, advisory head at Citi Private Bank's law firm group, said via e-mail. With the recession, he added, "the bar has been raised on what it means to become an equity partner and to stay an equity partner."
He added, "While I don't think the economic meltdown caused this trend, I do believe the trend accelerated as a result."
The bulk of promotions at law firms are expected to be announced over the next two months. But several firms have already made their decisions known, and most have elevated smaller classes.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, for example, named eight new partners firmwide in April, down from 25 in 2008. Davis Polk & Wardwell in July named four new partners compared to six a year earlier.
Firms based outside of New York are promoting fewer associates as well. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker named six new partners firmwide, down from 11 a year earlier. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher named 11 new partners, compared to 13 in 2008. Mayer Brown on Monday named 14 partners, down from 27 in 2008.
Law firm net income through the third quarter is down 6.1 percent industrywide, according to a recent survey by Wachovia Legal Specialty Group, part of Wells Fargo Corp. Top-tier firms are experiencing a 4.3 percent decrease, Wachovia said.
Ward Bower, a consultant at Altman Weil Inc., said firms may be trying to avoid dividing their dwindling net income among even more partners.
"Profits are squeezed at big firms this year, and they don't want to dilute partnership income any more than they have to," he said.
The reduction may also relate to the firms' reluctance to promote from business practices that have slowed, said David Cruickshank, a consultant with Kerma Partners. Because transactional practices were the hardest hit by the downturn, Cruickshank said he expected fewer new partners coming out of that area this year.
"To the extent they think business-making prospects are down, they're going to defer people for at least a year," he said. "The sweet spot right now would be to be a senior associate up for partnership in bankruptcy. Whereas if you have been working in the securitization practice, even the partners don't have enough work."
Joseph Altonji, a consultant at Hildebrandt International, said firms had more relaxed standards in the boom years as firms expanded in New York and across the globe. With demand for legal services down, firms are not as willing to extend partnership to as many senior associates, he said.
"Going forward, the requirement for making partner at many firms is going to get tighter," Altonji said.
The head of one New York firm, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the promotion process, concurred. He said he expected New York City firms to cut the number of new partners by one third to one half of 2008 levels because of the slide in demand for legal services.
"If you have a superstar and the superstar is eligible, you'll probably make the superstar partner anyway," the law firm leader said. "But for anyone else, you'll probably want another year to look at the economy and the law firm economy in particular."
AGAINST THE TREND
A few firms are announcing larger new partner classes. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy last week elected five attorneys to partner, up from four in 2008.
"We certainly pay attention to the economy in making new partner decisions, but we also pay attention to the fact that we're strong enough that we should mostly be focusing on long-term investments," said Mel Immergut, Milbank's chairman.
None of Milbank's new partners in New York come from its corporate side. Instead, it promoted two restructuring associates and a litigator. One new partner is in Munich and the other in Tokyo, regions where Milbank is trying to grow.
Milbank promoted all of the lawyers who were nominated by the practice groups, Immergut said, though he acknowledged it was possible some groups did not nominate anyone because they did not see a need for more partners.
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in September named seven new partners, up from five a year earlier. The promotions followed a year where Fried Frank shrank firmwide more than any other law firm, according to data collected by The National Law Journal, with the number of lawyers falling 26.4 percent to 468 attorneys.
Sullivan & Cromwell in October elected five new partners, the same as a year earlier.
"We're obviously not going to stop making partners because of the financial conditions," said H. Rodgin Cohen, chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell.
Firms that have made fewer partner promotions, such as Cleary Gottlieb and Latham, generally say that while competitors may be factoring in the economy in their decisions, they themselves are not reducing promotions because of it.
"At least on our end, it's not any sort of strategic decision," said Francesca Odell, a partner at Cleary. "We select candidates from a pool of eligible candidates, and this year it happened to be smaller."
Odell said Cleary would never reduce its promotions because of a bad economic year "because it would hurt you five years down the road."
Cleary named four partners, down from eight in 2008.
Latham & Watkins named 23 globally this year, down from 28 in 2008. Richard Bress, who chairs Latham's associates committee, said the drop was "typical variation year to year." The firm was not considering profits per partner or the level of activity in certain practice areas in making partner decisions, he said.
"The easiest way to understand that is we made the same number of transactional partners this year as we did last year," Bress said. "And that's really the aspect of the economy that's been hardest hit."
Kirkland & Ellis in October promoted 51 lawyers to partner globally, a 27 percent drop from last year. In New York, the firm named nine partners in restructuring, corporate, litigation and intellectual property, down from 15 in 2008. As is typical at the firm, all of Kirkland's new partners entered as non-equity, a spokeswoman confirmed.
