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• Clifford Chance to tell under-performers to take a hike

  May 17 2012 Clifford Chance is attempting to change its own rules regarding the removal of underperforming partners. Under the current system, an under-performing partner will be... more

• US legal services market becomes more segmented

  May 07 2012 The most expensive US lawyers are becoming even more costly, while the cheapest are barely keeping up with inflation, according to this story published in the Wall... more

• Top 100 firms report single digit growth for last year

  May 04 2012 The Am Law Daily has released figures that give a snapshot of the legal services industry over the past year. The top 100 firms saw single digit growth in gross... more

• Jones Day announces pay rise for trainees, while Links raises all pay levels

  May 04 2012 Jones Day has announced a pay rise for trainees in its London office, increasing the starting salary from £39,000 to £41,000, with pay to be reviewed every year in... more

• Stephenson Harwood promotes three to partnership

  May 03 2012 London firm Stephenson Harwood has promoted three associates to the partnership in its annual promotions round, down from four last year. Promotions went to... more

• Herbert Smith set to lay off 51 in London

  Apr 30 2012 Herbert Smith has announced plans to lay off 51 people London, and has commenced a 30 day consultation to carry out the cuts. The biggest cuts will take place in the... more

• Miami firm Bilzin Sumberg hires two top lawyers from Hunton & Williams

  Apr 18 2012 Miami firm Bilzin Sumberg has hired leading litigation lawyers Marty Steinberg and Jeffrey Gutchess of Hunton & Williams along with a number of associates.   “We are... more

• Rumour says A&O considering pay rise for associates and trainees

  Apr 06 2012 Rumour has it that Allen & Overy is considering a substantial pay rise for lawyers. The firm is apparently in the midst of discussions on the pay issue, which should... more

• Court orders lawyers from Eaton Peabody and Baker & Hostetler to reduce fees

  Apr 06 2012 A US court has ruled that that lawyers from Eaton Peabody and Baker & Hostetler overcharged for legal work, inflating their charges with overstaffing and redundant... more

• Mumbai-based Nasikwala Law Office takes on equity partner from Juris Corp

  Mar 08 2012 Mumbai-based firm Nasikwala Law Office has hired former Juris Corp partner Freddy R. Daruwala. Daruwala will join the firm as an equity partner to head the firm's... more

• Squire Sanders set to launch international shipping practice in London

  Feb 23 2012 Squire Sanders is set to launch a shipping practice in London after the hire of three partners and two associates. The team will be led by partners Graham Harris... more

• 2012 may be more challenging than 2009, says legal industry advisory

  Feb 20 2012 The new client advisory from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group and the Hildebrandt Institute has some disheartening news for the legal sector: “Unfortunately, the... more

• Blake Cassels & Graydon promotes 13 to partnership

  Feb 06 2012 Leading Canadian firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon has promoted 13 associates to the partnership. “I am pleased to announce our latest group of partners,” said Rob... more

• Large law firms likely to award spring bonuses again this year, say experts

  Jan 27 2012 Legal industry experts predict that large law firms will again award spring bonuses in 2012, following on from a trend begun in 2011, but that spring bonuses are... more

• More male partners working part time, says survey

  Jan 23 2012 6.2 per cent of lawyers at big firms work part time, according to a new survey released by NALP. In 2011 98 per cent of large law firms allowed part-time schedules,... more

• Reports indicate more departures from BLP's banking and capital markets group

  Jan 16 2012 Rumour has it that seven associates have resigned from Berwin Leighton Paisner's Banking and Capital Markets group in the last week. According to Roll On Friday a... more

• Dechert bonuses based on performance requirement

  Jan 16 2012 Dechert announced its 2011 end-of-year bonuses for US associates just after Christmas, with a schedule of bonuses that broadly matches the standard set by Cleary... more

• Legal support staff get a rough deal at bonus time

  Dec 22 2011 Above the Law has been keeping a close eye on announcements regarding annual bonuses from large law firms. Their reporting has noted that the size of this year’s... more

• US firm Davis Polk follows the leader on bonuses

  Dec 19 2011 US firm Davis Polk & Wardwell has announced its annual bonuses for associates, matching the rates set by Cravath Swaine & Moore last month The Cravath bonus scale... more

