According to a seasonally adjusted monthly jobs report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5,800 of the 190,000 jobs lost around the country in October came from the legal sector.
When not seasonally adjusted, the legal industry actually gained 1,500 jobs, but that's likely a result of summer associates being weaned from law firm payrolls. In September, seasonally adjusted BLS data showed the legal sector losing 2,000 jobs.
In October, Cooley Godward Kronish let go of 58 staffers, followed by Foley & Lardner cutting 39 lawyers, and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr shedding 57 staff members.
According to a recent analysis by the National Law Journal, a Daily Report affiliate, New York firms operating in Washington saw their overall head count decrease by 2.8 percent between April 2008 and April 2009.
For more information check out www.WarrenRecruiting.com.
Blog Archive
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Skadden to Cut Summer Class by Half, Change Recruiting Process
Below is a great recap of a trend predicted earlier this year by Warren Recruiting. While the impact by Skadden is irrelevant (statiscally), the ensuing Domino effect will have repurcusions throughout the legal industry.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is cutting the size of its 2010 summer associate class by half and adjusting its recruitment strategy by making all of its offers on a single day in late September, according to a copy of a letter the firm will send to prospective summers.
Skadden hired 225 summer associates this year and expects to hire a little more than 100 next year, though the precise figure will depend on offer acceptance rates, says Howard Ellin, Skadden's recruiting partner.
The firm will not rescind offers to any prospective 2010 summers; if, say, 150 summers accept, the firm will hire all 150 even though that number exceeds the figure it currently has in mind, Ellin says.
"That is unprofessional and a shock to our conscience," he says of rescinding offers.
The letter also contains good news for 2009 summers: The firm plans to offer full-time positions to 95 percent of them, although they will not start until 2011.
Those lucky enough to land spots in Skadden's 2010 summer class will receive those offers on the same day--Sept. 22, which the firm has dubbed "Skadden Offer Day." The firm will continue to give those who receive offers 45 days to evaluate them in compliance with informal guidelines set by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP).
The change comes in response to the growing number of law schools who have pushed first- and second-round interviews up to late August and early September, Ellin says.
He and Carol Sprague, Skadden's director of associate and alumni relations and attorney recruiting, are interviewing at Harvard Law School today, and the school's callback week starts on Sept. 11. Other top schools have moved to similar timetables, and more law firm recruiters have openly expressed their discomfort with a recruiting timetable that requires them to make summer offers almost a year in advance.
In the past Skadden has made offers on a rolling timetable that has extended in some cases past Thanksgiving, but the increasingly early interview schedule--plus the 45-day guideline--has created a situation where making the decision earlier is best for the firm, and, perhaps, for the students.
"The fact that schools are now front-loading in August and September has squeezed things so tightly that it made this an easy thing to do," Ellin says.
Whether the firm continues the single-day offer strategy depends in part on whether firms, schools and NALP can come together to push back the recruiting calender.
"This does not make sense anymore, and in our judgment needs to change," Ellin says. "And it will take all the various constituencies, primarily the schools, with prodding from the law firms."
Skadden also plans to sink more attorney resources into the recruiting process. Two attorneys instead of one will conduct as many on-campus interviews as possible, and prospective summers who visit the firm's office will "spend significantly more time in the firm and with each interviewer," the letter says.
Skadden will continue its tradition of hosting a "Super Saturday" of in-office interviews; it will be held on Sept. 12 this year.
The firm will also begin using a wait list for callbacks and offers, the letter says. Source: American Laywer
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is cutting the size of its 2010 summer associate class by half and adjusting its recruitment strategy by making all of its offers on a single day in late September, according to a copy of a letter the firm will send to prospective summers.
Skadden hired 225 summer associates this year and expects to hire a little more than 100 next year, though the precise figure will depend on offer acceptance rates, says Howard Ellin, Skadden's recruiting partner.
The firm will not rescind offers to any prospective 2010 summers; if, say, 150 summers accept, the firm will hire all 150 even though that number exceeds the figure it currently has in mind, Ellin says.
"That is unprofessional and a shock to our conscience," he says of rescinding offers.
The letter also contains good news for 2009 summers: The firm plans to offer full-time positions to 95 percent of them, although they will not start until 2011.
Those lucky enough to land spots in Skadden's 2010 summer class will receive those offers on the same day--Sept. 22, which the firm has dubbed "Skadden Offer Day." The firm will continue to give those who receive offers 45 days to evaluate them in compliance with informal guidelines set by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP).
The change comes in response to the growing number of law schools who have pushed first- and second-round interviews up to late August and early September, Ellin says.
He and Carol Sprague, Skadden's director of associate and alumni relations and attorney recruiting, are interviewing at Harvard Law School today, and the school's callback week starts on Sept. 11. Other top schools have moved to similar timetables, and more law firm recruiters have openly expressed their discomfort with a recruiting timetable that requires them to make summer offers almost a year in advance.
In the past Skadden has made offers on a rolling timetable that has extended in some cases past Thanksgiving, but the increasingly early interview schedule--plus the 45-day guideline--has created a situation where making the decision earlier is best for the firm, and, perhaps, for the students.
"The fact that schools are now front-loading in August and September has squeezed things so tightly that it made this an easy thing to do," Ellin says.
Whether the firm continues the single-day offer strategy depends in part on whether firms, schools and NALP can come together to push back the recruiting calender.
"This does not make sense anymore, and in our judgment needs to change," Ellin says. "And it will take all the various constituencies, primarily the schools, with prodding from the law firms."
Skadden also plans to sink more attorney resources into the recruiting process. Two attorneys instead of one will conduct as many on-campus interviews as possible, and prospective summers who visit the firm's office will "spend significantly more time in the firm and with each interviewer," the letter says.
Skadden will continue its tradition of hosting a "Super Saturday" of in-office interviews; it will be held on Sept. 12 this year.
The firm will also begin using a wait list for callbacks and offers, the letter says. Source: American Laywer
Monday, August 24, 2009
'Billable Hour' Under Attack
How will this impact your career?
'Billable Hour' Under Attack
In Recession, Companies Push Law Firms for Flat-Fee Contracts
By NATHAN KOPPEL and ASHBY JONES of the WSJ
With the recession crimping legal budgets, some big companies are fighting back against law firms' longstanding practice of billing them by the hour.
The companies are ditching the hourly structure -- which critics complain offers law firms an incentive to rack up bigger bills -- in favor of flat-fee contracts. One survey found an increase of more than 50% this year in corporate spending on alternatives to the traditional hourly-fee model.
Pfizer earlier this year reached a deal with law firms, doing away with billable hours and switching to a flat fee. The pharmaceutical company's general counsel, Amy Schulman, talks about what was behind the arrangement.
The shift could further squeeze earnings at top law firms. The past 18 months have been brutal for some big law firms as work that hinges on vibrant credit markets, such as deal making, has flat-lined.
Pfizer Inc., which spends more than $500 million a year on legal matters, says it expects to reduce its domestic law-firm spending by 15% to 20%, largely through flat-fee arrangements. It will pay 16 law firms lump sums to handle various portfolios of work, such as litigation and tax matters. "I have told firms you cannot make your historical profit margins" on Pfizer work, said the pharmaceutical giant's general counsel, Amy Schulman.
Cisco Systems Inc. has notified its stable of outside law firms that it is vital for the company to move away from the hourly billing structure. Cisco now uses fixed fees or other alternatives to the billable hour for about 80% of its legal work, said its general counsel, Mark Chandler.
American Express Co. also has stepped up its use of alternative billing arrangements, and "I haven't had one firm in 2009 tell us, no, that they flatly wouldn't entertain something that moves away from the traditional straight hourly model," said the company's chief litigation counsel, Stuart Alderoty. "The paradigm has changed."
Money spent on alternative billing arrangements has totaled $13.1 billion this year, versus $8.6 billion in the like period of 2008, according to BTI Consulting Group Inc., which surveyed 370 lawyers who work at Fortune 1000 companies. The Wellesley, Mass., firm said that the lawyers reported average cost savings of 15% from using alternative arrangements. It said 63% of the surveyed lawyers planned to increase their use of alternative billing arrangements.
Companies have long complained that legal fees are inflated by a business model in which law firms have high-priced junior lawyers who must be kept busy billing for work that could be handled more efficiently. With the recession, companies have the leverage to force changes, say some lawyers at both client companies and law firms. "Law firms are more receptive to change because they are in the business of needing legal work," said Daniel Fitz, chairman of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Partner profits were down an average of 4% last year at the highest-grossing firms, according to American Lawyer magazine. Their hourly rates have risen to a range of $300 to $1,000. But with the slump, firms have had to dismiss associates, reduce salaries and cut back on hiring of new graduates. "Just like the tech and housing bubbles, there was a legal-profession bubble, and now we are experiencing a correction," says David Antzis, managing partner of Philadelphia-based Saul Ewing LLP, which is doing more fixed-fee work.
Pfizer could have demanded a discount from firms' hourly rates, Ms. Schulman said, but she hopes for a shift to a system that encourages firms to work more collaboratively with Pfizer and with other law firms that service Pfizer. The flat-fee program "should be something fundamentally different that will last beyond whatever people think they have to tolerate because of the economy," she said.
Some legal departments have for years experimented with flat fees for certain types of repetitive, predictable work like patent applications. Attorneys say it is doubtful flat fees could ever supplant hourly billing for the most complicated and high-stakes matters, such as an antitrust fight with the government or a particularly tricky corporate merger, where it's too hard to estimate how much effort it will consume.
American Express also has stepped up its use of alternative billing arrangements.
In addition, "a client can't expect to have the absolute best team of [trial] lawyers from a firm, and have the lawyers give up all the other work they could be doing on a regular-fee basis, to work 18 hours a day for months of time on a flat-fee engagement," said Barry Ostrager, a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handles civil trials.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, a San Francisco-based firm, has tripled the revenue it generates from alternative billing arrangements in the past year, but maintained profitability through efficiencies, said David Fries, chief client-service officer. Software sends an email to lawyers when they hit certain levels of a fixed-fee budget, as a reminder to work efficiently. Financial analysts file biweekly reports analyzing how lawyers' time is being spent. "You find that someone may have spent 200 hours on something" that isn't crucial, Mr. Fries said.
Orrick has also altered the mix of lawyers it employs, focusing less exclusively on hiring graduates from elite law schools, who can command starting pay of $160,000. It is employing some college graduates who can perform routine tasks at a lower cost.
Saul Ewing in Philadelphia recently investigated a client's potential corporate acquisition under a six-week flat-fee engagement. The matter was handled about 10% more cheaply for the client than it would have been under a billable-hour deal, said Mr. Antzis, the managing partner. He said "it was still fair to the firm" because "we were incentivized to get done in 10 hours what another lawyer at another firm may have spent 12 hours doing."
At Sidley Austin LLP, Sara Gourley, a partner, said changes made by Pfizer have given her more freedom to put the best mix of lawyers on a legal matter. Pfizer used to have a rule that no lawyer with an hourly rate higher than a second-year attorney's could bill the drug company for legal research. Now that costs are fixed, Ms. Gourley says, she has been able to assign a senior associate to perform Pfizer legal research who could get the answers much more quickly than a junior lawyer might.
'Billable Hour' Under Attack
In Recession, Companies Push Law Firms for Flat-Fee Contracts
By NATHAN KOPPEL and ASHBY JONES of the WSJ
With the recession crimping legal budgets, some big companies are fighting back against law firms' longstanding practice of billing them by the hour.
The companies are ditching the hourly structure -- which critics complain offers law firms an incentive to rack up bigger bills -- in favor of flat-fee contracts. One survey found an increase of more than 50% this year in corporate spending on alternatives to the traditional hourly-fee model.
Pfizer earlier this year reached a deal with law firms, doing away with billable hours and switching to a flat fee. The pharmaceutical company's general counsel, Amy Schulman, talks about what was behind the arrangement.
