What goes down must go up – salaries on the rise

DLA Piper on Thursday became the latest firm to raise associate salaries pack to pre-2008 levels, according to the National Law Journal, an Am Law Daily sibling publication. The firm cut salaries in June of 2009 at the same time it announced plans to implement a broader merit-based pay system for associates, according the NLJ.

The skinny is this: Associates in major markets will have starting salaries pushed back up to $160,000 after the firm cut them back to $145,000, the NLJ says, citing an internal memo sent out Thursday. The firm had boosted starting salaries in New York back to the $160,000 mark in January, but Thursday's memo means that move will now extend to the firm's other key offices. Starting salaries for associates in secondary markets, such as Phoenix, Tampa Bay and Sacramento, will jump back up to $145,000 from $130,000, the NLJ reports.

The goal of the raise is to retain mid-level associates, but the firm decided to raise salaries for all associates at once rather doing so in steps, the NLJ says. Terry O'Malley, the firm's U.S. managing partner, stressed that the firm did not decide on the raises because of job market pressures.

Source - ALM Daily

A Strong and Healthy 2010

Despite a few recent layoff announcements from Mayer Brown and a couple other big law firms, we are seeing a huge increase in overall hiring. As predicted in the first quarter of 2009 by Morgan Warren, founder of Warren Recruiting, the increase in 2010 hiring is being seen in all ranks of attorneys and staff. The largest concentrated growth is from mid size law firms who are looking for talented, seasoned attorneys and staffers to handle a myriad of cases and deals.

The IP, Bankruptcy, Litigation and Partner level searches are back to 2008 (very high) levels. Real Estate and Finance is still lagging a bit however the growth of new opportunities has been on the rise. Warren Recruiting remains optimistic that 2010 will continue to be a very strong year for talented law professionals.

On an international level, we have seen a dramatic drop in new opportunities particularly within Asia who is suffering from over expansion in 2009 and is looking to absorb the glut of attorneys hired in the past three years. The challenges in Greece have not had a noticeable impact in the EU nor do we anticipate seeing any direct impact.

Let us know if you have specific questions about particular verticals within the legal space.