• Davis Polk & Wardwell follows the flock on annual bonuses

  Dec 14 2011 Davis Polk & Wardwell has announced that it will match the bonus structure put forward by Cravath Swaine & Moore. Like Cravath, Davis Polk's bonus scale begins... more

• Sullivan & Cromwell repeats last year's bonus figures

  Dec 09 2011 Sullivan & Cromwell has announced that it will award year-end bonuses of the same size as were awarded last year, but sweetens the news by saying that associates can... more

• Clifford Chance explores alliance with fast moving Chinese firm

  Dec 08 2011 Clifford Chance is exploring an alliance with Chinese firm Broad & Bright. Broad & Bright has 20 partners, 40 associates, and is one of China’s fastest growing firms,... more

• Proskauer Rose follows Cravath bonus scale

  Dec 06 2011 Proskauer Rose has announced that it will match the bonus scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore. The level of these bonuses is considered to be down the lower end of the... more

• Skadden matches Cravath bonus scale

  Dec 01 2011 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has matched the 2011 bonuses offered by market leader Cravath, Swaine & Moore, all but ensuring a steady and predictable bonus... more

• Field Fisher Waterhouse declines to renew contracts, considers redundancies

  Nov 30 2011 The public and regulatory practice group at Field Fisher Waterhouse is likely to make four associates redundant, with a further 13 solicitors and paralegals likely to... more

• Two associates get the axe after returning from maternity leave at Walker Morris

  Nov 21 2011 London firm Walker Morris has laid off two associates in the corporate department. The two associates had reportedly just returned from maternity leave when they were... more

• Less women entering biglaw practice, survey says

  Nov 10 2011 Less women are entering big-firm practice, according to the annual report of the National Association of Women Lawyers, which pointed out that women account for 47%... more

• 20 lawyers shift from Willkie Farr to longtime client

  Nov 01 2011 A group of up to 20 lawyers is set to depart from Willkie Farr & Gallagher to move in house at one of the firm’s biggest clients - Bloomberg L.P. The group is led by... more

• Eversheds set to introduce senior role as alternative to partnership

  Oct 06 2011 Eversheds is set to introduce a new senior role as an alternative to partnership. The new ‘legal director’ is aimed at “recognising those senior people at the firm who... more

• US Summer Associate Programs Ranked

  Sep 16 2011 Vault.com has stepped up with a new ranking to put law firm summer associate programs in some kind of order. Thank goodness. This summer Vault surveyed around... more

• Proskauer & Rose continues raid of SJ Berwin's funds group

  Sep 07 2011 Proskauer Rose has recruited six associates from SJ Berwin’s funds group. The group follows hot on the heels of funds partners Nigel van Zyl and Oliver Rochman, who... more

• Associate satisfaction survey shows firms can't buy loyalty

  Sep 06 2011 The American Lawyer has released the results of its annual associate satisfaction survey, which showed that associates billed more hours last year in comparison to... more

• Law firms add value to junior associates

  Aug 23 2011 Law firms are responding to Junior lawyers have long been a profit center for large law firms, charged out to clients at hundreds of dollars an hour. But with clients... more

• US BigLaw starts summer recruitment with high hopes

  Aug 18 2011 The recruitment drive for associates for the class of 2013 has begun in earnest, with recruiting partners coming on campus to assess the current crop for coveted... more

• Pro-Bono work in decline at US law firms

  Jul 04 2011 The American Lawyer magazine has released statistics showing that pro-bono output declined at the top 100 US firms in the past year, during which those same firms... more

• London firm Devonshires breaks its promise to pay bonuses

  Jun 27 2011 RollOnFriday has reported that London law firm Devonshires will not be paying the bonuses promised to associates last year. The bonus scheme was introduced to... more

• Wall Street firm Cahill announces mid-year bonuses

  Jun 17 2011 Cahill is set to award a mid-year bonus to all associates in the range of $5,000 to $25,000. The bonus comes after a record year for the Wall Street firm, with revenue... more

• Strategic career advice for young lawyers from Ronald Barusch

  May 31 2011 Ronald Barusch, a M&A practitioner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, offers some interesting advice for law grads in this article in the Wall Street Journal.... more

• Shearman & Sterling raises associate pay

  May 26 2011 Shearman & Sterling has announced a pay rise for UK qualified associates, increasing salaries by as much as 15 per cent within its three-tier merit-based system.... more