Kirkland, like all firms, has been facing a tough economic climate. In September, it laid off 20 associates in New York, as well as lawyers in Washington, D.C., a source familiar with the situation said.
Yet despite the smaller number of new partners, Kirkland partner Jay Lefkowitz said the firm "didn't change our criterion for partnership" because of the economy. A source at Kirkland familiar with the process said the firm had a smaller senior associate pool to promote from and estimated that roughly the same percentage of senior associates made partner as did last year. "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Starting Salaries are Cut
Law.com has published an interesting article written by Gina Passarella regarding the reduction in starting legal salaries. Here is the article:
"Reed Smith has cut starting salaries by about 20 percent for the 51 first-year associates set to start in January and, in turn, is cutting their billing rates by the same margin.
The decision comes just a few weeks after the firm did away with associate classes and instead instituted three levels of associate tiers that will work within a competency-based advancement model.
The near 20 percent cuts to salaries, which only affect U.S. offices, are from the high the firm had been paying in 2008 and are market dependent. Billing rates will be cut by an even 20 percent.
In New York, Chicago, California and Washington, D.C., for example, associates will move from $160,000 down to $130,000. In Pittsburgh, starting salaries will go from a 2008 high of $135,000 down to $110,000 and in Philadelphia that number will move from $145,000 down to about $117,500.
Reed Smith Global Managing Partner Gregory B. Jordan said the moves were in response to a very clear message from clients and the marketplace.
"As part of the reset that's going on in the business world, clients are expecting their law firms to drive their costs down," Jordan said.
One of the biggest areas of friction was starting salaries for entry-level associates, he said. And it's really the rates that most directly affect cost, so the firm decided to take a swing at both, he said.
As part of the reduction in salary and billing rates, first-year associates will also see a reduction in their billable hour targets from 1,900 to 1,700 hours. That was done in part, Jordan said, to ensure they could take advantage of the new training programs that go along with the competency-based advancement model.
The salary and billing rate cuts affected only the U.S. associates. The firm said those rates in its European, Middle Eastern and Asian offices will be decided in 2010. Though the firm has said compensation for other associates will be tied to the new competency-advancement model, Jordan said decisions on compensation for the rest of the associates won't be made until 2010, after they are evaluated.
"Our new U.S. starting salaries represent a reasonable and appropriate reset based on today's economic environment," Eugene Tillman, the firm's global head of legal personnel, said in a statement. "We believe this will put Reed Smith in a stronger business position in a changing marketplace while still providing fair compensation to our new associates."
Jordan said the 51 incoming associates, who were deferred until January 2010, are spread across the firm's U.S. offices. There are six in Philadelphia and eight in Pittsburgh. "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
"Reed Smith has cut starting salaries by about 20 percent for the 51 first-year associates set to start in January and, in turn, is cutting their billing rates by the same margin.
The decision comes just a few weeks after the firm did away with associate classes and instead instituted three levels of associate tiers that will work within a competency-based advancement model.
The near 20 percent cuts to salaries, which only affect U.S. offices, are from the high the firm had been paying in 2008 and are market dependent. Billing rates will be cut by an even 20 percent.
In New York, Chicago, California and Washington, D.C., for example, associates will move from $160,000 down to $130,000. In Pittsburgh, starting salaries will go from a 2008 high of $135,000 down to $110,000 and in Philadelphia that number will move from $145,000 down to about $117,500.
Reed Smith Global Managing Partner Gregory B. Jordan said the moves were in response to a very clear message from clients and the marketplace.
"As part of the reset that's going on in the business world, clients are expecting their law firms to drive their costs down," Jordan said.
One of the biggest areas of friction was starting salaries for entry-level associates, he said. And it's really the rates that most directly affect cost, so the firm decided to take a swing at both, he said.
As part of the reduction in salary and billing rates, first-year associates will also see a reduction in their billable hour targets from 1,900 to 1,700 hours. That was done in part, Jordan said, to ensure they could take advantage of the new training programs that go along with the competency-based advancement model.
The salary and billing rate cuts affected only the U.S. associates. The firm said those rates in its European, Middle Eastern and Asian offices will be decided in 2010. Though the firm has said compensation for other associates will be tied to the new competency-advancement model, Jordan said decisions on compensation for the rest of the associates won't be made until 2010, after they are evaluated.
