ALMResearchBlog

In London, One Firm Raises Associate Pay, Another Doesn’t

Clifford Chance recently announced pay raises of just over 4% for its junior lawyers, according to Legal Week, which brings the big firm in line with its “magic circle” rivals Linklaters and Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer. Allen & Overy, on the other hand, has frozen it associate salaries for 2008, Legal Week reported, the first magic circle firm to do so.

ALM Research has been tracking associate salary and bonus news in a spreadsheet. The Associate Salary Update is free to subscribers, and to non-subscribers with the purchase of any product from the ALM Research Store. Send an email to almresearch@alm.com for a link to the Update spreadsheet.

Bar Exam Results

A list of the successful candidates for the February New York bar exam was published by New York Law Journal and the newspaper reported that the pass rate had increased over last year. Notice of the publication of the Ohio Bar results was published on the Stark County Law Library Blog and can be found here.

For more information about bar exams and results, check out FindLaw’s links for each state.

Associates Facing 2008 Salary Cap (?)

According to this post on the Wall St Journal Law Blog, yes—associates at big law firms shouldn’t expect to see another salary war this year. If the war hasn’t started by February, WSJLB says, it’s not going to happen this year. As expected, there were an abundance of comments to the post—some of them even thoughtful!

Here at ALM Research, we’ve been keeping track of changes in first-year associate salaries on a semi-informal basis. About this time last year, it was increasingly hard to keep up with the news and so we started a spreadsheet, using as our starter data the first-year associate salaries reported in the NLJ 250. And we’ve been keeping that spreadsheet ever since. If you are a subscriber, and want a link to our Associate Salary Update spreadsheet, which is updated about once a week as news is reported, just send an email to almresearch@alm.com and let us know.

Best Law Firms to Work For

Working Mother magazine has just released its newest list of best firms for women lawyers. Though they have forayed into this territory before, this is their “inaugural” list they say. The application was based on the Working Mother 100 Best Companies application, and was developed with Flex-Time Lawyers, and included questions about issues important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers, such as benefits and compensation, parental leave, child care, flexibility and retention/advancement of women. Fifty law firms were selected for the list, and they are presented in alphabetical order.

We had posted here recently about the law firms that made this year’s Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For List – in particular, Arnold & Porter landed within the top twenty.

It’s one thing for someone outside the organization to grant a “Best” status. Is it more meaningful when insiders give high marks for their workplace?  Midlevel associates are notoriously opinionated about the firms they work for. In the 2007 Midlevel Associates Survey, third-, fourth-, and fifth-year associates from across the U.S. rated 164 law firms on various aspects of their work, the benefits and compensation, their relationships with partners and other associates, and their inclination to stick around for two more years. In this survey, the top five firms were Dickstein Shapiro, Susman Godfrey, Goulston & Storrs, Fox Rothschild, and Nutter McClennen. To see more about this list, click here.

Associate Compensation: The Law School-Law Firm Link

Big salaries are linked to big-name law schools, but also to biglaw firms, according to a National Jurist study, and reported recently in the ABA Journal. Similarly, there is a correlation between smaller law schools, smaller law firms, and smaller salaries.

According to the report, graduates of 58 law schools make average starting salaries of $60,000 or less, a fact ignored by many of the stories touting $160,000 starting salaries at big law firms. Instead, the reality is that there are two classes of law grads, the National Jurist reports: those who earn the big bucks and those who don’t. And the low-paying jobs are much more prevalent. While the nation’s largest firms increased associate salaries 86 percent over the last 10 years, firms with two to 25 lawyers increased salaries by only 33 percent, according to a chart published in the article.

Reminder to subscribers: If you’d like to keep up with the news of associate compensation and bonuses, send a note to almresearch@alm.com and ask for the link to the Associate Compensation Update spreadsheet, which is not posted on the ALM Research Online site. Alternately, contact client relations manager Chuck Lowry and ask for the link, as well as the link for the spreadsheet

Recruitment Trends in 2008

As reported recently in the Atlanta-based newspaper, The Daily Report, law firm hiring trends in 2008 are predicted to see some changes. One trend is that the high cost of summer associate programs is causing some firms to reconsider their options, whether going with smaller summer associate classes, or dropping the practice altogether in favor of lateral hires. Firms are taking a hard look at how they compensate their lawyers; many are tieing bonuses more directly to billed hours, others are adopting a two-tier associate system, with one tier for associates more concerned with a work-life balance. Another trend—perhaps in response to clients’ unhappiness with associate salary raises in 2007—is the reduction or abolishment of billable hours requirements for associates.

Law School Hiring Stats

As part of its annual NLJ 250 survey, the National Law Journal surveyed the firms—including the ones that didn’t make the top 250 firms list—about their hiring: which law schools they hired from and how many were hired from each law school. That information is now available from ALM Research Online in the Lists & Rankings section as the 2007 Law School Hiring Survey. As a bonus, firms also contributed information about how many associates were elevated to partnership in 2007.