• Freshfields gives UK associates a pay rise

  May 24 2011 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced pay rises for all associates, taking the firm to the very top of the Magic Circle in terms of compensation. Associates... more

• US firms set more lawyers on the non-partnership track

  May 24 2011 An interesting article here about the creation of two-tier associate system in some of the biggest law firms in the US. These second tier associates do the same kind... more

• Allen & Overy and Linklaters freeze salaries

  May 13 2011 Allen & Overy and Linklaters have frozen salaries for associates. This means that lawyers will progress to the next salary band according to the lockstep system, but... more

• London firm Taylor Wessing encourages 'healthy competition' between associates

  May 09 2011 London firm Taylor Wessing has introduced a novel policy to increase productivity among associates – releasing details of each associate’s recorded hours to their... more

• SJ Berwin moves to merit-based pay

  Apr 27 2011 SJ Berwin has announced that it is abandoning the associate lockstep model in favor of a merit-based compensation system. Under the new scheme, associates will move... more

• UK firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain shames unprofitable lawyers

  Apr 25 2011 London firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has introduced a new system for distinguishing between lawyers on the basis of how much they are billing. Each associate’s... more

• Mayer Brown to pay spring bonuses to US associates

  Apr 18 2011 Mayer Brown has jumped on the spring bonus bandwagon with the announcement that it will pay US-based associates according to the scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore.... more

• Philadelphia-based firm Dechert announces spring bonuses

  Apr 13 2011 International firm Dechert has announced the award of spring bonuses to associates and counsel. The firm will pay qualifying associates in May, according to the... more

• Gibson Dunn & Crutcher on the spring bonus bandwagon

  Apr 06 2011 Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has taken the decision to grant spring bonuses to associates, matching the market with payments equal to those awarded by Cravath Swaine &... more

• Starting date prospects for associates: looking good

  Mar 30 2011 Interesting article here about the follow on effects of all those deferred start dates for associates during the height of the recession in 2008 and 2009. The... more

• US lateral market heats up

  Mar 22 2011 Lateral hiring in the US increased by 38 per cent to 2,300 hires last year, after two years of declining activity on the lateral market. Lateral hires of associates... more

• Howrey partners vote to dissolve firm

  Mar 10 2011 Howrey’s partners have voted to dissolve the partnership, a decision that will take effect on 15 March 2011 and put the 55 year old firm out of its misery. The... more

• What do you do when the ship is sinking? Advice for associates at failing firms

  Mar 09 2011 This is an interesting article about the plight of associates that find themselves in a failing law firm. The article looks back to the period from late 2008... more

• Four US law schools place majority of graduates in top firms

  Mar 01 2011 There are just four US law schools that can boast that more than half of their 2010 graduates were recruited by the 250 largest law firms in the country, according to... more

• IBM invents a 'digital associate'

  Feb 17 2011 Robert Weber, the general counsel of IBM, says that that the company is developing a kind of digital associate called Watson. According to Weber, Watson is ‘a... more

• Freshfields follows the leader with US spring bonuses

  Feb 16 2011 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has awarded spring bonuses to its 82 US–based associates, following the lead set by Sullivan & Cromwell, Cravath, Swaine & Moore,... more

• Morrison & Foerster announces spring bonuses

  Feb 10 2011 Morrison & Foerster has announced its spring bonuses for associates. Non-New York associates are set to see bonuses that loosely follows the Cravath, Swaine & Moore... more

• Addleshaw Goddard shifts routine legal work away from associates

  Feb 08 2011 Addleshaw Goddard is the latest firm to announce that it will send low-level legal work to a transaction services centre. The firm’s stated aim is to free associates... more

• Lawyer appraisals - DOs and DON'Ts

  Feb 02 2011 Here is an interesting article on law firm appraisals. It takes a look at the utility of providing feedback and professional development opportunities, and discusses... more

• Sullivan & Cromwell announces generous spring bonuses

  Jan 24 2011 Sullivan & Cromwell has announced a generous spring bonuses for its associates. The firm has decided to the 2010 year-end bonuses, announced in December, with a... more

• Lawyers less likely to work part-time than other professionals

  Jan 12 2011 The number of lawyers at large law firms that are working part time has risen from 2.4 per cent in 1994 to 6.4 per cent 2010, but lawyers are far less likely to work... more