The shift could further squeeze earnings at top law firms. The past 18 months have been brutal for some big law firms as work that hinges on vibrant credit markets, such as deal making, has flat-lined.
Pfizer Inc., which spends more than $500 million a year on legal matters, says it expects to reduce its domestic law-firm spending by 15% to 20%, largely through flat-fee arrangements. It will pay 16 law firms lump sums to handle various portfolios of work, such as litigation and tax matters. "I have told firms you cannot make your historical profit margins" on Pfizer work, said the pharmaceutical giant's general counsel, Amy Schulman.
Cisco Systems Inc. has notified its stable of outside law firms that it is vital for the company to move away from the hourly billing structure. Cisco now uses fixed fees or other alternatives to the billable hour for about 80% of its legal work, said its general counsel, Mark Chandler.
American Express Co. also has stepped up its use of alternative billing arrangements, and "I haven't had one firm in 2009 tell us, no, that they flatly wouldn't entertain something that moves away from the traditional straight hourly model," said the company's chief litigation counsel, Stuart Alderoty. "The paradigm has changed."
Money spent on alternative billing arrangements has totaled $13.1 billion this year, versus $8.6 billion in the like period of 2008, according to BTI Consulting Group Inc., which surveyed 370 lawyers who work at Fortune 1000 companies. The Wellesley, Mass., firm said that the lawyers reported average cost savings of 15% from using alternative arrangements. It said 63% of the surveyed lawyers planned to increase their use of alternative billing arrangements.
Companies have long complained that legal fees are inflated by a business model in which law firms have high-priced junior lawyers who must be kept busy billing for work that could be handled more efficiently. With the recession, companies have the leverage to force changes, say some lawyers at both client companies and law firms. "Law firms are more receptive to change because they are in the business of needing legal work," said Daniel Fitz, chairman of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Partner profits were down an average of 4% last year at the highest-grossing firms, according to American Lawyer magazine. Their hourly rates have risen to a range of $300 to $1,000. But with the slump, firms have had to dismiss associates, reduce salaries and cut back on hiring of new graduates. "Just like the tech and housing bubbles, there was a legal-profession bubble, and now we are experiencing a correction," says David Antzis, managing partner of Philadelphia-based Saul Ewing LLP, which is doing more fixed-fee work.
Pfizer could have demanded a discount from firms' hourly rates, Ms. Schulman said, but she hopes for a shift to a system that encourages firms to work more collaboratively with Pfizer and with other law firms that service Pfizer. The flat-fee program "should be something fundamentally different that will last beyond whatever people think they have to tolerate because of the economy," she said.
Some legal departments have for years experimented with flat fees for certain types of repetitive, predictable work like patent applications. Attorneys say it is doubtful flat fees could ever supplant hourly billing for the most complicated and high-stakes matters, such as an antitrust fight with the government or a particularly tricky corporate merger, where it's too hard to estimate how much effort it will consume.
American Express also has stepped up its use of alternative billing arrangements.
In addition, "a client can't expect to have the absolute best team of [trial] lawyers from a firm, and have the lawyers give up all the other work they could be doing on a regular-fee basis, to work 18 hours a day for months of time on a flat-fee engagement," said Barry Ostrager, a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handles civil trials.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, a San Francisco-based firm, has tripled the revenue it generates from alternative billing arrangements in the past year, but maintained profitability through efficiencies, said David Fries, chief client-service officer. Software sends an email to lawyers when they hit certain levels of a fixed-fee budget, as a reminder to work efficiently. Financial analysts file biweekly reports analyzing how lawyers' time is being spent. "You find that someone may have spent 200 hours on something" that isn't crucial, Mr. Fries said.
Orrick has also altered the mix of lawyers it employs, focusing less exclusively on hiring graduates from elite law schools, who can command starting pay of $160,000. It is employing some college graduates who can perform routine tasks at a lower cost.
Saul Ewing in Philadelphia recently investigated a client's potential corporate acquisition under a six-week flat-fee engagement. The matter was handled about 10% more cheaply for the client than it would have been under a billable-hour deal, said Mr. Antzis, the managing partner. He said "it was still fair to the firm" because "we were incentivized to get done in 10 hours what another lawyer at another firm may have spent 12 hours doing."
At Sidley Austin LLP, Sara Gourley, a partner, said changes made by Pfizer have given her more freedom to put the best mix of lawyers on a legal matter. Pfizer used to have a rule that no lawyer with an hourly rate higher than a second-year attorney's could bill the drug company for legal research. Now that costs are fixed, Ms. Gourley says, she has been able to assign a senior associate to perform Pfizer legal research who could get the answers much more quickly than a junior lawyer might.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Update your Resume, Update yourself
It's one of the first things people think to do after losing a job: quickly get a résumé into as many hands as possible. But career experts say doing so without a strategic plan is a mistake -- wasting time and energy and resulting in few callbacks. "Most people sprinkle their résumé around like confetti hoping they will land in the right spot," says Ford Myers, president of Career Potential LLC, a Philadelphia-based career consulting firm. "It's a bad strategy." How to get the most out of your résumé:
Make a wish list. Take the time to identify the companies you want to work for before you sit down to write your résumé. "You have to know where you are headed," says Robert Saam, a senior vice president at Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based outplacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison. "This informs how to do your résumé." For example, knowing a company you are applying to is in the midst of making acquisitions can help you structure your résumé to highlight relevant work experience, he says.
Use keywords. Particularly when answering ads through online job boards or through a corporate Web site, be sure to include critical keywords high up in your résumé. For example, for someone applying for a human-resources position, it would be wise to include key words such as "recruiting" and "hiring" near the top of a résumé for better search optimization. Other clues to the right keywords can be found in the job description -- try to use words found there in your résumé.
Tell your story. Once you're ready to send out the résumé, make sure it's doing the job of showcasing your skills and accomplishments. Many résumé writers begin by trying to construct concise bullet points. But that can mean losing some of the critical pieces of information involved in what you've accomplished. So, Mr. Saam suggests first spelling out the details of a work-related situation, any obstacle, the action you took to resolve the issue, and the results of your actions. Write out the complete story, he advises, and then whittle it down to a series of concise descriptive bullet points.
Find an insider. Develop a networking list of friends, former colleagues, and acquaintances who might know people at your target companies. Taking the time to pinpoint key contacts at the company where you are applying will help ensure your résumé gets into the right person's hands. What's more, an introduction to an insider will help avoid needing to use the résumé upfront.
Try a personal touch. For Daniel Muldowney, who has been looking for a marketing job since he was laid off in March, putting a personal touch on his résumé is one way to grab the attention of hiring managers. Mr. Muldowney encloses a handwritten note with his résumé, making clear that he has researched each company, mentioning, for example, the firm's last quarterly report or a recent speech made by the CEO. "The ultimate goal is to catch an executive's attention," says Mr. Muldowney.
Re-evaluate regularly. If you've been sending your résumé out for a month or more with no response, ask yourself a few questions. Have you developed a plan that outlines the job functions and industries that most interest you? Are there new keywords you need to incorporate or are your bullet points not playing to your strengths or the company's needs?
Great examples of resumes are available on Warren Recruiting's website.
Courtesy of WSJ
Make a wish list. Take the time to identify the companies you want to work for before you sit down to write your résumé. "You have to know where you are headed," says Robert Saam, a senior vice president at Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based outplacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison. "This informs how to do your résumé." For example, knowing a company you are applying to is in the midst of making acquisitions can help you structure your résumé to highlight relevant work experience, he says.
Use keywords. Particularly when answering ads through online job boards or through a corporate Web site, be sure to include critical keywords high up in your résumé. For example, for someone applying for a human-resources position, it would be wise to include key words such as "recruiting" and "hiring" near the top of a résumé for better search optimization. Other clues to the right keywords can be found in the job description -- try to use words found there in your résumé.
Tell your story. Once you're ready to send out the résumé, make sure it's doing the job of showcasing your skills and accomplishments. Many résumé writers begin by trying to construct concise bullet points. But that can mean losing some of the critical pieces of information involved in what you've accomplished. So, Mr. Saam suggests first spelling out the details of a work-related situation, any obstacle, the action you took to resolve the issue, and the results of your actions. Write out the complete story, he advises, and then whittle it down to a series of concise descriptive bullet points.
Find an insider. Develop a networking list of friends, former colleagues, and acquaintances who might know people at your target companies. Taking the time to pinpoint key contacts at the company where you are applying will help ensure your résumé gets into the right person's hands. What's more, an introduction to an insider will help avoid needing to use the résumé upfront.
Try a personal touch. For Daniel Muldowney, who has been looking for a marketing job since he was laid off in March, putting a personal touch on his résumé is one way to grab the attention of hiring managers. Mr. Muldowney encloses a handwritten note with his résumé, making clear that he has researched each company, mentioning, for example, the firm's last quarterly report or a recent speech made by the CEO. "The ultimate goal is to catch an executive's attention," says Mr. Muldowney.
Re-evaluate regularly. If you've been sending your résumé out for a month or more with no response, ask yourself a few questions. Have you developed a plan that outlines the job functions and industries that most interest you? Are there new keywords you need to incorporate or are your bullet points not playing to your strengths or the company's needs?
Great examples of resumes are available on Warren Recruiting's website.
Courtesy of WSJ
Monday, June 1, 2009
Summer Associates Feel the Heat
The theme song of the 2008 Big Law Summer Program (and all those glittering summers that preceded it) as “Celebration.” As in, “Celebrate good times … Come on!”
For decades, that party went on. And on. And on.
But in case you hadn't noticed that the tune in your head's been sounding a little different recently, let me be the first to tell you: That “Celebration” record has been jerked off the turntable/deleted from the iPod/dumped from the jukebox playlist and replaced by the Summer of 2009 anthem: “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”
Working as a Cog at Big Law after your colleagues were canned and while profits plummet is sad enough, but working through the pain and awkwardness that is Big Law Summer Camp 2009 is sure to become an instant war story: “… and then the summer associate started crying in my arms … but he wasn't even drunk. He just realized he had no prospects of being hired.”
This anthem-change from Kool and the Gang to Green Day reflects a seismic shift in Big Law Summer Camp from an environment of excess, lavishness and frivolity to one of anxiety, penny-pinching and angst. Offices formerly occupied by recently laid-off, eager, young associates trying to pay off law school debt and make it in the Big Time have been swiftly bleached, vacuumed, dusted and re-painted to remove the taint of shattered dreams—just in time for summer associates to roll in and start testing out their new Big Law e-mail addresses.
Those of us who are anxiously hoping not to be next on the casualty list are forced to act as if everything is fine when we do not know if we will still have a job in 2010—much less whether there will be room on the payroll for these eager law students. So much for “Two! Four! Six! Eight! Summer Camp is really great!”
The few kids who participated in 2008 Big Law Summer of Fun and are now back again for 2009 Summer of Seriousness will notice a few obvious changes:
2008 retreat
Three-day beach retreat complete with spa day, golf tourney, all-you-can-eat shrimp and crab buffet, poolside pina coladas, parasailing and logo-embroidered Big Law golf shirt!
2009 retreat
Friday afternoon “retreat” to the firm's largest top floor conference room where the furniture has been removed to make way for the “Mexican Madness” party complete with buckets of Tecate in a can, tacos, chips and a piñata full of foil-wrapped chocolates. Take out your frustration on the economy by whacking the multicolored papier-mâché donkey until the mini-Snickers bars rain upon you. Paartaay!
2008 lunch
Big Law associates fighting to take summer associates to fully expensed two-hour, four-course lunches at the latest, hippest eateries. “Molten chocolate cake anyone?”
2009 lunch
Big Law associates working feverishly through lunch while refusing to give summers any projects because the associates need the hours more. “Hey Summer, sorry I had to cancel lunch, but I have to finish up the document review I was going to give you. There is an excellent sub shop in the lobby—here's five bucks—knock yourself out!”