"Our new U.S. starting salaries represent a reasonable and appropriate reset based on today's economic environment," Eugene Tillman, the firm's global head of legal personnel, said in a statement. "We believe this will put Reed Smith in a stronger business position in a changing marketplace while still providing fair compensation to our new associates."
Jordan said the 51 incoming associates, who were deferred until January 2010, are spread across the firm's U.S. offices. There are six in Philadelphia and eight in Pittsburgh. "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Attorney Fees Reduced
I thought you would be interested in reading Todd Lightly's article published by the Chicago Tribune regarding the reduction in legal fees paid as a result of the current oversupply of lawyers. Here is the article:
"William Shakespeare famously suggested in "Henry VI, Part II" that, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
Well, maybe not so fast.
The recession has led to a glut of unemployed and underemployed lawyers, and that could benefit city taxpayers.
Mayor Richard Daley's top lawyer, Mara Georges, told aldermen during a budget hearing that she tries to keep in-house as many legal cases as she can. But Georges added that she often has to hire private lawyers to handle cases, many of them involving complex legal matters in federal court.
Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, was concerned about the cost to taxpayers. He asked Georges if she has been able to take advantage of the abundance of lawyers looking for work during the current economic crisis.
"We've been capitalizing on that opportunity," Georges said.
For example, she said, the city's maximum hourly rate for the most difficult cases is normally $295. She said the city has been able to get that reduced to $250 per hour.
The city so far this year has paid $14 million in fees to private lawyers but did not offer figures for how much was saved.
A couple of aldermen told Georges not to get too cheap with legal fees, with one cautioning, "You get what you pay for." "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
"William Shakespeare famously suggested in "Henry VI, Part II" that, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
Well, maybe not so fast.
The recession has led to a glut of unemployed and underemployed lawyers, and that could benefit city taxpayers.
Mayor Richard Daley's top lawyer, Mara Georges, told aldermen during a budget hearing that she tries to keep in-house as many legal cases as she can. But Georges added that she often has to hire private lawyers to handle cases, many of them involving complex legal matters in federal court.
Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, was concerned about the cost to taxpayers. He asked Georges if she has been able to take advantage of the abundance of lawyers looking for work during the current economic crisis.
"We've been capitalizing on that opportunity," Georges said.
For example, she said, the city's maximum hourly rate for the most difficult cases is normally $295. She said the city has been able to get that reduced to $250 per hour.
The city so far this year has paid $14 million in fees to private lawyers but did not offer figures for how much was saved.
A couple of aldermen told Georges not to get too cheap with legal fees, with one cautioning, "You get what you pay for." "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
2009 Law Grads Have Start Dates Postponed
The Chicago Tribune is publishing that more big law firms have postponed the start dates for first-year associates. Ameet Sachdev reported as follows:
"Seyfarth Shaw said Friday that it has again postponed start dates for some of its first-year associates. The 2009 class of 16 lawyers originally had starts dates pushed back to January 2010. Now half of them won't start until October.
Those facing a longer wait will receive a monthly $2,000 stipend. But that might not be enough to cover rent in a Lincoln Park apartment.
Those who do get to start in January will share some financial pain. Seyfarth said it is reducing first-year associate salaries by 5 to 10 percent.
Like other big law firms who have cut associate salaries and postponed start dates, Seyfarth said the economy has put pressure on legal costs and demand for services.
Here's the firm's statement:
"We are continuing to manage our staffing levels in light of anticipated client demand and market conditions. As a result, we have decided to postpone start dates for 8 of 16 first-year associates who were scheduled to start in January 2010. We have rescheduled their start dates until October 2010 to ensure we are staffed appropriately to meet clients’ anticipated needs. Given the timing of this notification, we are providing each of these people with a $2,000 monthly stipend until October to offset any disruption this may cause. We are telling them that, as conditions improve, we hope to call them to start earlier.
We also have decided to reduce the base salary levels by approximately 5-10% for all the first-year associates joining us in 2010. While we see bright spots ahead in the economy for 2010, we also believe that economic conditions will continue to put pressure on our clients, including the costs of legal services, and we need to address those issues."
Above the Lawfirst reported the Seyfarth news. The blog had reported earlier this month that Winston & Strawn had also adjusted start dates for first-year associates.
If you're a member of the Class of 2010 who was lucky to receive a job offer from a big firm, it's pretty safe to say you'll have plenty of free time before you start your careers."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
"Seyfarth Shaw said Friday that it has again postponed start dates for some of its first-year associates. The 2009 class of 16 lawyers originally had starts dates pushed back to January 2010. Now half of them won't start until October.