• Jones Day promotes 36 to partnership; offers no bonuses

  Jan 10 2011 US firm Jones Day has bucked the trend followed by every other large firm in the country with the decision not to award end of year bonuses to associates. "We... more

• Dewey & LeBoeuf promotes four to partnership

  Jan 04 2011 Dewey & LeBoeuf has promoted four lawyers to the partnership in their annual promotions round, down from six promotions in 2009 and 20 in the golden age of 2008.... more

• Disappointment over bonuses at Hogan Lovells

  Jan 04 2011 Hogan Lovells has announced its end of year bonus package, the first the firm has given since the merger Hogan & Hartson and Lovells. But associates hoping that the... more

• Hughes Hubbard introduces hardline policy for delinquent time-keepers

  Jan 03 2011 Hughes Hubbard & Reed has announced a scheme designed to ensure better time-keeping by associates. The firm’s plan means that associates who are more than five... more

• Clifford Chance follows Cravath bonus scale

  Dec 24 2010 London-based firm Clifford Chance has announced that its US associates will receive bonuses of between $7,500 and $35,000 at the beginning of 2011. The bonus package... more

• US firm Debevoise & Plimpton follows Cravath bonus scale

  Dec 20 2010 Debevoise & Plimpton has announced its 2010 associate bonuses, following a slew of large law firms to match the scale set by Cravath, Swaine & Moore. The bonuses... more

• Cahill Gordon & Reindel takes the lead on associate bonuses

  Dec 10 2010 Cahill Gordon & Reindel appears to be taking the lead on associate bonuses, breaking ranks with other law firms, who have largely followed the standard set by Cravath... more

• Linklaters beefs up pro bono program

  Dec 09 2010 Linklaters has reported around £8m of expenditure on pro bono activities during the last financial year, equating to around 63,750 hours of work. The figures... more

• Bonus time at small US law firms: slim pickings

  Dec 09 2010 Above The Law has run an informal survey on the bonuses offered by small law firms, with highly variable results. A third of respondents reported getting no... more

• Is Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's draconian policy illegal?

  Dec 02 2010 US firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has implemented a new policy of docking pay by 20 per cent for associates who are ten days late in filing their time records. The... more

• Survey predicts more cuts to equity partnerships

  Dec 01 2010 The days of cuts to the partner ranks are not over, according to a new survey onducted by the Amercan Lawyer. The survey reports almost 70 per cent of the 124... more

• BigLaw bonuses won't make you happy

  Nov 30 2010 This article points out that the big law model requires a high level of attrition, and maximum profit is achieved if a good number of associates leave after three or... more

• Milbank matches Cravath's bonus scale, delays payment until January

  Nov 25 2010 Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy has announced the details of its associate bonus package, which matches the scale released by Cravath, Swaine & Moore some days ago.... more

• Skadden matches Cravath's bonus scale

  Nov 24 2010 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has announced the rate of bonuses to be received by associates, matching the figures announced a day earlier by Cravath, Swaine &... more

• Redundancy time: Hogan lovells, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Osborne Clarke

  Nov 22 2010 The London tax practice at Hogan Lovells has launched a redundancy consultation, with four associate positions at risk. This round of redundancies comes after the firm... more

• Slaughter and May increases bonuses and marginally raises salaries

  Nov 04 2010 Slaughter and May has announced an imminent increase in its firmwide bonus, as well as a marginal increase in the baseline salary for associates. All fee earners,... more

• Lowenstein Sandler hires Ira Sorkin +5 from Dickstein Shapiro

  Nov 03 2010 Lowenstein Sandler has hired Ira Sorkin, the co-leader of the securities litigation and white-collar practices at Dickstein Shapiro. Sorkin makes the move along... more

• The future of associate pay

  Nov 03 2010 Before the recession, graduate starting salaries grew at a rate that considerably outstripped inflation. When the demand for legal services dropped, law firms moved to... more

• Law students angry over the false promise of law school

  Nov 01 2010 During the recession law school increased in popularity, with the number of LSAT takers climbing 20.5 per cent between 2007 and 2009, and law schools seeing more... more

• Bird & Bird loses 5-lawyer Paris IT team to DLA Piper

  Oct 27 2010 DLA Piper has boosted its Paris IT practice with the hire of a five-strong team of lawyers Bird & Bird. The team is led by Bird & Bird's international IT co-head... more