2008 Tuesday afternoon
Big Law halls full of laughter as summers head out early for an afternoon golf outing. “Jimmy, you are so crazy. I can't believe you started drinking at noon!”
2009 Tuesday afternoon
Big Law halls full of whispers and keyboard pecking as summers form alliances and strategize about ways to get one of the two spots for which the 50 of them are vying: “If we get the Duke Dork to believe that the firm is looking for real estate lawyers because they accidentally fired them all, he won't try to nab that one spot in litigation. ... If we get Harvard Hottie really drunk one night, she might miss a deadline on the corporate project and get cut!”
Most common phrases uttered during the summer program of 2008:
• “toe up” (slang for “tore up” on too much alcohol);
• “keg stand” (upside down drinking of beer from iced keg through plastic pump);
• “skip day” (firm-sanctioned field trip to the local microbrewery); and
• “mild distraction” (the two legal projects the summers were required to complete).
Most common words/phrases you're likely to hear during the summer program of 2009:
• “layoffs” (as in, were there enough to make room for us?);
• “chapped lips” (a condition resulting from kissing up to too many partners and associates in an effort to secure a favorable position among the many nameless masses in the summer program for the few potential job offers);
• “whiplash” (the feeling a repeat summer associate experiences after the transition between Summer of 2008 and Summer of 2009); and
• “elephant in the room” (the awkwardness that results from Big Law attorneys avoiding any contact with the summers for fear of being asked about the financial health of the firm, the job prospects of the summer class or why they love their Big Law jobs).
Seriously, just one year ago the entire purpose of the Summer Program was to make all summer campers fall in love with the firm by spoiling them rotten. In order to make sure their recruiting stats stayed strong, Big Law gave offers to 99 percent of the summer associates who came through the “program.” To not get an offer after 10 weeks of gourmet lunches, concerts and a few legal writing projects meant that either you got so drunk on the cash and cordials that you hit on the managing partner's wife at the “Endless Summer” black tie gala or you dove into an unsanitary waterway from the balcony of a cocktail party.
This summer, my guess is 99 percent of participants will not get an offer, or at least, not an offer that means much more than the paper upon which it is written. The tables have turned, and I fear I will have to endure several weeks of witnessing the depressing scene of watching ambitious, talented young law students compete against one another for jobs that may or may not exist—including my own.
“Celebrate good times … Come on!”
Source - Daily Review
For decades, that party went on. And on. And on.
But in case you hadn't noticed that the tune in your head's been sounding a little different recently, let me be the first to tell you: That “Celebration” record has been jerked off the turntable/deleted from the iPod/dumped from the jukebox playlist and replaced by the Summer of 2009 anthem: “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”
Working as a Cog at Big Law after your colleagues were canned and while profits plummet is sad enough, but working through the pain and awkwardness that is Big Law Summer Camp 2009 is sure to become an instant war story: “… and then the summer associate started crying in my arms … but he wasn't even drunk. He just realized he had no prospects of being hired.”
This anthem-change from Kool and the Gang to Green Day reflects a seismic shift in Big Law Summer Camp from an environment of excess, lavishness and frivolity to one of anxiety, penny-pinching and angst. Offices formerly occupied by recently laid-off, eager, young associates trying to pay off law school debt and make it in the Big Time have been swiftly bleached, vacuumed, dusted and re-painted to remove the taint of shattered dreams—just in time for summer associates to roll in and start testing out their new Big Law e-mail addresses.
Those of us who are anxiously hoping not to be next on the casualty list are forced to act as if everything is fine when we do not know if we will still have a job in 2010—much less whether there will be room on the payroll for these eager law students. So much for “Two! Four! Six! Eight! Summer Camp is really great!”
The few kids who participated in 2008 Big Law Summer of Fun and are now back again for 2009 Summer of Seriousness will notice a few obvious changes:
2008 retreat
Three-day beach retreat complete with spa day, golf tourney, all-you-can-eat shrimp and crab buffet, poolside pina coladas, parasailing and logo-embroidered Big Law golf shirt!
2009 retreat
Friday afternoon “retreat” to the firm's largest top floor conference room where the furniture has been removed to make way for the “Mexican Madness” party complete with buckets of Tecate in a can, tacos, chips and a piñata full of foil-wrapped chocolates. Take out your frustration on the economy by whacking the multicolored papier-mâché donkey until the mini-Snickers bars rain upon you. Paartaay!
2008 lunch
Big Law associates fighting to take summer associates to fully expensed two-hour, four-course lunches at the latest, hippest eateries. “Molten chocolate cake anyone?”
2009 lunch
Big Law associates working feverishly through lunch while refusing to give summers any projects because the associates need the hours more. “Hey Summer, sorry I had to cancel lunch, but I have to finish up the document review I was going to give you. There is an excellent sub shop in the lobby—here's five bucks—knock yourself out!”
2008 Tuesday afternoon
Big Law halls full of laughter as summers head out early for an afternoon golf outing. “Jimmy, you are so crazy. I can't believe you started drinking at noon!”
2009 Tuesday afternoon
Big Law halls full of whispers and keyboard pecking as summers form alliances and strategize about ways to get one of the two spots for which the 50 of them are vying: “If we get the Duke Dork to believe that the firm is looking for real estate lawyers because they accidentally fired them all, he won't try to nab that one spot in litigation. ... If we get Harvard Hottie really drunk one night, she might miss a deadline on the corporate project and get cut!”
Most common phrases uttered during the summer program of 2008:
• “toe up” (slang for “tore up” on too much alcohol);
• “keg stand” (upside down drinking of beer from iced keg through plastic pump);
• “skip day” (firm-sanctioned field trip to the local microbrewery); and
• “mild distraction” (the two legal projects the summers were required to complete).
Most common words/phrases you're likely to hear during the summer program of 2009:
• “layoffs” (as in, were there enough to make room for us?);
• “chapped lips” (a condition resulting from kissing up to too many partners and associates in an effort to secure a favorable position among the many nameless masses in the summer program for the few potential job offers);
• “whiplash” (the feeling a repeat summer associate experiences after the transition between Summer of 2008 and Summer of 2009); and
• “elephant in the room” (the awkwardness that results from Big Law attorneys avoiding any contact with the summers for fear of being asked about the financial health of the firm, the job prospects of the summer class or why they love their Big Law jobs).
Seriously, just one year ago the entire purpose of the Summer Program was to make all summer campers fall in love with the firm by spoiling them rotten. In order to make sure their recruiting stats stayed strong, Big Law gave offers to 99 percent of the summer associates who came through the “program.” To not get an offer after 10 weeks of gourmet lunches, concerts and a few legal writing projects meant that either you got so drunk on the cash and cordials that you hit on the managing partner's wife at the “Endless Summer” black tie gala or you dove into an unsanitary waterway from the balcony of a cocktail party.
This summer, my guess is 99 percent of participants will not get an offer, or at least, not an offer that means much more than the paper upon which it is written. The tables have turned, and I fear I will have to endure several weeks of witnessing the depressing scene of watching ambitious, talented young law students compete against one another for jobs that may or may not exist—including my own.
“Celebrate good times … Come on!”
Source - Daily Review
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Firm Salaries to Fall...Quickly
According to the National Law Journal, In D.C., big firms slash associate salaries
Atlanta-based McKenna cut first-year pay in Washington to $140,000 this year and others were quick to follow suit
Washington law firms are cutting costs anywhere they can, and associate pay is no longer an exception.
Seven Washington offices have slashed salaries. Others—including D.C. stalwarts like Crowell Moring, Hogan Hartson, and Wiley Rein—are cutting pay for associates who don't hit their billable hour goals.
“Law firms are starting to realize what was obvious to everyone else. They're saying to each other, 'We've been nuts all these years to be paying $160,000 as a starting salary,'” said Jerry Kowalski, a New York-based legal consultant. Kowalski said he expects more firms to experiment with tiered or merit-based pay structures as they look for something other than lockstep.
They have plenty of incentive. Firms don't make money off first-year associates once recruiting costs, summer programs, summer salaries and training are factored in, said Jim Leipold, executive director of the National Association of Legal Professionals. Leipold estimates that those costs could reach $300,000 per associate before they start making money for the firm. And clients, who are facing layoffs and salary cuts of their own, don't like hearing about high associate salaries, and they really hate paying for them.
“It was a regular comment from in-house counsel. They would request that first-years not be put on their matters,” said Jeffrey Haidet, chairman of Atlanta-based McKenna Long Aldridge, which cut salaries for incoming first-year associates to $140,000 this year in Washington. In Atlanta, the firm cut first-year pay from $145,000 to $125,000.
Haidet said McKenna was inspired by the now-defunct Philadelphia firm WolfBlock, which cut associate salaries by 10 percent last February.
Other firms quickly followed suit. Thompson Hine announced a $17,500 base salary reduction for all nonpartner lawyers, including about 17 in Washington, with a caveat that allows lawyers to earn back some or all of that amount if they bill 1,750 hours by year's end. Baker McKenzie, which has about 95 lawyers in Washington, confirmed that it cut salaries, but the firm would not say by how much or how many people were affected. Womble Carlyle Sandridge Rice cut 10 percent off salaries for all but the firm's top-billing lawyers. Womble Carlyle has about 70 lawyers in its Washington, Tysons Corner, Va., and Baltimore offices.
“I fully expect this to be more widespread,” said Keith Vaughan, chairman of Womble Carlyle, adding that when the firm decided to cut, it did so on the expectation that others would, too.
Eight Washington managing partners declined to be quoted by name on the associate pay issue, saying it was too sensitive. All, however, said they would not rule out salary cuts. “Any firm not thinking about associate salaries should be,” said one.
So far none of the biggest Washington firms have made across-the-board salary cuts. Hogan Hartson and Wiley Rein, which have tiered associate salary structures, have been moving lower-billing associates from top salary tiers to the bottom, something they haven't done aggressively in past years. Both firms say they allow associates to work their way back into the top tier if their billable hours improve.
“If we pay somebody $160,000 and they don't make their hours, we're not going to go and ask for it back. It's always better to have people making their hours. But if they aren't, this does save money,” said Wiley Rein managing partner Richard Wiley. Wiley wouldn't say how many associates were affected. But with salaries on the firm's lower tier set at $125,000, even moving a few of the firm's 17 first-year associates from the $160,000 tier to the $125,000 one could save the firm quite a bit of money.
Crowell Moring, which doesn't have a tiered structure, has nonetheless been approaching individual lawyers whose hours are off and adjusting their salaries on a case-by-case basis. Ellen Dwyer, managing partner of Crowell Moring, said that fewer than 20 lawyers have been reclassified so far. “We just don't want to get to a place where some of our peers are that have had layoffs or taken other draconian steps,” Dwyer said. Crowell has so far been able to avoid layoffs. The lawyers Crowell approached had all been at the firm at least a year.
Though they're pushing back on associate pay, firms say being one of the first to cut salaries could hurt when it comes to recruiting talent—even now. “If you're a new Harvard grad looking at five firms, are you going to talk to the four firms paying $160,000 or the one firm paying $145,000?” said Eric Bernthal, managing partner of Latham Watkins' Washington office. Latham has not cut associate salaries.
All the firms are worried about staying competitive when it comes to recruiting. Dan Binstock, managing director of recruiting firm BCG Attorney Search, said targeting salaries among lawyers already at a firm can be a way for firms to push costs down while avoiding paying less than other firms for first-years. “Salaries are a shorthand among law students,” Binstock said. “Keeping first-year salaries at $160,000 is a way to preserve a law firm's brand.”
Of course, prospective associates are hardly in a position to fuss. “Look, I know that I am not worth $160,000. But if firms are willing to pay it, I'm not going to turn it down,” said one first-year associate at a Washington-based firm who requested anonymity when discussing his salary. “If they came to me and said you're either going to take a pay cut or you're out of a job, I'd take the pay cut.”
