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• Law firm leaders say changes to the industry are here to stay

  Yesterday A new survey by consulting firm Altman Weil Inc shows that a growing number of law firm leaders believe that he changes wrought on the legal services industry by the... more

• Former London MP from Dewey offers trainees a lifeline

  May 18 2012 The London trainees at Dewey & LeBoeuf have been offered positions by their former London Managing Partner, Peter Sharp. Sharp departed to take up a role at Morgan... more

• American Bar Association pushes for early release of jobs data

  Apr 25 2012 The American Bar Association is putting pressure on law schools to report on graduate jobs data one year after graduation, rather than continuing the current practice... more

• Salans set to close down its Beijing office

  Apr 16 2012 Salans is set to shutter its Beijing office after the partnership voted to close the office in favor of a more intense focus on Shanghai. The Beijing office has... more

• Law school applications drop while tuition continues to rise

  Apr 13 2012 Above the Law has run a long campaign to inform prospective law students of the risks they run in investing time and money in a law degree when the job market is in... more

• 15.6% drop in number of applicants for US law schools

  Apr 11 2012 There has been a 15.6 per cent drop in the number of students applying for admission to US law schools this year, with the total pool of applicants numbering about... more

• US legal services sector shed 1,300 jobs in March

  Apr 09 2012 The US legal services sector lost 1,300 jobs last month, according to the latest figures released by the Labor Department. The figures neutralise the modest gains... more

• The law schools that bestow the largest debt burden

  Mar 27 2012 As high-paying graduate jobs become ever more scarce in the US, the debt burden carried by law students is becoming a point of considerable controversy. US News... more

• UK firms should cut 5000 solicitor jobs, says report

  Mar 21 2012 A new report from the Royal Bank of Scotland claims that the UK legal market is suffering from substantial over-capacity, and is currently carrying over 5,000 excess... more

• Law school class action to add 20 more schools to target list

  Mar 16 2012 The class action lawsuit suing multiple US schools over false data provided to prospective students has seen a win this week, when Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s... more

• Lateral hiring among large firms heats up

  Mar 08 2012 The lateral hiring market is booming, with large law firms eagerly scooping up talent in the hope that it is followed by a solid book of business. The AM Law Daily... more

• 85% of law schools give grads less than 10% chance of a biglaw job

  Mar 02 2012 The National Law Journal’s ranking of US law schools placing the highest percentage of their 2011 graduates in large law firms shows that graduates of Penn and... more

• Debate over the value of law school hits the mainstream

  Mar 01 2012 The debate over whether law school provides sufficient value to justify its huge costs – which has intensified as the job market has shrunk in response to global... more

• University of Pennsylvania tops law school ranking

  Feb 29 2012 The National Law Journal has ranked the top 50 US law schools based on the percentage of graduates who took jobs in the country’s biggest 250 firms by headcount.... more

• Good news on UK trainee retention figures

  Feb 28 2012 RollonFriday continues to report on trainee retention figures in UK law firms, and the overall picture is starting to look a bit more positive than it did at the start... more

• US legal services sector adds 1000 jobs in January

  Feb 06 2012 The legal services sector in the US added about 1000 jobs in January, regaining at least some of the ground lost in January, when the sector lost 1,800 jobs.... more

• Where are they now? The Howrey lawyers make their way

  Feb 01 2012 In the year before Howrey went under, the firm had a headcount of 242 lawyers in Washington. After the firm’s collapse on March 15, 2011, those lawyers flooded the... more

• Bar Professional Training Course applications rise as pupillages fall

  Jan 25 2012 Applications for the Bar Professional Training Course in the UK have risen to over 3000, despite the number of pupillary places falling to just 446 first six... more

• Four law firms make Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list

  Jan 20 2012 Four law firms have made it on to the list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, compiled by Fortune. The firms to make the cut were the same four law firms on the list... more

• Majority of US and Canadian law students are satisfied with law schools, says survey

  Jan 18 2012 A new survey has found that the vast majority of US and Canadian law students are satisfied with their educational experience. The 2011 Law School Survey of Student... more

• Scottish legal market looking up

  Dec 18 2011 There has been significant improvement in the Scottish legal market, according to a new survey of the country’s top firms conducted by industry advisors PKF. The... more

• University of Chicago Law School publishes employment data

  Dec 17 2011 US law schools have come under fire for a failure to provide sufficient graduate employment data to prospective students. While students continue to enroll in law... more

• US legal sector gains 100 jobs in November

  Dec 04 2011 The US legal sector grew by 100 jobs in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary employment report. These modest gains follow the addition of... more

• A&O asks 12 partners to leave the firm

  Dec 02 2011 Allen & Overy has once again taken the shears to its partnership ranks, asking around 12 of its partners to leave the firm. And while the move is not on the same scale... 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

• Bad behavior ruins foreclosure firm Steven J. Baum P.C.