Survey of Summer Associates: Size Matters

According to The American Lawyer, in reporting on the results of its annual Summer Associates Survey, “small is beautiful.” Only four of the top 20 firms had summer programs with more than 100 summer associates, while nine of the top 20 hired 30 or fewer. Still, the firms in the top five spots were not exactly boutiques: Nutter McClennan, Fox Rothschild, Buchanan Ingersoll, Morgan Lewis, and Mintz Levin.

Subscribers to ALM Research Online should note that this survey is one of the few not archived in our on-line database. However, in-depth management reports of a firm’s survey results—including, for instance, a comparison of the results from each of the firm’s participating offices—are offered through ALM Reprints.

Recent Release: 2007 NLJ 250

The 2007 electronic NLJ 250 provides demographics of the nation's largest law firms, and rankings based on the number of full-time attorneys. Data included in the spreadsheet includes: total number of attorneys, equity partners, non-equity partners & associates, starting salaries for first-year associates, branch office locations and number of attorneys by branch office, key marketing contacts, and more. This product is available free to subscribers and may be accessed in the ALM Research Store. Non-subscribers may purchase this searchable, sortable spreadsheet for $400.

Salaries: 2008 Guide from Robert Half Legal

Thanks to Geoffrey Gussis, who writes on Careers for the In-House Blog, for the tip that the 2008 Robert Half Legal Salary Guide  is now available. Gussis focused on the news for corporate attorneys: “In-house attorneys will see average gains of 3.8 percent over 2007 levels. First year associates can expect annual base compensation to rise 4.9 percent to between $63,750 and $91,000. Average starting salaries for licensed attorneys with 10 or more years of experience will rise 4.1 percent, to the range of $126,000 to $210,750 annually.” But the guide provides information for law firm attorneys also, as well as for paralegals, legal secretaries, and other legal support staff.

And don't forget that we offer a free Associate Salary Update spreadsheet to subscribers, which is free to non-subscribers with the purchase of one other product from the ALM Research Store. For more information, contact almresearch@alm.com or call 888-770-5647.

A Lawyer Walks into a Bar ...

We heard about this one on AboveTheLaw.com, and no, it's not a new, or even an old, lawyer joke. It's a critically acclaimed, independent documentary film about lawyers and the legal profession, according to ATL. Their posting about the movie, A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar, provides a synopsis, as well as links to the trailer and official web site. The documentary is about is a celebration of the law and triumph over adversity that follows six future lawyers of all ages and backgrounds as they undertake the rigorous and excruciating California Bar Exam, while also dealing thematically with certain hot button issues in our profession.

You can't order it through NetFlix yet (I tried), and it doesn't seem to be playing anywhere but film festivals. However, if you just can't wait, you can order it through the official web site for $22.

Associate Salaries: Story of the Year?

It’s one of the most popular topics on the blog. Mention “salaries” or “compensation” and the links light up. In response to one of our last postings on the subject, a reader, “Judy,” suggested that we mention LawWages.com, a “comprehensive career portal and resource center” for the legal profession. Of course, our parent company, ALM Media, also sponsors the LawJobs.com site, which includes a salary calculator from Salary.com.

We reported last month on American Lawyer’s September feature and rankings having to do with associate salaries. And blogger Dennis Kennedy did a great round-up of links to on-going buzz about associate salaries (“Recruiting, Paying and Retaining Lawyers: Quite a Discussion Going”).

So, we’ll mention once again that we’re offering a spreadsheet of updated salary information for NLJ 250 firms and beyond. This file is free to subscribers, and free to anyone else who has purchased a product from the ALM Research Store recently. To get the link, just send an email to almresearch@alm.com, asking for the Associate Salary Update.

Vault’s Second Annual Ranking of U.K. Firms

Vault says they surveyed solicitors at 100 major law firms in the U.K. and nearly 1,500 lawyers from firms responded to. The results of the responses led to the Top 50 Most Presitigious, with Slaughter & May, Linklaters, Freshfields, Allen & Overy, and Clifford Chance in the top five positions. American firms Skadden Arps, Cleary Gottlieb, and Sullivan & Cromwell were ranked 7th, 8th, and 9th, respectively.

On the Best 20 Firms to Work For list, several smaller firms made the top of the list—much like in our own Midlevel Survey. At the top was Trowers & Hamlins, followed by two U.S. firms, Weil, Gotshal and Latham & Watkins. In 4th place, another relatively unknown firm (to the U.S. audience), Burges Salmon, and then LeBoeuf Lamb in 5th place.

Midlevel Associates Paycheck Report

In the annual Midlevel Associates Survey, The American Lawyer collects information from respondents about their salary and bonus. Following the workplace satisfaction survey report in their August issue this year, the magazine has followed up with a Paycheck Report. The report includes median salaries and bonuses for third-, fourth-, and fifth-year associates in major markets. As reporter David Brown puts it, “Three years as a big-firm lawyer, and it's a pretty sure bet that the annual paycheck is going to be at least $200,000.”

To read the story, click here. To see the charts click on The Pain Index (how partner profits fare in relation to associate salaries in various offices) and Firm-by-Firm Breakdown, which provides median salary and bonus by class year for all the major markets.