If your concerned how this might impact your situation? Have questions about your career? Call Warren Recruiting at 713.524.4888.
Atlanta-based McKenna cut first-year pay in Washington to $140,000 this year and others were quick to follow suit
Washington law firms are cutting costs anywhere they can, and associate pay is no longer an exception.
Seven Washington offices have slashed salaries. Others—including D.C. stalwarts like Crowell Moring, Hogan Hartson, and Wiley Rein—are cutting pay for associates who don't hit their billable hour goals.
“Law firms are starting to realize what was obvious to everyone else. They're saying to each other, 'We've been nuts all these years to be paying $160,000 as a starting salary,'” said Jerry Kowalski, a New York-based legal consultant. Kowalski said he expects more firms to experiment with tiered or merit-based pay structures as they look for something other than lockstep.
They have plenty of incentive. Firms don't make money off first-year associates once recruiting costs, summer programs, summer salaries and training are factored in, said Jim Leipold, executive director of the National Association of Legal Professionals. Leipold estimates that those costs could reach $300,000 per associate before they start making money for the firm. And clients, who are facing layoffs and salary cuts of their own, don't like hearing about high associate salaries, and they really hate paying for them.
“It was a regular comment from in-house counsel. They would request that first-years not be put on their matters,” said Jeffrey Haidet, chairman of Atlanta-based McKenna Long Aldridge, which cut salaries for incoming first-year associates to $140,000 this year in Washington. In Atlanta, the firm cut first-year pay from $145,000 to $125,000.
Haidet said McKenna was inspired by the now-defunct Philadelphia firm WolfBlock, which cut associate salaries by 10 percent last February.
Other firms quickly followed suit. Thompson Hine announced a $17,500 base salary reduction for all nonpartner lawyers, including about 17 in Washington, with a caveat that allows lawyers to earn back some or all of that amount if they bill 1,750 hours by year's end. Baker McKenzie, which has about 95 lawyers in Washington, confirmed that it cut salaries, but the firm would not say by how much or how many people were affected. Womble Carlyle Sandridge Rice cut 10 percent off salaries for all but the firm's top-billing lawyers. Womble Carlyle has about 70 lawyers in its Washington, Tysons Corner, Va., and Baltimore offices.
“I fully expect this to be more widespread,” said Keith Vaughan, chairman of Womble Carlyle, adding that when the firm decided to cut, it did so on the expectation that others would, too.
Eight Washington managing partners declined to be quoted by name on the associate pay issue, saying it was too sensitive. All, however, said they would not rule out salary cuts. “Any firm not thinking about associate salaries should be,” said one.
So far none of the biggest Washington firms have made across-the-board salary cuts. Hogan Hartson and Wiley Rein, which have tiered associate salary structures, have been moving lower-billing associates from top salary tiers to the bottom, something they haven't done aggressively in past years. Both firms say they allow associates to work their way back into the top tier if their billable hours improve.
“If we pay somebody $160,000 and they don't make their hours, we're not going to go and ask for it back. It's always better to have people making their hours. But if they aren't, this does save money,” said Wiley Rein managing partner Richard Wiley. Wiley wouldn't say how many associates were affected. But with salaries on the firm's lower tier set at $125,000, even moving a few of the firm's 17 first-year associates from the $160,000 tier to the $125,000 one could save the firm quite a bit of money.
Crowell Moring, which doesn't have a tiered structure, has nonetheless been approaching individual lawyers whose hours are off and adjusting their salaries on a case-by-case basis. Ellen Dwyer, managing partner of Crowell Moring, said that fewer than 20 lawyers have been reclassified so far. “We just don't want to get to a place where some of our peers are that have had layoffs or taken other draconian steps,” Dwyer said. Crowell has so far been able to avoid layoffs. The lawyers Crowell approached had all been at the firm at least a year.
Though they're pushing back on associate pay, firms say being one of the first to cut salaries could hurt when it comes to recruiting talent—even now. “If you're a new Harvard grad looking at five firms, are you going to talk to the four firms paying $160,000 or the one firm paying $145,000?” said Eric Bernthal, managing partner of Latham Watkins' Washington office. Latham has not cut associate salaries.
All the firms are worried about staying competitive when it comes to recruiting. Dan Binstock, managing director of recruiting firm BCG Attorney Search, said targeting salaries among lawyers already at a firm can be a way for firms to push costs down while avoiding paying less than other firms for first-years. “Salaries are a shorthand among law students,” Binstock said. “Keeping first-year salaries at $160,000 is a way to preserve a law firm's brand.”
Of course, prospective associates are hardly in a position to fuss. “Look, I know that I am not worth $160,000. But if firms are willing to pay it, I'm not going to turn it down,” said one first-year associate at a Washington-based firm who requested anonymity when discussing his salary. “If they came to me and said you're either going to take a pay cut or you're out of a job, I'd take the pay cut.”
If your concerned how this might impact your situation? Have questions about your career? Call Warren Recruiting at 713.524.4888.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A new model for a new economy
Over the past decade we’ve witnessed unprecedented growth in the legal economy prompted by a number of change factors including technology, a strong global economy and the infusion of top managers. The technology responsible for this growth includes the Internet, VOIP, outsourced cheaper partners, better research tools and the ubiquitous blackberry.
The economy fueled by cheap debt, a robust capital market and low taxes led to an increased need (Mr . Supply meets Ms. Demand) of top legal talent. The technology leaps which was referenced earlier was also responsible for the surge in IP Attorneys which then fed the Corporate Attorneys and is now feeding the restructuring attorneys.
Along the way the law firms hired outsiders to help them lead their companies. These outsiders joined the firms with of a wealth of management speak and were responsible for significant maturity in financial, marketing, human capital and supply chain issues. Amidst the efficiencies achieved perhaps no greater was that of the economy of scale which led to the growth of the mega-firms. These mega-firms with hundreds of lawyers, regional and international offices, and a wide spectrum of service offerings.
The megafirms also hired Madison Avenue ad agencies who helped craft unique messages about the brand (aka the firm). These sophisticated firms also changed their names from an alphabet soup of partners names to a single strong name like Coke or Amazon.
With the current recession in full swing, these change factors are being put to the test. Can the reduced fees sustain the cost of operating the mega firms? Will the regional firms become dominant again? If there were economies of scale a few years ago, one would logically assume it’s more important than ever. This of course means the firms are going to have to find new ways to cut costs and further leverage these change factors.
Warren Recruiting is looking forward to seeing the impact of the Change Factors and helping the legal landscape evolve.
The economy fueled by cheap debt, a robust capital market and low taxes led to an increased need (Mr . Supply meets Ms. Demand) of top legal talent. The technology leaps which was referenced earlier was also responsible for the surge in IP Attorneys which then fed the Corporate Attorneys and is now feeding the restructuring attorneys.
Along the way the law firms hired outsiders to help them lead their companies. These outsiders joined the firms with of a wealth of management speak and were responsible for significant maturity in financial, marketing, human capital and supply chain issues. Amidst the efficiencies achieved perhaps no greater was that of the economy of scale which led to the growth of the mega-firms. These mega-firms with hundreds of lawyers, regional and international offices, and a wide spectrum of service offerings.
The megafirms also hired Madison Avenue ad agencies who helped craft unique messages about the brand (aka the firm). These sophisticated firms also changed their names from an alphabet soup of partners names to a single strong name like Coke or Amazon.
With the current recession in full swing, these change factors are being put to the test. Can the reduced fees sustain the cost of operating the mega firms? Will the regional firms become dominant again? If there were economies of scale a few years ago, one would logically assume it’s more important than ever. This of course means the firms are going to have to find new ways to cut costs and further leverage these change factors.
Warren Recruiting is looking forward to seeing the impact of the Change Factors and helping the legal landscape evolve.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Making Progress?
Perhaps it’s just the beautiful weather, or because baseball is back in season but the economy seems to doing better (or sucking less if you’re a half empty kind of person). The most recent data points (GDP, bank loans, retail numbers, etc) are all pointing that the economy is getting healthier. This is great news and should lead to the end of the layoffs and in the near future should lead to increased hiring. In the past weeks, Warren Recruiting has seen more new positions than any period since November 2008.
While the recession marathon is hardly over, we’ve now reached a sustainable stride and if we can keep it up, we will certainly reach a full recovery. To learn more about our new job orders, our client’s needs or how to land the next big position, give us a call.
While the recession marathon is hardly over, we’ve now reached a sustainable stride and if we can keep it up, we will certainly reach a full recovery. To learn more about our new job orders, our client’s needs or how to land the next big position, give us a call.
A Holistic View of the Downturn
Interesting read for the AP. In America, there are always people to sue or contracts to negotiate, right? Apparently there aren't enough.
The recession is taking a steep toll on the legal profession, an industry long seen as immune from the ups and downs of the economy. Trying to weather the financial crisis, the nation's largest law firms are laying off attorneys and delaying the hiring of others.
More than 3,000 lawyers have been laid off in the first three months of 2009.
A lot of people go into the law because it's one of those professions where you're always going to have work. There aren't typically big layoffs," said Samuel Smith of Charlotte, N.C. "Realistically, I don't think people saw this coming."
Last summer Smith was working at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft while flirting with job opportunities at a few other firms. But in August, Smith was laid off as the economy soured. The firms that earlier had been interested were now reluctant to hire.
"I'm still looking for jobs," said Smith, who launched http://www.rateapartner.com, a Web site that links to legal business news articles and allows lawyers and clients to anonymously rate law firm partners.
Just how bad is it out there?
The Labor Department said the number of unemployed lawyers jumped 66 percent last year to a 10-year high of 20,000.
The first time this year that three consecutive business days passed without one of the nation's top law firms announcing job cuts came in mid-March, according to the Web site Lawshucks.com. They have counted 3,149 lawyer layoffs—just in the big firms, just in the first three months of the year.
The New York City Bar Association, for the first time in its more than 135 years, is offering career counseling services to lawyers between jobs.
Law firms are delaying the hiring of final-year law students, who normally are brought on a year in advance of graduation. Law students graduating with jobs this spring are being paid to delay their start date. Some are being told there will be no work until later in the year, maybe in 2010.
So many would-be lawyers are facing this situation that Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, a group that trains volunteers to provide free legal assistance to low income clients, held a "Deferred Associates Job Fair" in Newark, N.J., for graduates looking for temporary work while waiting for permanent jobs to come through.
For some Americans, there's not much sympathy for lawyers who are suddenly jobless.
They make more money than the Average Joe, with the nation's million-or-so employed lawyers averaging $118,280 in 2007, or $56.87 an hour, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And the number of out-of-work lawyers is minuscule compared with the manufacturing sector, which had 945,000 unemployed workers last year, or the construction industry, which saw more than 1 million jobs disappear in 2008.
But those careers don't require four years of college plus a degree from a law school that costs about $70,000 to attend.
"My computer is about to die with the amount of resumes I've sent out," said Tim Brown, 32, of Alexandria, Va.
Brown was laid off from his job working on franchise law for the National Auto Dealers Association on March 26 and has sent out hundreds of resumes. The response?
"'We've received your resume. Thank you very much,'" said Brown, who made April's loan payment but is concerned about May.
Karla Cortes, 33, lost her job as a Nature Conservancy attorney in November, only two years after graduating from American University's law school.
Money is now getting tight, said Cortes, who attended a George Washington University workshop on getting a legal job in the tough economy. "I hope to find a job soon," she said. "Otherwise, I will have to return to Puerto Rico because my savings will be depleted."
Tommy Wells, president of the American Bar Association, said the increase in lawyer layoffs is partly the legal industry's fault.
In the past, large law firms diversified by having lawyers work in areas such as bankruptcy and litigation that could support the corporate and mergers-and-acquisition work when the economy soured and vice versa, he noted.