Those facing a longer wait will receive a monthly $2,000 stipend. But that might not be enough to cover rent in a Lincoln Park apartment.
Those who do get to start in January will share some financial pain. Seyfarth said it is reducing first-year associate salaries by 5 to 10 percent.
Like other big law firms who have cut associate salaries and postponed start dates, Seyfarth said the economy has put pressure on legal costs and demand for services.
Here's the firm's statement:
"We are continuing to manage our staffing levels in light of anticipated client demand and market conditions. As a result, we have decided to postpone start dates for 8 of 16 first-year associates who were scheduled to start in January 2010. We have rescheduled their start dates until October 2010 to ensure we are staffed appropriately to meet clients’ anticipated needs. Given the timing of this notification, we are providing each of these people with a $2,000 monthly stipend until October to offset any disruption this may cause. We are telling them that, as conditions improve, we hope to call them to start earlier.
We also have decided to reduce the base salary levels by approximately 5-10% for all the first-year associates joining us in 2010. While we see bright spots ahead in the economy for 2010, we also believe that economic conditions will continue to put pressure on our clients, including the costs of legal services, and we need to address those issues."
Above the Lawfirst reported the Seyfarth news. The blog had reported earlier this month that Winston & Strawn had also adjusted start dates for first-year associates.
If you're a member of the Class of 2010 who was lucky to receive a job offer from a big firm, it's pretty safe to say you'll have plenty of free time before you start your careers."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Associate Salaries Cut 20%
Do you hear the sound of newly minted lawyers crying? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the sounds being heard by young lawyers are "cut, drop, slash." Unless you are practicing bankruptcy law, young lawyers need to adjust their expectations regarding professional compensation.
While bankruptcy law is booming, and bankruptcy legal training is available from National Bankruptcy College (see http://www.nationalbankruptcycollege.com/ ), non-bankruptcy areas of the law are struggling. This has a direct effect on compensation for newly minted lawyers.
I found the following report regarding the woes of young lawyers. I thought you would be interested. The Wall Street Journal On Line filed the following report:
"Cut, drop, slash. Those are the verbs emanating from Reed Smith, which on Tuesday announced it was slashing associate salaries and billing rates and dropping its associate hour requirements from 1900 to 1700 hours. (1700 hours! Reed Smith attorneys, time to take up a hobby!)
According to a press release, the firm will reduce its hourly billing rates by 20 percent and also cut annual salaries for first-year associates in 15 U.S. offices by 20 percent. These changes will apply to the 51 new lawyers joining the firm in January 2010.
"In response to our clients' feedback and concerns about driving down the cost of legal services, we wanted to send a clear message that we are listening. So, we have therefore reduced both the rates and the salaries of our incoming first year associates" said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith's Global Managing Partner. "We have also launched a new competency based development program to better prepare our new lawyers to meet the needs of our clients."
Annual starting salaries for the new associates beginning in January 2010 will range from $130,000 in major markets such as New York City, Chicago, California, and Washington, D.C. (down from a high of $160,000 in 2008), to $110,000 in Pittsburgh, PA. These actions solely involve the new associates entering the firm's U.S. offices. Salary levels for 2010 newly qualifying lawyers in the firm's European, Middle Eastern and Asian offices will be determined in the normal course of business during 2010.
"Our new U.S. starting salaries represent a reasonable and appropriate reset based on today's economic environment," said Eugene Tillman, the firm's Global Head of Legal Personnel. "We believe this will put Reed Smith in a stronger business position in a changing marketplace while still providing fair compensation to our new associates."
In conjunction with the new compensation, Reed Smith has also reduced the first-year associate annual billable hour expectation from 1,900 to 1,700 hours, allowing additional time and opportunity to take advantage of the training and development programs associated with CareeRS, the firm's newly launched talent development initiative."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
While bankruptcy law is booming, and bankruptcy legal training is available from National Bankruptcy College (see http://www.nationalbankruptcycollege.com/ ), non-bankruptcy areas of the law are struggling. This has a direct effect on compensation for newly minted lawyers.
I found the following report regarding the woes of young lawyers. I thought you would be interested. The Wall Street Journal On Line filed the following report:
"Cut, drop, slash. Those are the verbs emanating from Reed Smith, which on Tuesday announced it was slashing associate salaries and billing rates and dropping its associate hour requirements from 1900 to 1700 hours. (1700 hours! Reed Smith attorneys, time to take up a hobby!)
According to a press release, the firm will reduce its hourly billing rates by 20 percent and also cut annual salaries for first-year associates in 15 U.S. offices by 20 percent. These changes will apply to the 51 new lawyers joining the firm in January 2010.