  Nov 26 2011 Steven J. Baum P.C. law firm has announced that it will shut down after losing much of its client list in the wake of controversial foreclosure practices. They are one... more

• Law schools encouraged to teach practical skills

  Nov 24 2011 In the current economic climate, law graduates face a tough job market and an increasing number of corporate clients that would really rather not pay for their... more

• US legal sector gains 400 jobs in October, but it doesn't make a dent

  Nov 08 2011 The US legal services sector gained 400 jobs last month, according to the latest statistics released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The growth in the sector... more

• New York's top law firms increase lawyer headcount by 1.6%

  Nov 02 2011 Employment in New York law firms has grown by 1.6 per cent from 2010 figures, according to Crain’s latest ranking of the city’s top 25 law fimrs. Seventeen of the top... more

• ABA considers penalties for law schools that misrepresent job prospects

  Oct 21 2011 The ongoing debate over whether law schools are misrepresenting the job prospects for graduates might yet bear some positive outcomes: the American Bar Association is... more

• US Legal Sector loses 1,300 Jobs in September

  Oct 12 2011 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the second consecutive month of negative growth for the legal sector. Things were looking good in July, when 4,100 positions... more

• US law schools see 10% drop in applicants

  Sep 30 2011 It seems that university applicants are starting to realize that a legal career can no longer provide the kind of stability of times gone by: applications for law... more

• Could Acculaw change the way that lawyers are trained?

  Sep 30 2011 This article examines the implications of the entry onto the scene of Acculaw – a company that administers a low cost training program for law graduates and then... more

• US legal industry grows by just 100 jobs in 12 months

  Sep 06 2011 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says the legal industry added just 100 jobs in August 2011. The Bureau’s reporting on the industry shows fluctuations in hiring over... 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

• Merit list: law firms that offered jobs to 100% of summer associates

  Aug 17 2011 Above The Law has posted a list of firms that have offered jobs to 100 per cent of summer associates, readying themselves to start naming and shaming those firms that... more

• ABA moves to increase transparency of law school reporting on jobs

  Aug 12 2011 The American Bar Association has come under heavy criticism for failing to ensure that law schools report an accurate picture of the job prospects for graduates. Now... more

• US law schools seek the edge by pushing firms to recruit earlier

  Aug 12 2011 Law schools have been putting pressure on US law firms to begin recruitment in August, months ahead of the regular schedule, in order to give the edge to their... more

• UK trainee retention figures emerge

  Aug 09 2011 UK traineee retention figures are all over the map, with some firms offering places to their entire trainee group while others announce that their trainees will be... more

• Graduates in Nevada face a tough job market

  Jul 29 2011 Law graduates in the US state of Nevada face a tough job market and declining pay, according to reports. The State Bar of Nevada has published a survey showing that... more

• US legal sector sheds 2,600 jobs this month

  Jul 11 2011 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has released new figures showing that the legal industry shed 2,600 jobs this month. This result represents the fourth month this... more

• UK trainee retention figures a mixed bag

  Jul 11 2011 Trainee retention figures are finding their way out into the light of day, and some of the results are less than pretty. Slaughter and May has offered a job to all... more

• Recent graduates in the US are earning less, says NALP

  Jul 07 2011 The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) has reported that recent graduates are earning less than their predecessors. The new NALP study shows that the median... more

• New York has greatest oversupply of lawyers in the US

  Jun 30 2011 A recent study that compared the number of people passing the state bar exams with an estimate of job openings in the same year shows that New York has the largest... more

• Three US law schools trim class sizes in response to tough job market

  Jun 27 2011 Three US law schools have announced plans to cut down their class sizes in response to the tough job market for qualified lawyers. Creighton University School of Law... more

• Graduate deferrals continue at US firms

  Jun 21 2011 The effects of the recession are still being felt by law school graduates, with many firms still deferring their incoming classes. At Proskauer Rose, the class of... more

• Law graduates beat job market by launching their own firms

  Jun 21 2011 Here is an interesting article on law graduates that deal with the tough job market in the legal services industry by striking out on their own – launching new firms.... more