"Firms probably got a bit out of balance in terms of their practice areas and put a lot of resources into areas that unfortunately are not nearly as active as they were a few years ago," he said.
The economy is being blamed for entire law firms going under.
In Philadelphia, WolfBlock, which has been in business since 1903 and has more than 300 lawyers in several states, is "unwinding" in preparation for closing. Partners blame the banking crisis, the recession—especially in the firm's core real estate practice—and lawyers and clients bailing as the writing on the wall became clearer.
In New York City, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, in business since 1848, survived the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; it had offices in the World Trade Center and lost none of its more than 300 lawyers and support staff. But it couldn't survive the bad economy and closed in September.
Fanni Koszeg, 34, of New York City, lost her job at Thacher in April 2008. Koszeg thought she would take the summer off and maybe go back to work as a public interest lawyer.
"That was very naive of me," Koszeg said. "Now, all of the other law firms have been laying off hundreds of lawyers."
The recession is taking a steep toll on the legal profession, an industry long seen as immune from the ups and downs of the economy. Trying to weather the financial crisis, the nation's largest law firms are laying off attorneys and delaying the hiring of others.
More than 3,000 lawyers have been laid off in the first three months of 2009.
A lot of people go into the law because it's one of those professions where you're always going to have work. There aren't typically big layoffs," said Samuel Smith of Charlotte, N.C. "Realistically, I don't think people saw this coming."
Last summer Smith was working at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft while flirting with job opportunities at a few other firms. But in August, Smith was laid off as the economy soured. The firms that earlier had been interested were now reluctant to hire.
"I'm still looking for jobs," said Smith, who launched http://www.rateapartner.com, a Web site that links to legal business news articles and allows lawyers and clients to anonymously rate law firm partners.
Just how bad is it out there?
The Labor Department said the number of unemployed lawyers jumped 66 percent last year to a 10-year high of 20,000.
The first time this year that three consecutive business days passed without one of the nation's top law firms announcing job cuts came in mid-March, according to the Web site Lawshucks.com. They have counted 3,149 lawyer layoffs—just in the big firms, just in the first three months of the year.
The New York City Bar Association, for the first time in its more than 135 years, is offering career counseling services to lawyers between jobs.
Law firms are delaying the hiring of final-year law students, who normally are brought on a year in advance of graduation. Law students graduating with jobs this spring are being paid to delay their start date. Some are being told there will be no work until later in the year, maybe in 2010.
So many would-be lawyers are facing this situation that Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, a group that trains volunteers to provide free legal assistance to low income clients, held a "Deferred Associates Job Fair" in Newark, N.J., for graduates looking for temporary work while waiting for permanent jobs to come through.
For some Americans, there's not much sympathy for lawyers who are suddenly jobless.
They make more money than the Average Joe, with the nation's million-or-so employed lawyers averaging $118,280 in 2007, or $56.87 an hour, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And the number of out-of-work lawyers is minuscule compared with the manufacturing sector, which had 945,000 unemployed workers last year, or the construction industry, which saw more than 1 million jobs disappear in 2008.
But those careers don't require four years of college plus a degree from a law school that costs about $70,000 to attend.
"My computer is about to die with the amount of resumes I've sent out," said Tim Brown, 32, of Alexandria, Va.
Brown was laid off from his job working on franchise law for the National Auto Dealers Association on March 26 and has sent out hundreds of resumes. The response?
"'We've received your resume. Thank you very much,'" said Brown, who made April's loan payment but is concerned about May.
Karla Cortes, 33, lost her job as a Nature Conservancy attorney in November, only two years after graduating from American University's law school.
Money is now getting tight, said Cortes, who attended a George Washington University workshop on getting a legal job in the tough economy. "I hope to find a job soon," she said. "Otherwise, I will have to return to Puerto Rico because my savings will be depleted."
Tommy Wells, president of the American Bar Association, said the increase in lawyer layoffs is partly the legal industry's fault.
In the past, large law firms diversified by having lawyers work in areas such as bankruptcy and litigation that could support the corporate and mergers-and-acquisition work when the economy soured and vice versa, he noted.
"Firms probably got a bit out of balance in terms of their practice areas and put a lot of resources into areas that unfortunately are not nearly as active as they were a few years ago," he said.
The economy is being blamed for entire law firms going under.
In Philadelphia, WolfBlock, which has been in business since 1903 and has more than 300 lawyers in several states, is "unwinding" in preparation for closing. Partners blame the banking crisis, the recession—especially in the firm's core real estate practice—and lawyers and clients bailing as the writing on the wall became clearer.
In New York City, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, in business since 1848, survived the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; it had offices in the World Trade Center and lost none of its more than 300 lawyers and support staff. But it couldn't survive the bad economy and closed in September.
Fanni Koszeg, 34, of New York City, lost her job at Thacher in April 2008. Koszeg thought she would take the summer off and maybe go back to work as a public interest lawyer.
"That was very naive of me," Koszeg said. "Now, all of the other law firms have been laying off hundreds of lawyers."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Summer Programs
According to Texas Lawyer despite a sagging economy, recent layoff announcements and the discontinuation of a summer associate program by one large Texas firm, 17 of the 25 largest firms in Texas confirm they are continuing with their 2009 summer associate programs.
Summer associates are the primary recruiting pool for the new talent hired by many firms. The students who will be working at firms during the summer of 2009 will become the majority of the firms' first-year associates in 2010.
Summer associate programs are expensive. Most of Texas' large firms pay the students $3,000 a week for positions lasting from six to 10 weeks. The firms also pay housing allowances for the students, as well as entertainment costs, such as meals and tickets for concerts and sports events.
But these are tough times, even in Texas. Six firms with large Texas operations — Andrews Kurth; Baker Botts; Gardere; K&L Gates; King & Spalding; and Winstead — have laid off lawyers this year. Also, earlier this month, Winstead cancelled its summer associate program. [ See "Inadmissible," Texas Lawyer , March 16, 2009, page 3. ] Firm spokeswoman Shannon Tipton declines to specify the number of students involved or when they were notified that the summer program was cancelled. During the summer of 2008, Winstead employed 28 summer associates.
One student from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas was affected by Winstead's decision to cancel the 2009 program, says Karen C. Sargent, assistant dean and director of career services for the law school. Sargent says the affected student is one of the school's best and has other opportunities.
Donna David-Gregory, assistant dean of career services at Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, says that none of the law school's students were in the summer program cancelled by Winstead.
Career services officials at the other seven American Bar Association-accredited law schools in Texas did not, before presstime on March 19, return a telephone call made to each seeking comment. Most Texas law schools were on spring break last week.
But at least 17 of the 25 firms employing the most lawyers in Texas, as listed on Texas Lawyer's "The Texas 100" poster published April 28, 2008, say they are committed to employing those students recruited in the fall of 2008 for the 2009 summer programs. Most of the firms, as anticipated, hired smaller 2009 summer classes than they did in 2008. [See "Some Firms Scale Back Summer Programs in Tough Economy," Texas Lawyer , Oct. 27, page 1. ]
Seven firms among Texas' largest 25 did not respond to requests for information about their 2009 summer programs before Texas Lawyer 's presstime on March 19: Brown McCarroll; Clark, Thomas & Winters; Fulbright & Jaworski; Gardere; King & Spalding; K&L Gates, and Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr.
"It's just a sign of the times when you're trying to cut expenses and laying off people that you ask 'Why spend money on the summer associate program?' " says William C. Cobb, a Houston recruiter and consultant. All firms have conservative budgets this year and are cutting costs where possible, such as canceling annual firm meetings or holding them in a firm office rather than at an off-site resort, he says.
Cobb says most firms will continue with their summer associate programs to maintain good public relations with potential future employees. "But I bet all the summer associate programs will do things a lot more cheaply than is normally done," he says. "They will cut back on entertainment, parties and buying expensive wines."
Despite layoffs, two large Texas-basedfirms are continuing with their 2009 summer associate programs. Baker Botts has hired 83 summer associates for its offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston, writes Rachel S. Koenig in an e-mail message. She is the firm's director of recruiting and development. The firm employed 124 summer associates in Texas in 2008. The Houston-based firm, which laid off lawyers and staff earlier this year, declines to specify the number of layoffs. [See "Baker Botts Layoffs," Tex Parte , March 13, 2008. ] It employed 554 lawyers in Texas and 825 firm-wide as of Jan. 1.
Why is the firm continuing with a summer program despite recent layoffs? "It is absolutely vital to keep recruiting during an economic recession," Koenig writes.
Another firm that had layoffs, according to two former associates and three legal recruiters who requested anonymity, was Andrews Kurth. [See "Layoffs at Andrews Kurth," Tex Parte , March 3, 2008 ]. The firm declines comment about the layoffs reported in Tex Parte.
But the Houston-based firm is continuing its summer program. The firm has hired 31 summer associates, says Alexis J. Gomez, hiring partner for the firm's Houston office. The firm employed 328 lawyers in Texas and 390 firm-wide as of Jan. 1.
Andrews Kurth hired a smaller number of summer associates for 2009, compared to the 51 Texas summer associates hired in 2008, due to a "record number of acceptances from our 2008 summer program and in order to accommodate the firm's future needs," Gomez writes in an e-mail message. The firm made full-time job offers to 29 of its 34 second-year 2008 summer associates, and 19 of those students accepted jobs with the firm beginning in the fall of 2009. "We also expect to scale back our [summer associate] entertainment in order to focus more on the firm's core values in 2009," he writes.
Steady Approach
Bracewell & Guiliani has hired 49 summer associates for its Texas offices, says Michael S. Telle, hiring partner for the Houston-based firm. "We think it's important to maintain a steady, disciplined hiring program regardless of short term changes in the economy," Telle says.
The 451-lawyer firm hired 55 Texas summer associates in 2008. The firm looks at the summer program's expense as a long term investment, he says.
"We hope these students will spend their career with us, which will last 40 or 50 years," he says. "If we stopped hiring just because of a short-term blip in the economy, we would end up with a hole in our ranks at the associate level and that hole would exist up through the partner level."
Telle says Bracewell's smaller 2009 summer class size is due to a high acceptance rate by 2008 summer associates who accepted jobs for the fall of 2009. The firm offered jobs to 38 of its 42 second-year summer associates in 2008, and 24 of those 2Ls have accepted full-time jobs with Bracewell beginning in the fall of 2009. [See "BigTex Firms' Acceptance Rates Consistent in '08," Texas Lawyer , Dec.15, 2008, page 1 ].
Dallas-based Thompson & Knight has hired 22 summer associates, says J. Holt Foster, hiring partner for the 432-lawyer firm. Last summer the firm employed 36 summer associates but decided to decrease its 2009 summer program when the economy continued to slow down in the second half of 2008, he says. Foster says the summer associate program is an integral part of the firm's future.
"You need to be long-term sighted," he says. "You always want to make sure, as a top tier firm, that you put yourself in a position to find the most talented students and create a relationship with them. We're in this for a marathon, not for a sprint."
Washington, D.C.-based Patton Boggs has hired nine summer associates for its Texas office, says Eric White, hiring partner for the firm's Dallas office. The firm employs 104 lawyers in Texas and 540 firm-wide.
"We're still going to have our format as outlined for our summer associate program, which is first half only for six to seven weeks," White says. "We have no plan to scrap it or reduce it or anything like that."
The firm employed 16 Texas summer associates in 2008 and decided, when recruiting for the summer 2009 class during the fall of 2008, that a smaller class would be appropriate this summer. "With the uncertainty of the economy, we thought it was prudent to have a smaller class," White says.
Less Lavish
Dallas-based Haynes and Boone also is reducing entertainment costs for the approximately 56 law students it is bringing in to work in its Texas offices as summer associates, says Thomas H. Yang, the 464-lawyer firm's hiring partner. In 2008, the firm employed 71 Texas summer associates.