"In response to our clients' feedback and concerns about driving down the cost of legal services, we wanted to send a clear message that we are listening. So, we have therefore reduced both the rates and the salaries of our incoming first year associates" said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith's Global Managing Partner. "We have also launched a new competency based development program to better prepare our new lawyers to meet the needs of our clients."
Annual starting salaries for the new associates beginning in January 2010 will range from $130,000 in major markets such as New York City, Chicago, California, and Washington, D.C. (down from a high of $160,000 in 2008), to $110,000 in Pittsburgh, PA. These actions solely involve the new associates entering the firm's U.S. offices. Salary levels for 2010 newly qualifying lawyers in the firm's European, Middle Eastern and Asian offices will be determined in the normal course of business during 2010.
"Our new U.S. starting salaries represent a reasonable and appropriate reset based on today's economic environment," said Eugene Tillman, the firm's Global Head of Legal Personnel. "We believe this will put Reed Smith in a stronger business position in a changing marketplace while still providing fair compensation to our new associates."
In conjunction with the new compensation, Reed Smith has also reduced the first-year associate annual billable hour expectation from 1,900 to 1,700 hours, allowing additional time and opportunity to take advantage of the training and development programs associated with CareeRS, the firm's newly launched talent development initiative."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Bankruptcy Jobs are Plentiful; Other Legal Jobs are Hard to Find
Except for bankruptcy jobs, 2009 was the worst year for legal jobs. Lots of lawyers lost jobs and many lawyers without jobs could not find jobs. The secret: look for bankruptcy jobs. Get bankruptcy training at www.nationalbankruptcycollege.com as soon as possible.
Below is an interesting article written by Leign Jones that was published in the National Law Journal entitled "2009 Worst Year for Lawyer Headcount in 3 Decades." The author stated:
"The United States' largest law firms this year suffered the deepest cuts in their attorney numbers since The National Law Journal began tracking their census figures more than 30 years ago.
The total number of attorneys working at the top 250 law firms plunged by 5,259 lawyers. Put another way, it's as if all of the lawyers working at two firms the size of Jones Day vanished in 2009.
The results of the 32d annual National Law Journal survey of the nation's 250 largest law firms provide a vivid picture of the toll that the economic recession exacted from law firms this year. The 4.0 percent decline in the total number of attorneys marked only the third time that the lawyer count among the group has dropped since the NLJstarted collecting headcount data in 1978. The last time totals backslid was in 1993, when they dipped by 0.9 percent. The first decline was in 1992, when they fell by 1 percent. The tally this year wipes away nearly one-third of the growth that firms made during the past five years and puts many of them well below levels they enjoyed in 2005.
The number of attorneys in 2009 sank to 126,669 lawyers, compared with 131,928 attorneys last year. In 2008, the number of attorneys increased by 4.3 percent.
Among the top 75 law firms on the list, 15 had reductions of more than 100 lawyers. Of the top 50, seven cut more than 200 attorneys. The firm with the largest percentage decrease was No. 95 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, which declined by 26.4 percent to 468 attorneys from 636 in 2008. Last year, the firm held the No. 58 slot in the rankings. The firm losing the greatest number of attorneys was Latham & Watkins, which shed 444 lawyers. It had 1,878 attorneys this year, compared with 2,322 in 2008, for a 19.1 percent decline. It slid from No. 4 to No. 6 in the ranking.
Taking the No. 1 position on the NLJ 250 was Baker & McKenzie, which had 3,949 attorneys. The firm maintained that position from the NLJ 250's inception until 2007, when DLA Piper edged it out. DLA Piper took the No. 2 spot this year. Its lawyer population fell by 7.3 pecent, to 3,450 attorneys from 3,721 attorneys in 2008. Last on this year's list is newcomer Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, based in Portland, Ore. It reported 164 attorneys.
The greatest movement among the top 10 firms came from K&L Gates, which rose to No. 7 this year with 1,813 lawyers from No. 10 in 2008. It broke into the top 10 last year, when it had 1,726 attorneys.
ASSOCIATE WOES
Not surprisingly, associate ranks were hit hard by work force reductions. The percentage of those attorneys shrank by 8.7 percent, to 61,733 from 67,648 last year.
In addition to laid-off associates, the decline reflects would-be first-year associates whose start dates law firms deferred. Of the 250 firms on the list, 113 reported that they deferred a total of 2,784 associates. That figure represents 42 percent of the 6,636 law graduates who would have been in the incoming first-year associate class. The average number of associates deferred per firm was 25.