• Four partners set to leave the Paris office of Norton Rose

  Oct 15 2010 A team of four partners is set to leave the Paris office of Norton Rose after disagreements about the management of the office. Corporate partners Jean-Francois... more

• Howrey loses 12 IP partners in Europe

  Oct 11 2010 Howrey's head of intellectual property in Europe and at least 11 other partners and 14 associates are jumping ship to set up a new IP firm. The splinter group cited... more

• US firm Husch Blackwell lays off 20 lawyers

  Oct 06 2010 US firm Husch Blackwell, based in Kansas city, has confirmed that it has laid off 20 lawyers, including associates and non-equity partners. The lawyers affected... more

• Diversity outcomes sacrificed in tough economic climate

  Oct 01 2010 Diversity efforts by US law firms have stalled, according to new data from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Vault.com. The 2009 summer intake had the... more

• Lateral hires face demotions and pay cuts

  Sep 28 2010 Many corporate, real-estate and other transactional associates have had a slow year, with deals and work-flow stalling in the tough economic climate. Many have shifted... more

• Are the tough times over? US Associates see pay increase

  Sep 22 2010 Associate pay seemed for some time to be directly linked to the financial health of law firms – when demand for legal services outstripped supply, the cost of labour... more

• Orrick announces pay rise

  Aug 27 2010 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has announced a pay rise for all associates except for first-years. Under the new pay scheme, which will come into effect in... more

• Bird & Bird cuts associate pay

  Aug 09 2010 Bird & Bird has cut associate pay by £2,000, bucking the trend for London firms, who generally seem to be raising salaries rather than cutting them. Under the new... more

• 2011 Recruitment: 101 jobs between Amarchand, Luthra, Trilegal & Khaitan

  Aug 04 2010 This year Luthra & Luthra and Amarchand have been the biggest recruiters so far for the batch graduating in 2011 followed by Trilegal and Khaitan. Luthra has hired... more

• 16 per cent of young associates want out

  Jul 27 2010 UK recruitment consultancy Badenoch & Clark has released the results of a new survey, claiming that 24 per cent of young lawyers are looking to leave the profession... more

• A two-tiered system for associates?

  Jul 21 2010 For the past 20 years, firms have made the distinction between partners with an equity stake in the firm and those without. Justin T. Miller suggests, in the San... more

• Survey says partnership is not the main goal for most UK associates

  Jul 12 2010 Making partner is not the main goal for most UK associates, according to a new survey. Legal Week Intelligence's 2010 Employee Satisfaction Report reveals that only 38... more

• 11 Associates, 2 Partner Promotions at Indian law firm Juris Corp

  Jun 25 2010 Juris Corp is on an aggressive growth mode and has announced two internal promotions and has inducted 11 associates from the NLUs, Symbiosis and GLC Mumbai. Veena... more

• Survey anticipates further layoffs for support staff and non-equity partners

  Jun 24 2010 More layoffs are expected in the latter half of 2010, according to a new survey conducted by consulting firm Altman Weil, but there will be fewer layoffs than occurred... more

• Vaish Associates promotes 9 key associates to partnership

  Jun 05 2010 The New Delhi-based Vaish Associates has revamped its management by promoting nine key associates from their New Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon offices to partners. more

• Pay rise for associates at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

  May 07 2010 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced a payrise in its lockstep pay bands, effective 1 May. The changes ncrease the firm's newly-qualified rate by £1,000... more

• Mintz Leven bumps pay

  Apr 07 2010 After a salary freeze in 2009 and the deferral of its 2009 associates until 2010, Mintz Leven has announced that things are looking up. Mintz Levin Managing... more

• Law firms of the future: less bottom heavy?

  Apr 01 2010 There are no shortage of articles pointing out the need for change in the legal industry under new economic conditions. This New York Times article is interesting... more

• Chadbourne & Parke break bad news to 2009 associates

  Mar 18 2010 US firm Chadbourne & Parke is the latest to break the news to 2009 associates that there would be no job for them at the end of a series of deferrals. Eleven of the... more

• Morrison & Foerster raises first-year salaries back to $160K

  Feb 19 2010 Morrison & Foerster has raised first-year salaries back to $160,000. The US law firm had lowered starting salaries outside of New York and Asia to $145,000 in October.... more