"In general we've always been cost conscious about expenses, not just for the summer," he says. "Rather than go to the nicest restaurants in town for lunches and dinners, we can go to more reasonably priced restaurants," he says.
Yang says that the firm's budget for dollars spent per recruit is less than it has been in previous years but that it's important for the firm to hire summer associates, despite the economy. "We take a longer term view, and therefore I think it is important for us to continue to recruit and attract the top students to the firm," he says.
Glenn D. West, managing partner of the Dallas office of New York-based Weil, Gotshal & Manges, says it would be "imprudent, if not offensive" for a firm to not be trying to cut costs in this environment. Weil, Gotshal has hired 25 summer associates for its offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston, West says. The firm employs 128 lawyers in Texas and 1,365 firm-wide. In 2008, the firm employed 40 Texas associates.
"We've never had a highly entertainment-oriented summer associate program," West says. "I'm not even sure that there is much additional cutting to do. We certainly will be looking at it," he says.
But West notes that recruiting is an essential firm expense. "There may be a lot of things one should do, in this environment [to reduce costs], but stopping or thwarting recruiting is not one of them, in our opinion," he says.
"A law firm is a bit like a fishing stream," West says. "If you don't have the spring pumping new water into the stream, it can stagnate."
Thomas S. Leatherbury, hiring partner for Houston-based Vinson & Elkins, agrees that summer associate programs are a necessary firm expense.
"It's an expensive process, but it is the future of the firm," Leatherbury says. "We hire most of our [entry level] lawyers from the summer program. It is very important to us to hire exceptional legal talent, and that's where we get it from, our summer program."
The firm, which employs 532 lawyers in Texas and 736 firm-wide, has hired 119 summer associates, about the same number of summer associates the firm hired in 2008, he says.
Hunton & Williams also has hired the same number of summer associates for its Texas offices — five students — as it did in 2008, says Patrick E. Mitchell, the managing partner of the Dallas office of the Richmond, Va.-based firm.
"We always planned on having five, and that is what we've got, and we're looking forward to it," he says. The firm employs 135 lawyers in Texas and 976 firm-wide. Mitchell says it is important for firms to have summer associate programs despite an uncertain economy. "The only product we sell is people," he says.
At San Antonio-based Cox Smith Matthews, 17 or 18 students will be working at the firm this summer, says Scott B. Bankler, chairman of the recruiting committee of the 127-lawyer firm. In 2008, Cox Smith hired 19 summer associates.
"We're taking a look at expenses, given the economy, but we hope we can run a similar program to those in previous years," Bankler says.
Fort Worth-based, 126-lawyer Kelly Hart & Hallman has hired seven summer associates, a few less than the nine students the firm hired in 2008, says firm recruiter Prissy Moore.
Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, with 104 lawyers, has hired six students as summer associates, says Ellen M. Van Meir, a partner in Dallas and chairwoman of the firm's associate and recruiting committee. "The program is still going forward," she says. The Dallas-based firm employed 10 students during its 2008 summer associate program.
Five other large firms reported the number of students hired for the 2009 summer associate programs in the firms' Texas offices. Dallas-based Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has hired 26 summer associates, says spokeswoman Sheila Turner. Jackson Walker, based in Dallas, has hired 24 summer associates, recruiting director Kim DiLallo writes in an e-mail. Cleveland-based Jones Day, which has offices in Dallas and Houston, has hired 41 summer associates, says Kathy Shea, recruiting manager for the Dallas office. Dallas-based Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell has hired 38 Texas associates, firm spokeswoman Julie Gilbert writes in an e-mail. Strasburger & Price, based in Dallas, has hired six summer associates, writes Linsi Walker, the firm's recruiting and professional development manager, in an e-mail.
Summer associates are the primary recruiting pool for the new talent hired by many firms. The students who will be working at firms during the summer of 2009 will become the majority of the firms' first-year associates in 2010.
Summer associate programs are expensive. Most of Texas' large firms pay the students $3,000 a week for positions lasting from six to 10 weeks. The firms also pay housing allowances for the students, as well as entertainment costs, such as meals and tickets for concerts and sports events.
But these are tough times, even in Texas. Six firms with large Texas operations — Andrews Kurth; Baker Botts; Gardere; K&L Gates; King & Spalding; and Winstead — have laid off lawyers this year. Also, earlier this month, Winstead cancelled its summer associate program. [ See "Inadmissible," Texas Lawyer , March 16, 2009, page 3. ] Firm spokeswoman Shannon Tipton declines to specify the number of students involved or when they were notified that the summer program was cancelled. During the summer of 2008, Winstead employed 28 summer associates.
One student from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas was affected by Winstead's decision to cancel the 2009 program, says Karen C. Sargent, assistant dean and director of career services for the law school. Sargent says the affected student is one of the school's best and has other opportunities.
Donna David-Gregory, assistant dean of career services at Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, says that none of the law school's students were in the summer program cancelled by Winstead.
Career services officials at the other seven American Bar Association-accredited law schools in Texas did not, before presstime on March 19, return a telephone call made to each seeking comment. Most Texas law schools were on spring break last week.
But at least 17 of the 25 firms employing the most lawyers in Texas, as listed on Texas Lawyer's "The Texas 100" poster published April 28, 2008, say they are committed to employing those students recruited in the fall of 2008 for the 2009 summer programs. Most of the firms, as anticipated, hired smaller 2009 summer classes than they did in 2008. [See "Some Firms Scale Back Summer Programs in Tough Economy," Texas Lawyer , Oct. 27, page 1. ]
Seven firms among Texas' largest 25 did not respond to requests for information about their 2009 summer programs before Texas Lawyer 's presstime on March 19: Brown McCarroll; Clark, Thomas & Winters; Fulbright & Jaworski; Gardere; King & Spalding; K&L Gates, and Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr.
"It's just a sign of the times when you're trying to cut expenses and laying off people that you ask 'Why spend money on the summer associate program?' " says William C. Cobb, a Houston recruiter and consultant. All firms have conservative budgets this year and are cutting costs where possible, such as canceling annual firm meetings or holding them in a firm office rather than at an off-site resort, he says.
Cobb says most firms will continue with their summer associate programs to maintain good public relations with potential future employees. "But I bet all the summer associate programs will do things a lot more cheaply than is normally done," he says. "They will cut back on entertainment, parties and buying expensive wines."
Despite layoffs, two large Texas-basedfirms are continuing with their 2009 summer associate programs. Baker Botts has hired 83 summer associates for its offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston, writes Rachel S. Koenig in an e-mail message. She is the firm's director of recruiting and development. The firm employed 124 summer associates in Texas in 2008. The Houston-based firm, which laid off lawyers and staff earlier this year, declines to specify the number of layoffs. [See "Baker Botts Layoffs," Tex Parte , March 13, 2008. ] It employed 554 lawyers in Texas and 825 firm-wide as of Jan. 1.
Why is the firm continuing with a summer program despite recent layoffs? "It is absolutely vital to keep recruiting during an economic recession," Koenig writes.
Another firm that had layoffs, according to two former associates and three legal recruiters who requested anonymity, was Andrews Kurth. [See "Layoffs at Andrews Kurth," Tex Parte , March 3, 2008 ]. The firm declines comment about the layoffs reported in Tex Parte.
But the Houston-based firm is continuing its summer program. The firm has hired 31 summer associates, says Alexis J. Gomez, hiring partner for the firm's Houston office. The firm employed 328 lawyers in Texas and 390 firm-wide as of Jan. 1.
Andrews Kurth hired a smaller number of summer associates for 2009, compared to the 51 Texas summer associates hired in 2008, due to a "record number of acceptances from our 2008 summer program and in order to accommodate the firm's future needs," Gomez writes in an e-mail message. The firm made full-time job offers to 29 of its 34 second-year 2008 summer associates, and 19 of those students accepted jobs with the firm beginning in the fall of 2009. "We also expect to scale back our [summer associate] entertainment in order to focus more on the firm's core values in 2009," he writes.
Steady Approach
Bracewell & Guiliani has hired 49 summer associates for its Texas offices, says Michael S. Telle, hiring partner for the Houston-based firm. "We think it's important to maintain a steady, disciplined hiring program regardless of short term changes in the economy," Telle says.
The 451-lawyer firm hired 55 Texas summer associates in 2008. The firm looks at the summer program's expense as a long term investment, he says.
"We hope these students will spend their career with us, which will last 40 or 50 years," he says. "If we stopped hiring just because of a short-term blip in the economy, we would end up with a hole in our ranks at the associate level and that hole would exist up through the partner level."
Telle says Bracewell's smaller 2009 summer class size is due to a high acceptance rate by 2008 summer associates who accepted jobs for the fall of 2009. The firm offered jobs to 38 of its 42 second-year summer associates in 2008, and 24 of those 2Ls have accepted full-time jobs with Bracewell beginning in the fall of 2009. [See "BigTex Firms' Acceptance Rates Consistent in '08," Texas Lawyer , Dec.15, 2008, page 1 ].
Dallas-based Thompson & Knight has hired 22 summer associates, says J. Holt Foster, hiring partner for the 432-lawyer firm. Last summer the firm employed 36 summer associates but decided to decrease its 2009 summer program when the economy continued to slow down in the second half of 2008, he says. Foster says the summer associate program is an integral part of the firm's future.
"You need to be long-term sighted," he says. "You always want to make sure, as a top tier firm, that you put yourself in a position to find the most talented students and create a relationship with them. We're in this for a marathon, not for a sprint."
Washington, D.C.-based Patton Boggs has hired nine summer associates for its Texas office, says Eric White, hiring partner for the firm's Dallas office. The firm employs 104 lawyers in Texas and 540 firm-wide.
"We're still going to have our format as outlined for our summer associate program, which is first half only for six to seven weeks," White says. "We have no plan to scrap it or reduce it or anything like that."
The firm employed 16 Texas summer associates in 2008 and decided, when recruiting for the summer 2009 class during the fall of 2008, that a smaller class would be appropriate this summer. "With the uncertainty of the economy, we thought it was prudent to have a smaller class," White says.
Less Lavish
Dallas-based Haynes and Boone also is reducing entertainment costs for the approximately 56 law students it is bringing in to work in its Texas offices as summer associates, says Thomas H. Yang, the 464-lawyer firm's hiring partner. In 2008, the firm employed 71 Texas summer associates.
"In general we've always been cost conscious about expenses, not just for the summer," he says. "Rather than go to the nicest restaurants in town for lunches and dinners, we can go to more reasonably priced restaurants," he says.
Yang says that the firm's budget for dollars spent per recruit is less than it has been in previous years but that it's important for the firm to hire summer associates, despite the economy. "We take a longer term view, and therefore I think it is important for us to continue to recruit and attract the top students to the firm," he says.
Glenn D. West, managing partner of the Dallas office of New York-based Weil, Gotshal & Manges, says it would be "imprudent, if not offensive" for a firm to not be trying to cut costs in this environment. Weil, Gotshal has hired 25 summer associates for its offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston, West says. The firm employs 128 lawyers in Texas and 1,365 firm-wide. In 2008, the firm employed 40 Texas associates.
"We've never had a highly entertainment-oriented summer associate program," West says. "I'm not even sure that there is much additional cutting to do. We certainly will be looking at it," he says.
But West notes that recruiting is an essential firm expense. "There may be a lot of things one should do, in this environment [to reduce costs], but stopping or thwarting recruiting is not one of them, in our opinion," he says.
"A law firm is a bit like a fishing stream," West says. "If you don't have the spring pumping new water into the stream, it can stagnate."
Thomas S. Leatherbury, hiring partner for Houston-based Vinson & Elkins, agrees that summer associate programs are a necessary firm expense.
"It's an expensive process, but it is the future of the firm," Leatherbury says. "We hire most of our [entry level] lawyers from the summer program. It is very important to us to hire exceptional legal talent, and that's where we get it from, our summer program."