At the same time, partner employment, as a whole, remained unscathed. The number of partners in 2009 was 53,468, compared with 52,980 in 2008, an increase of 0.9 percent. Among the top 50 firms, 30 increased their partner totals. The results confirm that law firms' strategy in managing the downturn was to save the partners -- and partnerships. "The cuts made were done primarily to preserve workloads for partners," said Ward Bower, a consultant with Altman Weil. And perhaps troubling to clients, "it suggests that work done by partners is work that associates could do," he added.
Attorneys in the "other" category proved the most expendable. The category includes nonpartner, nonassociate lawyers, including counsel, of counsel, senior counsel and staff attorneys. That group nosedived by 8.9 percent to 11,433 from 12,547 in 2008.
The overall downturn in totals this year was partly a correction of the rapid growth that NLJ 250 firms experienced during the preceding five years. Between 2004 and 2008, firms added 21,948 attorneys. Many firms declined to near or below their numbers of five years ago. Latham & Watkins' total this year of 1,878 was just 38 attorneys more than it had in 2005. The firm announced in February that it was laying off 190 attorneys, a move that followed speculation about other unreported attorney reductions. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, with 1,243 attorneys, fell below its 2005 number of 1,281. Other top firms with this year's totals lower than their 2005 results were Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; McDermott Will & Emery; Shearman & Sterling; O'Melveny & Myers; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; and Fulbright & Jaworski. "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Below is an interesting article written by Leign Jones that was published in the National Law Journal entitled "2009 Worst Year for Lawyer Headcount in 3 Decades." The author stated:
"The United States' largest law firms this year suffered the deepest cuts in their attorney numbers since The National Law Journal began tracking their census figures more than 30 years ago.
The total number of attorneys working at the top 250 law firms plunged by 5,259 lawyers. Put another way, it's as if all of the lawyers working at two firms the size of Jones Day vanished in 2009.
The results of the 32d annual National Law Journal survey of the nation's 250 largest law firms provide a vivid picture of the toll that the economic recession exacted from law firms this year. The 4.0 percent decline in the total number of attorneys marked only the third time that the lawyer count among the group has dropped since the NLJstarted collecting headcount data in 1978. The last time totals backslid was in 1993, when they dipped by 0.9 percent. The first decline was in 1992, when they fell by 1 percent. The tally this year wipes away nearly one-third of the growth that firms made during the past five years and puts many of them well below levels they enjoyed in 2005.
The number of attorneys in 2009 sank to 126,669 lawyers, compared with 131,928 attorneys last year. In 2008, the number of attorneys increased by 4.3 percent.
Among the top 75 law firms on the list, 15 had reductions of more than 100 lawyers. Of the top 50, seven cut more than 200 attorneys. The firm with the largest percentage decrease was No. 95 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, which declined by 26.4 percent to 468 attorneys from 636 in 2008. Last year, the firm held the No. 58 slot in the rankings. The firm losing the greatest number of attorneys was Latham & Watkins, which shed 444 lawyers. It had 1,878 attorneys this year, compared with 2,322 in 2008, for a 19.1 percent decline. It slid from No. 4 to No. 6 in the ranking.
Taking the No. 1 position on the NLJ 250 was Baker & McKenzie, which had 3,949 attorneys. The firm maintained that position from the NLJ 250's inception until 2007, when DLA Piper edged it out. DLA Piper took the No. 2 spot this year. Its lawyer population fell by 7.3 pecent, to 3,450 attorneys from 3,721 attorneys in 2008. Last on this year's list is newcomer Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, based in Portland, Ore. It reported 164 attorneys.
The greatest movement among the top 10 firms came from K&L Gates, which rose to No. 7 this year with 1,813 lawyers from No. 10 in 2008. It broke into the top 10 last year, when it had 1,726 attorneys.
ASSOCIATE WOES
Not surprisingly, associate ranks were hit hard by work force reductions. The percentage of those attorneys shrank by 8.7 percent, to 61,733 from 67,648 last year.
In addition to laid-off associates, the decline reflects would-be first-year associates whose start dates law firms deferred. Of the 250 firms on the list, 113 reported that they deferred a total of 2,784 associates. That figure represents 42 percent of the 6,636 law graduates who would have been in the incoming first-year associate class. The average number of associates deferred per firm was 25.