• The third tier of US lawyers

  Jun 16 2011 There is interesting coverage in the Wall Street Journal on the creation of a ‘third tier’ of legal practitioners in the US: temp or contract attorneys that perform... more

• Just 68.4% of US grads land jobs that require bar passage

  Jun 01 2011 The National Association for Legal Career Professionals (‘NALP’) has reported that only 68.4 per cent of 2010 law school graduates were able to land a job requiring... more

• Law School in China struggles against US job fears

  May 26 2011 The Peking University School of Transnational Law is running into difficulty as it seeks to gain accreditation by the American Bar Association. Accreditation by the... more

• New law school in Indiana reopens debate about oversupply of lawyers

  May 19 2011 A new law school will open in the US state of Indiana 2013, bringing the number of law schools in the State to 5. Plans for the new school, to be launched by Indiana... more

• 70% of US law firms plan to award pay raises or bonuses

  May 19 2011 In a new survey conducted by legal staffing firm Robert Half Legal, 70 per cent of lawyers polled said their law firms or corporate legal departments plan to award... more

• US Legal Industry Adds 1,500 Jobs in April

  May 10 2011 Finally some good news on US legal industry job statistics: the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the industry added 1,500 jobs in April after two... more

• Beyond the crisis - what does the future hold for biglaw?

  May 06 2011 After sustained growth for a period of twelve years, the last three years have seen the legal markets in decline around the world. Work in mergers and acquisitions has... more

• Winston & Strawn hires just 15 Howrey partners after finding client conflicts

  Apr 06 2011 Winston & Strawn managing partner Tom Fitzgerald says that conflicts of interest thwarted the firm’s plan to hire 140 partners from the failing Howrey. At final... more

• Lawyer oversupply: 16% drop in UK training contracts

  Apr 06 2011 The Law Society in the UK has reported a 16 per cent drop in the number of available training contracts last year, confirming the impresseion that there is an... more

• Baker & Hostetler takes on 17 Howrey litigators

  Mar 30 2011 Baker & Hostetler has taken on 17 litigators from defunct firm Howrey. The team of lawyers is lead by Robert Abrams, the former cochair of Howrey's global litigation... 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

• Law school application numbers drop

  Mar 18 2011 Law school application numbers are finally beginning to reflect the poor job prospects for graduates, dropping 11.5 per cent to 66,876 over the past year. The Law... more

• Employment stats for US graduates are looking up

  Mar 17 2011 Employment statistics for entry level lawyers rose slightly in 2010, after dropping for two consecutuve years. The National Association of Law Placement says that... more

• Head of leading Scottish firm predicts unprecedented consolidation in legal services market

  Mar 15 2011 The chief executive of Shepherd and Wedderburn, Patrick Andrews, say that he is amazed by the number of approaches that he has received from senior lawyers who are... more

• Two US law schools reduce admissions: “It is the ethical and moral thing to do”

  Mar 15 2011 A range of commentators have criticised US law schools for offering expensive education that offers no guarantee of a legal career in a tough economic climate. Though... more

• With flat demand and revenue, how do we account for 2010?

  Mar 11 2011 Law firm profits and lawyer productivity were strong in 2010 compared to a poor showing in 2009. But it is too soon to celebrate, says this article on the AM Law... more

• Law schools must commit to transparency

  Mar 10 2011 As the economic crisis wiped thousands of legal jobs from the board, law schools have attracted criticism for saddling students with debt when there is little prospect... 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

• US legal Industry lost 2900 jobs in February

  Mar 09 2011 The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that US unemployment fell to 8.9 percent in February, but the legal industry lost 2,900 jobs in the same month. In... 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

• Top UK firms improve trainee retention rates

  Mar 03 2011 Trainee retention rates at the 30 largest firms in the UK are up 10 per cent on last year’s figures, 84% of qualifying trainees were offered jobs this year and 83... more

• US firm Clark Thomas & Winters to undertake major restructuring

  Feb 28 2011 Texas law firm Clark Thomas & Winters has announced major restructuring to take place in the coming weeks, adding to speculation that the firm’s future hangs in the... 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

• Allen & Overy to receive £2.5m of public funding for Belfast support services centre

  Feb 06 2011 Allen & Overy is set to receive £2.5m of public funding in return for creating 300 new jobs in Belfast. The funds come from Invest Northern Ireland as a subsidy for... more

• UK firms Wragges and Stephenson Harwood announce retention rates

  Jan 18 2011 Wragge & Co has offered a permanent position to five out of seven (72%) of the qualifying trainees, with all five accepting. One of the seven decided not to apply for... more

• Are US law schools cooking the books?