The firm, which employs 532 lawyers in Texas and 736 firm-wide, has hired 119 summer associates, about the same number of summer associates the firm hired in 2008, he says.
Hunton & Williams also has hired the same number of summer associates for its Texas offices — five students — as it did in 2008, says Patrick E. Mitchell, the managing partner of the Dallas office of the Richmond, Va.-based firm.
"We always planned on having five, and that is what we've got, and we're looking forward to it," he says. The firm employs 135 lawyers in Texas and 976 firm-wide. Mitchell says it is important for firms to have summer associate programs despite an uncertain economy. "The only product we sell is people," he says.
At San Antonio-based Cox Smith Matthews, 17 or 18 students will be working at the firm this summer, says Scott B. Bankler, chairman of the recruiting committee of the 127-lawyer firm. In 2008, Cox Smith hired 19 summer associates.
"We're taking a look at expenses, given the economy, but we hope we can run a similar program to those in previous years," Bankler says.
Fort Worth-based, 126-lawyer Kelly Hart & Hallman has hired seven summer associates, a few less than the nine students the firm hired in 2008, says firm recruiter Prissy Moore.
Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, with 104 lawyers, has hired six students as summer associates, says Ellen M. Van Meir, a partner in Dallas and chairwoman of the firm's associate and recruiting committee. "The program is still going forward," she says. The Dallas-based firm employed 10 students during its 2008 summer associate program.
Five other large firms reported the number of students hired for the 2009 summer associate programs in the firms' Texas offices. Dallas-based Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has hired 26 summer associates, says spokeswoman Sheila Turner. Jackson Walker, based in Dallas, has hired 24 summer associates, recruiting director Kim DiLallo writes in an e-mail. Cleveland-based Jones Day, which has offices in Dallas and Houston, has hired 41 summer associates, says Kathy Shea, recruiting manager for the Dallas office. Dallas-based Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell has hired 38 Texas associates, firm spokeswoman Julie Gilbert writes in an e-mail. Strasburger & Price, based in Dallas, has hired six summer associates, writes Linsi Walker, the firm's recruiting and professional development manager, in an e-mail.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Interviewing with small firms
As the number of larger firms laying off associates increases, the focus on small firms grows. The folks over at Above the Law had some great ideas:
I work for a small law firm in a major metropolitan area that is in the enviable position of hiring right now. We are getting a flood of Big Law resumes. I get to hear all of you pedigreed, ambitious, driven, hard-working and talented attorneys crash and burn without even knowing you're doing it. Here is my advice on how to actually get the job, especially if it's with a smaller, scrappier law firm than you're used to. In no particular order:
1. Nobody Cares. Your resume speaks for itself, and the attorneys who are interviewing you are well aware that you come from BigLaw stock, have an Ivy League degree, fancy clerkships or once worked for Famous Attorney. Keep in mind that right now, you're sitting across the table from attorneys who once did not get the job with BigLaw, probably because of you. They have not forgotten this, and Schadenfreude is still alive and well. Bragging about your BigLaw experience will make them loathe you. If they ask you about BigLaw, answer the questions but don't go on and on about how much you loved that high salary and perks that kept you tethered to your desk. Your interviewers absolutely do not want to hear it. Conversely, avoid denigrating your BigLaw experience because...
2. Nobody Likes A Whiner. Don't bitch about how you're secretly grateful you're out of that hellhole because you hated the BigLaw experience and the high salary and perks that kept you tethered to your desk. Your interviewers might believe you, but if you're denigrating your prior firm, you're most likely going to also bad-mouth ours. Keep in mind that your interviewers might once have had, or still have, BigLaw connections. Their spouses might still work for BigLaw. Their parents, siblings or children might work for BigLaw. This law firm might have once poached a chunk of attorneys from BigLaw. You never know.
Some notes about fitting in, after the jump.
3. Figure Out How To Fit In. This is the single biggest reason why the BigLaw candidates are getting rejected. We're looking for attorneys who will fit in seamlessly with our firm culture, which is vastly different from BigLaw. If you're used to working in teams, you won't be doing that here, because you will be running your own cases and won't have anyone else to rely upon. When this was told to one candidate, rather than praise this method and explain how well he'll be able to do that, he said simply, "I've never done that before." That may be true, but that's not what we want to hear. If you've never done that before, be honest about it, but follow up with an explanation of how you plan to remedy that quickly and do that over and over again, brilliantly and while adding value to the firm. Adaptability is key.
4. Dress Appropriately. All of you know how to dress for a job interview, but leave your fancy cuff links, expensive embossed portfolio, diamond jewelry (even the tasteful studs), and logoed accessories at home. Wearing them will remind your interviewers how high your salary was at BigLaw, which may be more than they're currently making right now, and they will hate you.
5. Show Respect for Your Elders. One of the hiring attorneys at my firm is an extremely senior partner, and he looks his age. What the candidates do not know is that despite his doddering exterior, he is brilliant and scrutinizing. He did not get this task because he's nearing retirement and needs something to do. He got it because everybody respects his opinion. During one interview, the candidate apparently mistook him for her grandfather and spoke to him like he had dementia: "Well aren't you sweet!" She will not be back. He may be old, but he deserves the same amount of respect as your peers. Assuming you do in fact respect your peers.
I work for a small law firm in a major metropolitan area that is in the enviable position of hiring right now. We are getting a flood of Big Law resumes. I get to hear all of you pedigreed, ambitious, driven, hard-working and talented attorneys crash and burn without even knowing you're doing it. Here is my advice on how to actually get the job, especially if it's with a smaller, scrappier law firm than you're used to. In no particular order:
1. Nobody Cares. Your resume speaks for itself, and the attorneys who are interviewing you are well aware that you come from BigLaw stock, have an Ivy League degree, fancy clerkships or once worked for Famous Attorney. Keep in mind that right now, you're sitting across the table from attorneys who once did not get the job with BigLaw, probably because of you. They have not forgotten this, and Schadenfreude is still alive and well. Bragging about your BigLaw experience will make them loathe you. If they ask you about BigLaw, answer the questions but don't go on and on about how much you loved that high salary and perks that kept you tethered to your desk. Your interviewers absolutely do not want to hear it. Conversely, avoid denigrating your BigLaw experience because...
2. Nobody Likes A Whiner. Don't bitch about how you're secretly grateful you're out of that hellhole because you hated the BigLaw experience and the high salary and perks that kept you tethered to your desk. Your interviewers might believe you, but if you're denigrating your prior firm, you're most likely going to also bad-mouth ours. Keep in mind that your interviewers might once have had, or still have, BigLaw connections. Their spouses might still work for BigLaw. Their parents, siblings or children might work for BigLaw. This law firm might have once poached a chunk of attorneys from BigLaw. You never know.
Some notes about fitting in, after the jump.
3. Figure Out How To Fit In. This is the single biggest reason why the BigLaw candidates are getting rejected. We're looking for attorneys who will fit in seamlessly with our firm culture, which is vastly different from BigLaw. If you're used to working in teams, you won't be doing that here, because you will be running your own cases and won't have anyone else to rely upon. When this was told to one candidate, rather than praise this method and explain how well he'll be able to do that, he said simply, "I've never done that before." That may be true, but that's not what we want to hear. If you've never done that before, be honest about it, but follow up with an explanation of how you plan to remedy that quickly and do that over and over again, brilliantly and while adding value to the firm. Adaptability is key.
4. Dress Appropriately. All of you know how to dress for a job interview, but leave your fancy cuff links, expensive embossed portfolio, diamond jewelry (even the tasteful studs), and logoed accessories at home. Wearing them will remind your interviewers how high your salary was at BigLaw, which may be more than they're currently making right now, and they will hate you.
5. Show Respect for Your Elders. One of the hiring attorneys at my firm is an extremely senior partner, and he looks his age. What the candidates do not know is that despite his doddering exterior, he is brilliant and scrutinizing. He did not get this task because he's nearing retirement and needs something to do. He got it because everybody respects his opinion. During one interview, the candidate apparently mistook him for her grandfather and spoke to him like he had dementia: "Well aren't you sweet!" She will not be back. He may be old, but he deserves the same amount of respect as your peers. Assuming you do in fact respect your peers.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Black in Back - Bankruptcy Lawyers Regain Glory, Demand
According to Nathan Koppel of the WSJ, Corporate law firms are facing a boom in bankruptcy work but the rising demand in services has the firms fighting to hold on to their bankruptcy attorneys.
To claim a share of the lucrative bankruptcy market, firms need a stable of restructuring partners with loyal client followings and big-case experience. It costs more for firms to both retain that kind of talent or to hire such lawyers on the open market.
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP last year offered more than $5 million a year to land Luc Despins, a New York lawyer who has represented creditors in many high-profile bankruptcies, including those of Enron Corp. and Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. Paul Hastings, according to a partner at the firm, also guaranteed Mr. Despins that he would maintain his pay level for three years -- a rarity in the legal industry, where partner compensation typically fluctuates along with a firm's overall profit.
Mr. Despins declines to discuss his compensation. He says he joined Paul Hastings because it has a broad corporate client base, both domestically and abroad.
"When you see headhunters descending like locusts on any bankruptcy professional who can fog a mirror, then you know the market is a little frothy," says New York bankruptcy attorney John Bicks, who says his phone "rings constantly" from headhunters.
Corporate restructurings in court can be particularly lucrative for firms, often requiring a small army of lawyers to toil years before a matter is resolved. In the past two years, Kirkland & Ellis LLP has earned at least $225 million in fees in completed corporate bankruptcy cases, while Sidley Austin LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP have each earned more than $100 million in completed corporate bankruptcies during that time, according to BankruptcyProfessional.com, which tracks fees in bankruptcies involving public companies.
Many law firms are looking to either add lawyers to their existing bankruptcy practices or to start a department from scratch, leading to a surge in hiring that is enabling some lawyers to increase their compensation by 20% or more if they are willing to jump ship to a competitor, New York recruiter Alisa Levin says. "Bankruptcy lawyers had their heyday years ago, and they have waited a long time to get back," she says.
Andrews Kurth LLP, a Houston-based firm with more than 400 lawyers, would like to deepen its bankruptcy bench, but it has been put off by many lawyers' salary demands, says Hugh Ray, head of restructuring at the firm. "Most lawyers want 20% to 30% over the firm's market [salary] rate," he says. "They feel they have been making less than their colleagues for years, and they think it's payback time."
New York bankruptcy attorney Raniero D'Aversa Jr. says that when he started searching for another job in 2007 he drew up a wish list of 20 law firms. Most of the firms agreed to meet with him, he says, and many offered attractive compensation packages.
"There were so many options," says Mr. D'Aversa. "There are a lot of firms eagerly looking to build in this space." He ended up taking a job last year at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, which is paying him about $2.5 million in annual compensation, a pay raise of about 25%, according to people familiar with the compensation package.
Hiring activity is particularly frenzied in New York City and Wilmington, Del., the primary venues for corporate bankruptcy filings.
To claim a share of the lucrative bankruptcy market, firms need a stable of restructuring partners with loyal client followings and big-case experience. It costs more for firms to both retain that kind of talent or to hire such lawyers on the open market.
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP last year offered more than $5 million a year to land Luc Despins, a New York lawyer who has represented creditors in many high-profile bankruptcies, including those of Enron Corp. and Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. Paul Hastings, according to a partner at the firm, also guaranteed Mr. Despins that he would maintain his pay level for three years -- a rarity in the legal industry, where partner compensation typically fluctuates along with a firm's overall profit.
Mr. Despins declines to discuss his compensation. He says he joined Paul Hastings because it has a broad corporate client base, both domestically and abroad.
"When you see headhunters descending like locusts on any bankruptcy professional who can fog a mirror, then you know the market is a little frothy," says New York bankruptcy attorney John Bicks, who says his phone "rings constantly" from headhunters.
