Latham to v80!

[patiently impatient]

Whelp this weekend is gonna suck...

[Johannes]

This isn’t a top 15 move. At least 50 firms will move including some that aren’t sniffing 1 million rpl or 3m ppp.

Seen/heard enough from non-ny/SF markets with these numbers gonna do match and bonus. This puppy is done - Texas, dc, SF nyc; 80%+ of V100 gone.

[HeyPorter]

Anyone know what the deal is with Covington? ATL came out with this sketchy story that, after 5pm on a Friday, the firm sent out an email but no memo saying there'd be a match. But sources are saying there was no email.

Someone might've just pulled the wool over ATL's eyes, in which case, that's freaking hilarious.

[Johannes]

You guys are so impatient. Everyone’s falling in line.

[bruinfan10]

so you say dooder. just watch. LA becomes a legal backwater. Associates lose their houses. TX firms become the new NY firms. Without a match by Latham, any of that is possible.

[JohnnieSockran]

Lol, Covington post was fake news and has been removed.

[Johannes]

They are all moving. You realize how large these bureaucracies are? It’s just red tape at this point.

[BearCat]

Partners probably just don't actually give a shit at all, figured as long as they raise before the end of the month they're good for OCI. Nobody is going to bid 1 firm lower just because it matched later. Nobody's gonna bump Milbank above STB on their bidlist purely because of the timing of the raises. (there may be reasons to bid Milbank above STB, but my point is it won't be because of raise timing)

[SmokeytheBear]

so you say dooder. just watch. LA becomes a legal backwater. Associates lose their houses. TX firms become the new NY firms. Without a match by Latham, any of that is possible.

Keep going. What about chemtrails?

[Guest]

Partners probably just don't actually give a shit at all, figured as long as they raise before the end of the month they're good for OCI. Nobody is going to bid 1 firm lower just because it matched later. Nobody's gonna bump Milbank above STB on their bidlist purely because of the timing of the raises. (there may be reasons to bid Milbank above STB, but my point is it won't be because of raise timing)

I think it's because the "timing" battle is more of a pissing contest as between partherns than it is about signaling to law students and associates.

[BearCat]

I like how law firms pretend that they're regular businesses that aren't open on weekends.

[cfcm]

FT article on the recent raises.

There are some interesting bits:

Alan Olson, of the US legal consultancy Altman Weil, said the salary war “may be sustainable by some firms for a period” but fierce competition would eventually put pressure on both fees and remuneration.

However, Scott Edelman, chairman of Milbank, said the rises were sustainable for firms that had done well over the past four years. “For sophisticated, sensitive, bet-your-company litigation or transactions . . . you want the best, you want it done right away, by people with a special work ethic and special skills,” he said

An associate who moved from a UK firm to Latham said the difference in day-to-day work was that “you have to be available at all times”.

”That’s the price you pay,” the associate added. “But US firms are better with flexible working; there is less of a facetime culture and they are more efficient.”

Though it was clearly written by fantasist:

Associates who survive the gruelling hours and go on to make partner at the top US firms can expect to see their pay rocket: average partner pay at Milbank, for example, is $3.25m, according to The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 figures

[SmittyWerben]

FT article on the recent raises.

There are some interesting bits:

Alan Olson, of the US legal consultancy Altman Weil, said the salary war “may be sustainable by some firms for a period” but fierce competition would eventually put pressure on both fees and remuneration.

However, Scott Edelman, chairman of Milbank, said the rises were sustainable for firms that had done well over the past four years. “For sophisticated, sensitive, bet-your-company litigation or transactions . . . you want the best, you want it done right away, by people with a special work ethic and special skills,” he said

An associate who moved from a UK firm to Latham said the difference in day-to-day work was that “you have to be available at all times”.

”That’s the price you pay,” the associate added. “But US firms are better with flexible working; there is less of a facetime culture and they are more efficient.”

Though it was clearly written by fantasist:

Associates who survive the gruelling hours and go on to make partner at the top US firms can expect to see their pay rocket: average partner pay at Milbank, for example, is $3.25m, according to The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 figures

On a related note, fuck Altman Weil. Every single thing I've heard about the legal profession from those fucks has been (a) wrong and (b) stupid.

[BearCat]

Alan Olson, of the US legal consultancy Altman Weil, said the salary war “may be sustainable by some firms for a period” but fierce competition would eventually put pressure on both fees and remuneration.

However, Scott Edelman, chairman of Milbank, said the rises were sustainable for firms that had done well over the past four years. “For sophisticated, sensitive, bet-your-company litigation or transactions . . . you want the best, you want it done right away, by people with a special work ethic and special skills,” he said

confirmation Milbank new billable minimum to 2300

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

I like how law firms pretend that they're regular businesses that aren't open on weekends.

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

Alan Olson, of the US legal consultancy Altman Weil, said the salary war “may be sustainable by some firms for a period” but fierce competition would eventually put pressure on both fees and remuneration.

However, Scott Edelman, chairman of Milbank, said the rises were sustainable for firms that had done well over the past four years. “For sophisticated, sensitive, bet-your-company litigation or transactions . . . you want the best, you want it done right away, by people with a special work ethic and special skills,” he said

confirmation Milbank new billable minimum to 2300

Lest anyone think it’s a sweatshop, Milbank doesn’t have a minimum and is p generous re:hours pressure

[- - - - - - -]

Has anyone at Skadden received confirmation that the mid-year hours thing actually applies?

A little birdie at a Skaddellite office told me no one knows what that line in the memo meant and there has been no follow-up (regarding what the productive hours minimum is or when it will be calculated), but the partners do not seem concerned about associates missing it.

But then, maybe that means the minimum's so high that they're not worried about paying it. That seems unlikely. I doubt their partners are oblivious to the backlash they would get.

[soj]

Sadden partners? Never

[Trout]

the "backlash" is limited to about 8 people on an internet message board, i doubt that they are overly concerned

[romanticegotist]

the "backlash" is limited to about 8 people on an internet message board, i doubt that they are overly concerned

I feel like people always forget that partners are heavily incentivized to see what they can get away with; even if they are on the whole not assholes (like at my firm) you can't fight the pull of all that PPP

[BullPenn]

"skaddelite" lol

[Desert Fox]

No associate billing average hours at Skadden is going to have any sympathy.

[- - - - - - -]

Would they not? Like soj said earlier, some practice groups' years are back loaded. It's easy to empathize with your friends in slower groups and compare yourselves to STB and DPW associates getting a bonus no matter what.

And the 8 people on the internet message board(s) will probably be very obnoxious about it. Plus there's Elie over there at the law blog. He's always willing to get vicariously fired up on behalf of real lawyers.

[Desert Fox]

Cause they'd all trade summer boneus for billing under 900 hours from Jan to July. Seems like a fair trade.

Though I'd support making them whole if they billed substantially above average for the rest of the year.

[notlegaladvice]

Expected to see more by now today TBH.

V50s that haven't matched:

Latham
GDC
Sidley
Covington
White & Case
Williams & Connolly
Boies
Paul Hastings
Wilmer
MoFo
OMM
Hogan
Akin Gump
A&P
Baker McKenzie
Mayer Brown
Cooley
K&Lololol
MTO
Linklaters
DLA
Orrick
Shearman
Allen & Overy
Morgan Lewis
Wilson Sonsini
Cadwalader
Baker Botts
King & Spalding
Fried Frank