  Jan 13 2011 The New York Times has published an article that describes the financial hell faced by US students who have taken on huge student loans to pay for legal education,... more

• US legal sector lost 1,000 jobs in December

  Jan 12 2011 The US legal industry shed 1,000 jobs in December in the third straight month of job losses, accoding to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the losses, the sector... more

• UK firm Weightmans to acquire parts of Vizards Wyeth

  Jan 10 2011 Vizards Wyeth is set to be acquired by national UK law firm Weightmans, according to reports. Employees at the 19-partner firm have been informed that only some... more

• Large US law firms take a step backwards on diversity

  Jan 03 2011 US law firms seemed to be moving in the right direction on diversity issues, hiring more women, people of color and people with disabilities, until the recession... more

• Slim pickings for trainees at Hogan Lovells

  Dec 17 2010 Trainees at Hogan Lovells face a tense month with reports emerging that just 24 of the group of 36 will be offered jobs with the firm. The first round of offers is... more

• Large law firms in Australia feel the pinch

  Dec 09 2010 Large law firms in Australia have responded to increased foreign competition and deep cuts to profitability by cutting partner numbers and eliminating jobs, according... more

• Skadden shuts down its San Francisco office

  Dec 08 2010 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has announced that it will close its San Francisco office at the end of June 2011. The lawyers in the San Francisco office - 17... 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

• CMS Cameron McKenna leaves a third of its London trainees without a job

  Nov 29 2010 CMS Cameron McKenna has has announced that only 19 of the 30 trainees in its London base will be offered an NQ role with the firm. Of these 19 jobs, three are offered... more

• Bloomberg gears up for the legal research market

  Nov 23 2010 Bloomberg has hired nearly 500 lawyers over the past year, making it the largest source of new legal jobs in New York. The company is looking to make its play on... more

• Job prospects down, but fees and applications at law schools are on the rise

  Nov 17 2010 While the job market in the legal sector remains dire, students are applying to law school in record numbers and are willing to borrow to finance soaring tuition fees.... more

• DLA Piper lays off employees in 26 US cities

  Nov 16 2010 DLA piper has laid off an undisclosed number of staffers from its offices in 26 US cities. The firm’s CEO and director of US operations Bob Bratt said: "It is... more

• Headcount in decline for a second year at US top 250 law firms

  Nov 09 2010 The largest 250 law firms in the US have seen their lawyer headcount drop for the second consecutive year. This year’s 1.1 per cent decrease in headcount... more

• Recruitment and Professional Development departments shrink in US firms

  Nov 02 2010 Fifty-one per cent of law firm recruiting and professional development departments lost staffers as a result of job cuts since 2008, according to a new survey by the... 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

• GCs keep work in-house to save on costs

  Oct 25 2010 Legal consultants Altman Weil released their Chief Legal Officer Survey last week, reporting that 63 per cent of respondents increased their internal budgets from 2009... more

• Greater transparency from US law schools?

  Oct 21 2010 There is mounting pressure upon US law schools to publish data describing how many of their graduates secure employment, and under what conditions. Some claim that law... more

• Scottish firm McGrigors to lay off 40 lawyers

  Oct 20 2010 Scottish law firm McGrigors has announced its entry into a redundancy consultation, with plans to cut 40 lawyers from the roster, as well as a number of support staff... more

• US legal sector gains jobs, opposing national trend

  Oct 12 2010 For the third month in a row, the US legal sector added jobs, with the Bureau of Labor statistics reporting an increase of 2,500 jobs in September. While the... more

• 2010 sees leaner US summer associate programs

  Oct 07 2010 2010 was another tough year for summer associates, with many firms reducing the size of their summer intake, cutting the length of their summer programs, or doing away... 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

• A new caste system for lawyers

  Oct 06 2010 This article contains some interesting insights on the state of play in the legal services industry after the recession. The main thrust of the article is a... more

• Georgia State named 'best value' US law school

  Sep 30 2010 While the recent recession has slowed hiring at many law firms, costs of tuition and costs of living continue to rise. Law students are therefore beginning to look... more

• Study says top US firms set to shed 17,500 non-partner jobs

  Sep 30 2010 Statistical analysis of the job market by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and others has predicted that things were looking up for legal professionals. But a new... more

• US firms planning to hire in the fourth quarter

  Sep 29 2010 A new report from recruitment firm Robert Half Legal suggests that many firms are planning to hire in the fourth quarter. The report finds that 29 per cent of lawyers... 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