At the same time, partner employment, as a whole, remained unscathed. The number of partners in 2009 was 53,468, compared with 52,980 in 2008, an increase of 0.9 percent. Among the top 50 firms, 30 increased their partner totals. The results confirm that law firms' strategy in managing the downturn was to save the partners -- and partnerships. "The cuts made were done primarily to preserve workloads for partners," said Ward Bower, a consultant with Altman Weil. And perhaps troubling to clients, "it suggests that work done by partners is work that associates could do," he added.
Attorneys in the "other" category proved the most expendable. The category includes nonpartner, nonassociate lawyers, including counsel, of counsel, senior counsel and staff attorneys. That group nosedived by 8.9 percent to 11,433 from 12,547 in 2008.
The overall downturn in totals this year was partly a correction of the rapid growth that NLJ 250 firms experienced during the preceding five years. Between 2004 and 2008, firms added 21,948 attorneys. Many firms declined to near or below their numbers of five years ago. Latham & Watkins' total this year of 1,878 was just 38 attorneys more than it had in 2005. The firm announced in February that it was laying off 190 attorneys, a move that followed speculation about other unreported attorney reductions. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, with 1,243 attorneys, fell below its 2005 number of 1,281. Other top firms with this year's totals lower than their 2005 results were Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; McDermott Will & Emery; Shearman & Sterling; O'Melveny & Myers; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; and Fulbright & Jaworski. "
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Bankruptcy Jobs are Booming
The secret is out. Bankruptcy jobs are booming. Americans are feeling economic pain. Jobs are being lost, pensions are being cut, credit card bills are mounting, and mortgages are being foreclosed. Who should these American turn to? BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS
Below is an interesting article authored by Debra Weiss of the ABA Journa Law News Now. The article is entitled "Bankruptcy Boutiques are Quietly Booming." I thought you would enjoy it. She writes:
"The declining economy is good news for boutique law firms handling business bankruptcies.
“Bankruptcy boutiques across the country have been quietly booming in this economy as bankruptcies and workouts soar,” according to Portfolio.com. “Unlike large law firms which have been pummeled by the recession, forcing them to fire lawyers and entirely rethink established business practices, these smaller bankruptcy shops say the current economy is actually an opportunity to shine.”
While most large law firms have bankruptcy practices, they are unable to handle some cases because they also represent large financial institutions, creating a conflict of interest, the story says.
Peter Roberts, a partner with 25-lawyer Shaw Gussis Fishman Glantz Wolfson & Towbin in Chicago, told Portfolio his law firm began to seeing more business about six months ago from financially troubled smaller and middle-market businesses. “The banks ... have turned their attention to the smaller loans in their portfolios,” he said.
Harold Murphy, the head of the bankruptcy and financial restructuring practice at 31-lawyer Hanify & King in Boston, said Chapter 11 filings are already up and will probably increase over the next year.
“Bankruptcies are a lagging indicator. They generally peak near the tail end of a recession, rather than leading the recession,” he told Portfolio.com.
The article says other bankruptcy boutiques include Craig & Macauley in Boston and Warner Stevens in Fort Worth, Texas."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Below is an interesting article authored by Debra Weiss of the ABA Journa Law News Now. The article is entitled "Bankruptcy Boutiques are Quietly Booming." I thought you would enjoy it. She writes:
"The declining economy is good news for boutique law firms handling business bankruptcies.
“Bankruptcy boutiques across the country have been quietly booming in this economy as bankruptcies and workouts soar,” according to Portfolio.com. “Unlike large law firms which have been pummeled by the recession, forcing them to fire lawyers and entirely rethink established business practices, these smaller bankruptcy shops say the current economy is actually an opportunity to shine.”
While most large law firms have bankruptcy practices, they are unable to handle some cases because they also represent large financial institutions, creating a conflict of interest, the story says.
Peter Roberts, a partner with 25-lawyer Shaw Gussis Fishman Glantz Wolfson & Towbin in Chicago, told Portfolio his law firm began to seeing more business about six months ago from financially troubled smaller and middle-market businesses. “The banks ... have turned their attention to the smaller loans in their portfolios,” he said.
Harold Murphy, the head of the bankruptcy and financial restructuring practice at 31-lawyer Hanify & King in Boston, said Chapter 11 filings are already up and will probably increase over the next year.
“Bankruptcies are a lagging indicator. They generally peak near the tail end of a recession, rather than leading the recession,” he told Portfolio.com.