Corporate restructurings in court can be particularly lucrative for firms, often requiring a small army of lawyers to toil years before a matter is resolved. In the past two years, Kirkland & Ellis LLP has earned at least $225 million in fees in completed corporate bankruptcy cases, while Sidley Austin LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP have each earned more than $100 million in completed corporate bankruptcies during that time, according to BankruptcyProfessional.com, which tracks fees in bankruptcies involving public companies.
Many law firms are looking to either add lawyers to their existing bankruptcy practices or to start a department from scratch, leading to a surge in hiring that is enabling some lawyers to increase their compensation by 20% or more if they are willing to jump ship to a competitor, New York recruiter Alisa Levin says. "Bankruptcy lawyers had their heyday years ago, and they have waited a long time to get back," she says.
Andrews Kurth LLP, a Houston-based firm with more than 400 lawyers, would like to deepen its bankruptcy bench, but it has been put off by many lawyers' salary demands, says Hugh Ray, head of restructuring at the firm. "Most lawyers want 20% to 30% over the firm's market [salary] rate," he says. "They feel they have been making less than their colleagues for years, and they think it's payback time."
New York bankruptcy attorney Raniero D'Aversa Jr. says that when he started searching for another job in 2007 he drew up a wish list of 20 law firms. Most of the firms agreed to meet with him, he says, and many offered attractive compensation packages.
"There were so many options," says Mr. D'Aversa. "There are a lot of firms eagerly looking to build in this space." He ended up taking a job last year at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, which is paying him about $2.5 million in annual compensation, a pay raise of about 25%, according to people familiar with the compensation package.
Hiring activity is particularly frenzied in New York City and Wilmington, Del., the primary venues for corporate bankruptcy filings.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Where Did All the Jobs Go?
These days it seems like every lawyer has been touched by this economic downturn. Either you’ve been laid off from your law job or someone you know has been laid off from their law firm. And the layoffs have now finally reached the Texas market. Well, you’re not alone. It’s been reported that in 2008, around 1800 legal jobs were lost (including lawyers and legal staff). It’s also been reported that in just January and so far in February around 3000 legal jobs have been lost nationally, a number of those jobs here in the Texas market. Those numbers don’t include unreported layoffs or secret layoffs from big law firms that so many of you have been telling us about. Faced with losing a job, the obvious question is what do I do next.
Nationally, lawyers are retooling themselves. They’re retooling their legal resumes to show a broader depth of law practice experience, which is particularly a great idea for the transactional lawyers out there with corporate, finance and real estate experience. While litigation and bankruptcy practices are busy, it’s best to show that you have some legal experience in these busier practices. Lawyers are considering law jobs that pay less, and in some instances a lot less than their previous law firm job. They are thinking about geographic moves to locations with no connection other than a good legal job. And they’re even thinking about non-legal jobs until the economy improves. In these times, it pays to be creative and think outside the box about how to best market your legal skills and distinguish yourself from every other lawyer or candidate out there.
Nationally, lawyers are retooling themselves. They’re retooling their legal resumes to show a broader depth of law practice experience, which is particularly a great idea for the transactional lawyers out there with corporate, finance and real estate experience. While litigation and bankruptcy practices are busy, it’s best to show that you have some legal experience in these busier practices. Lawyers are considering law jobs that pay less, and in some instances a lot less than their previous law firm job. They are thinking about geographic moves to locations with no connection other than a good legal job. And they’re even thinking about non-legal jobs until the economy improves. In these times, it pays to be creative and think outside the box about how to best market your legal skills and distinguish yourself from every other lawyer or candidate out there.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
And the hits keep on coming...
According to the Daily Journal, the pace of law firm layoffs accelerated drastically nationwide in January, but Atlanta's largest firms do not yet appear to be caught up in large-scale terminations of attorneys and staff.
Of the seven large Atlanta-based firms contacted for this story, four confirmed layoffs of attorneys or staff, with varying degrees of detail. Two firms said they haven't had layoffs and another declined to comment. Recruiters at six firms contacted by the Daily Report, however, said they're seeing résumés from lawyers at all the large firms.
Since the beginning of the year, about 30 firms nationwide have announced layoffs totaling 1,528 staff and lawyers--compared to 1,762 layoffs announced by firms for all of 2008, according to Lawshucks.com. The Web site has meticulously compiled national layoff figures from confirmed reports in the legal press in a feature called Layoff Tracker.
In the last week of January alone, a whopping 858 lawyers and staff lost their jobs at big law firms nationwide, according to Layoff Tracker.
The figures compiled by the Layoff Tracker do not include so-called “stealth layoffs” that have not been confirmed, where firms lay off personnel in small increments in order not to attract attention.
Atlanta has not seen the large-scale layoffs that have hit firms in New York and California that invested heavily in structured finance practices. San Francisco's Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, for example, announced in November it was laying off 75 associates, counsel and staff.
Firms in other cities that publicly are announcing cuts are shedding eye-popping numbers of lawyers and staff. Just last week, San Francisco's Morrison and Foerster announced it was laying off 201 people: 53 lawyers and 148 staff.
Other announcements last week that sent shockwaves through the national legal community came from Palo Alto, Calif.'s Wilson Sonsini, which cut 113 people (45 lawyers and 68 staff) and Boston's Ropes and Gray, which let go of 106 staff. The British firm Linklaters terminated 270 people: 120 lawyers and 150 staff.
Atlanta's legal recruiters say that most of the city's big firms are laying off lawyers, but they agree that the numbers, so far, are smaller than those seen in California, Chicago and New York.
“We're seeing firms very quietly trying to trim the fat, I think, at all levels from equity partner on down,” said Ilene Rosh, a recruiter at Hughes Consultants.
“We're seeing résumés from a lot of large firms that we don't normally see,” said Richard Rice, the head of attorney recruiting at firstPRO.
Of the seven large Atlanta-based firms contacted for this story, four confirmed layoffs of attorneys or staff, with varying degrees of detail. Two firms said they haven't had layoffs and another declined to comment. Recruiters at six firms contacted by the Daily Report, however, said they're seeing résumés from lawyers at all the large firms.
Since the beginning of the year, about 30 firms nationwide have announced layoffs totaling 1,528 staff and lawyers--compared to 1,762 layoffs announced by firms for all of 2008, according to Lawshucks.com. The Web site has meticulously compiled national layoff figures from confirmed reports in the legal press in a feature called Layoff Tracker.
In the last week of January alone, a whopping 858 lawyers and staff lost their jobs at big law firms nationwide, according to Layoff Tracker.
The figures compiled by the Layoff Tracker do not include so-called “stealth layoffs” that have not been confirmed, where firms lay off personnel in small increments in order not to attract attention.
Atlanta has not seen the large-scale layoffs that have hit firms in New York and California that invested heavily in structured finance practices. San Francisco's Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, for example, announced in November it was laying off 75 associates, counsel and staff.
Firms in other cities that publicly are announcing cuts are shedding eye-popping numbers of lawyers and staff. Just last week, San Francisco's Morrison and Foerster announced it was laying off 201 people: 53 lawyers and 148 staff.
Other announcements last week that sent shockwaves through the national legal community came from Palo Alto, Calif.'s Wilson Sonsini, which cut 113 people (45 lawyers and 68 staff) and Boston's Ropes and Gray, which let go of 106 staff. The British firm Linklaters terminated 270 people: 120 lawyers and 150 staff.
Atlanta's legal recruiters say that most of the city's big firms are laying off lawyers, but they agree that the numbers, so far, are smaller than those seen in California, Chicago and New York.
“We're seeing firms very quietly trying to trim the fat, I think, at all levels from equity partner on down,” said Ilene Rosh, a recruiter at Hughes Consultants.
“We're seeing résumés from a lot of large firms that we don't normally see,” said Richard Rice, the head of attorney recruiting at firstPRO.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Big Firms in Texas Freezing Salaries
You may have heard by now that several large Texas-based law firms have frozen 2009 salaries at 2008 levels. Fulbright and Jaworski and Haynes and Boone are the first of the big Texas firms to freeze associate salaries but they are in good company. Firms nation-wide have instituted salary freezes in the past several months, including Godwin Procter, Alston & Bird, Perkins Coie, Shulte Roth and Zabel, Latham and Watkins, Orrick, Dickstein Shapiro, Sheppard Mullin, Venable, Bryan Cave, Arnold and Porter and Steptoe and Johnson. Firms that have instituted salary freezes that have offices located in Texas but are based elsewhere include Morgan Lewis, Hogan and Hartson, DLA, Squire Sanders, Sonnenschein, Sutherland, McDermott Will and Emery and Sidley Austin. Fulbright has frozen salaries through the first quarter of 2009, unlike most firms which have instituted an indefinite freeze.
Big Firms in Texas Freezing Salaries
You may have heard by now that several large Texas-based law firms have frozen 2009 salaries at 2008 levels. Fulbright and Jaworski and Haynes and Boone are the first of the big Texas firms to freeze associate salaries but they are in good company. Firms nation-wide have instituted salary freezes in the past several months, including Godwin Procter, Alston & Bird, Perkins Coie, Shulte Roth and Zabel, Latham and Watkins, Orrick, Dickstein Shapiro, Sheppard Mullin, Venable, Bryan Cave, Arnold and Porter and Steptoe and Johnson. Firms that have instituted salary freezes that have offices located in Texas but are based elsewhere include Morgan Lewis, Hogan and Hartson, DLA, Squire Sanders, Sonnenschein, Sutherland, McDermott Will and Emery and Sidley Austin. Fulbright has frozen salaries through the first quarter of 2009, unlike most firms which have instituted an indefinite freeze.
Monday, January 19, 2009
2008 Associate Bonuses Strong
These days everyone is tightening their belts- whether we need to or have the perception that we need to. In the current economic downturn, with firms and corporations cutting staff, companies filing bankruptcy, law firms dissolving and new job opportunities few and far between, it gets difficult to see the silver lining. But lawyers at large law firms throughout the state have something to smile about.
Bonus reports are in and associate bonuses for 2008 in Texas were strong, nearing levels of bonuses given in 2007. That is welcome news for many who were holding their breaths, hoping not to be the victims of the next round of layoffs. There is much to celebrate. Many firms here in Texas were not greatly affected by the economic downturn because of the types of cases and deals the firms take on and the types of clients they have. As a result, firm profits were strong and the partners graciously shared the wealth. Interestingly, the firms that saw drops in associate bonuses tend to be the New York based law firms, the same firms that historically gave bonuses and have base salaries well above the Texas market. No one knows what 2009 has in store, but let’s hope that it follows the trend of 2008.
Bonus reports are in and associate bonuses for 2008 in Texas were strong, nearing levels of bonuses given in 2007. That is welcome news for many who were holding their breaths, hoping not to be the victims of the next round of layoffs. There is much to celebrate. Many firms here in Texas were not greatly affected by the economic downturn because of the types of cases and deals the firms take on and the types of clients they have. As a result, firm profits were strong and the partners graciously shared the wealth. Interestingly, the firms that saw drops in associate bonuses tend to be the New York based law firms, the same firms that historically gave bonuses and have base salaries well above the Texas market. No one knows what 2009 has in store, but let’s hope that it follows the trend of 2008.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Resume Resolution
It’s a new year and that means new resolutions, so add one more to your list: a new resume. In fact, make that many resumes. With the recent economic downturn employers are becoming more and more focused on finding the perfect candidate, not just any candidate. Employers are looking for someone who has the perfect background for the job at hand, not just a good enough background.
With this in mind, create a resume that illustrates why you’re the perfect fit. Create a unique resume tailored for the job you’re trying to secure, not a generic resume for any and all jobs available. For more information on creating a great resume, visit the Candidate Resources Center on WarrenRecruiting.com.
With this in mind, create a resume that illustrates why you’re the perfect fit. Create a unique resume tailored for the job you’re trying to secure, not a generic resume for any and all jobs available. For more information on creating a great resume, visit the Candidate Resources Center on WarrenRecruiting.com.
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