The article says other bankruptcy boutiques include Craig & Macauley in Boston and Warner Stevens in Fort Worth, Texas."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Bankruptcy Filings are About to Rise
Bankruptcy filings are about to rise. Unemployment causes people to lose the ability to repay debts. These people may want to repay the credit card and medical debts, but the loss of income may prevent them from making payments. The American Bankruptcy Institute discussed the increasing unemployment rate, stating
"The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 - and is likely to go higher, the Associated Press reported today. Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs, even though the worst recession since the Great Depression has apparently ended. The Labor Department said Friday that the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September. August job losses were also revised lower, to 154,000 from 201,000. But the loss of jobs last month exceeded economists' estimates. It's the 22nd straight month the U.S. economy has shed jobs, the longest on records dating back 70 years. Counting those who have settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994. The jobless rate rose to 10.2 percent from 9.8 percent in September. Economists say it could climb as high as 10.5 percent next year because employers remain reluctant to hire. In addition, the number of Americans who have been out of work for six months or longer rose to a record 5.6 million. They comprise 35.6 percent of the unemployed population, matching a record set last month. Today's report is the first since the government said last week that the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the strongest signal yet that the economy is rebounding. But that isn't fast enough to spur rapid hiring, raising the specter of a jobless recovery. Many economists also worry that persistently high unemployment could undermine the recovery by restraining consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
"The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 - and is likely to go higher, the Associated Press reported today. Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs, even though the worst recession since the Great Depression has apparently ended. The Labor Department said Friday that the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September. August job losses were also revised lower, to 154,000 from 201,000. But the loss of jobs last month exceeded economists' estimates. It's the 22nd straight month the U.S. economy has shed jobs, the longest on records dating back 70 years. Counting those who have settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994. The jobless rate rose to 10.2 percent from 9.8 percent in September. Economists say it could climb as high as 10.5 percent next year because employers remain reluctant to hire. In addition, the number of Americans who have been out of work for six months or longer rose to a record 5.6 million. They comprise 35.6 percent of the unemployed population, matching a record set last month. Today's report is the first since the government said last week that the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the strongest signal yet that the economy is rebounding. But that isn't fast enough to spur rapid hiring, raising the specter of a jobless recovery. Many economists also worry that persistently high unemployment could undermine the recovery by restraining consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy."
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm.
Click for Bankruptcy Lawyer Job Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Lawyer Looking for a Job Should Consider Bankruptcy Law
An interesting observation was made by columnist Jennifer Iikka in the October 2009 issue of the Chicago Laywer. She observes:
"There are few professions other than [law] where you spend years of your life and up to six figures in loans to graduate, and literally not know what you are doing when you get a job. If you do not know what you are doing as a young associate, how do you learn on the job without appearing ignorant?"
I think the answer is better training before you start your job. Law schools don't prepare you to "run with the ball" upon graduation. I urge young lawyers who are eager to join a growing legal field to seriously consider a job as a bankrutpcy attorney. Fantastic legal training is offered by the National Bankruptcy College and more information can be found at http://www.nationalbankruptcycollege.com/.
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm. Click for Employment Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
"There are few professions other than [law] where you spend years of your life and up to six figures in loans to graduate, and literally not know what you are doing when you get a job. If you do not know what you are doing as a young associate, how do you learn on the job without appearing ignorant?"
I think the answer is better training before you start your job. Law schools don't prepare you to "run with the ball" upon graduation. I urge young lawyers who are eager to join a growing legal field to seriously consider a job as a bankrutpcy attorney. Fantastic legal training is offered by the National Bankruptcy College and more information can be found at http://www.nationalbankruptcycollege.com/.
Warmest Regards,
Bob Schaller
Your Bankruptcy Advisor Blog
By: Attorney Robert Schaller (Bob's bio) of the Schaller Law Firm. Click for Employment Opportunities.
Bob is a member of the National Bankruptcy College Attorney Network, American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to this blog by completing the box to the right of this post so you will automatically receive future blog postings. Next, you can review past and future blogs at any time by clicking the "archive" link in the column to the right of this posting. Plus, you are invited to submit a question by utilizing the "question" box in the column to the right of this posting.
For information about Chapter 7 bankruptcy Click Here
For information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy Click Here
You are invited to contact Attorney Schaller at 630-655-1233 or visit his website at http://www.schallerlawfirm.com/to learn about how the bankruptcy laws can help you.
NOTE: Robert Schaller looks forward to the opportunity to talk with you about your legal issues. But please remember that all information on this blog is for advertising and general informational purposes only. Please read Bob's disclaimer.
I recommend that you review a few other blogs that may be of interest to you. These blogs are identified in the right column and are set forth below: bankruptcy issues blog; bankruptcy and family law issues blog; bankruptcy and employment issues blog; and bankruptcy and student loan issues blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