To purchase a searchable spreadsheet of the Midlevel Associate Survey, including scores for each participating office, click here to get a sample and description of this product from the ALM Research Store.

Recent Release: 2007 Midlevel Associates Survey

The American Lawyer’s annual survey measures the satisfaction of third-, fourth-, and fifth-year associates employed by the nation’s top law firm’s. Firms in this survey are scored based on associate responses to 11 questions, which assess the firm’s qualities, including interest and satisfaction levels with the work; benefits and compensation; relations between associates and partners; training and guidance; openness about finances and strategies; billable hours policies; and associate retention. The 2007 Midlevel Associates Survey is available in electronic spreadsheet format from the ALM Research Store.

ALM Research Offer: Free Associate Salary Update

ALM Research is offering the 2007 Associate Salary Update free to subscribers, and free to non-subscribers with the purchase of one other product. The promotional code for non-subscribers to use is when requesting the Update is "ASU." Email almresearch@alm.com for the link to download the Update in searchable spreadsheet format.

The Associate Salary Update includes information tracked by ALM Research about raises in first-year associate salaries and bonuses since November 2006 for almost 300 firms. Data includes the firm name and headquarters city, the highest first-year salary reported, the high and low first-year salaries reported in the most recent NLJ 250 survey (November 2006), which offices receive the highest salary, and the sources for updated information.

This free product will be updated once a month until the publication of the 2007 NLJ 250 Survey in The National Law Journal in late November of this year.

Midlevel Associate Survey: What Does It All Mean?

In the wake of the publication of the annual Midlevel Associate Survey report and rankings, a variety of “analysts” have scrutinized the meaning of all those numbers. In the National Law Journal, the anonymous columnist “The Disassociate” critiques the plethora of surveys associates are asked to complete, and proposes the creation of a better, more meaningful survey, which would ask questions such as “Would it help if we raised your salary and lowered your billable requirements?”

Meanwhile, New York Lawyer, reprinting a piece that appeared in The American Lawyer’s Associate Survey report, examines the “New York State of Mind,” noting that “It's the capital of legal superlatives. The biggest deals. The longest cases. The richest partners. And the most miserable midlevel associates.”  But in Pennsylvania , the Legal Intelligencer took note of the fact that “Associate at Some Firms Say Satisfaction is Soaring." Despite the drop in the rankings of several Pennsylvania firms, LI notes, “associates seem to be happier in the commonwealth than in other large cities across the country,” such as NY, LA, DC, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Boston.

Want to do your own armchair analysis? All the data from the Midlevel Associates Survey is available in spreadsheet format through the ALM Research Store—free to subscribers, and for a fee to non-subscribers. 

Associate Salary Update

ALM Research is offering the Associate Salary Update free to subscribers, and free to non-subscribers with the purchase of one other product. The Associate Salary Update is an Excel spreadsheet with information tracked by ALM Research about raises in first-year associate salaries and bonuses since November 2006 at almost 300 firms. Data includes the firm name and headquarters city, the highest first-year salary reported, the high and low first-year salaries reported in the most recent NLJ 250 survey (November 2006), the office/s with the highest salary, and the sources for updated information.

This free product will be updated at least once a month until the publication of the 2007 NLJ 250 Survey in The National Law Journal in November of this year. Please use the same link to get next month's update.

To receive this free product, please email almresearch@alm.com and reference the promotional code: ASU. Non-subscribers will need to verify that they have recently purchased a product.

Midlevels: Facts of Associate Life

As editor in chief of The American Lawyer Aric Press puts it, there are four key facts that stand out in this year’s Midlevel Associates Survey. Among them are the fact that there are too few lawyers to go around, and too many of them are sent packing. “When considered together, these facts challenge conventional wisdom about the state of associate life and set the stage for the latest war for talent,” Press writes in the August issue. For the full article, click here. The Wall St. Journal Law Blog noted the firms on the top and bottom of the list, and included a summary of the key stories in the issue – which initiated the usual thoughtful, and snide, commentary from Biglaw associates.

For the full data set of the 2007 Midlevel Associates Survey in spreadsheet format, sans stories and commentary, click here to purchase it from the ALM Research Store.

Wall St. Journal Blog Starts Discussion About A-List

The American Lawyer published its annual A-List last week, and the occasion was not overlooked by the Wall St. Journal's Legal Blog, where reporter Ashby Jones (formerly a reporter at American Lawyer) quoted Ross Todd, who authored the A-List story on Patterson, Belknap: "The A-List isn't just a report card on firm statistics. It's a measure of how well firms balance moneymaking with the priorities of service and collegiality that used to distinguish the legal profession." With that, Jones opened the floor, or the blog, for discussion, asking: Law students, associates, recruiters, we're curious: Has AmLaw's A-List changed your conception of what the "top firms" are? The responses, mostly irreverent if not irrelevant, can be found by clicking here. The A-List, in searchable, sortable spreadsheet format is available by clicking here.

Salaries: Clients are Not Happy Campers re Associate Raises

Although Altman Weil's recent Survey on Recent Increases in Associate Salaries is marked "confidential," I've now read about it on two different sites, and its available on AW's site. Gerry Riskin, on his Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices blog can't help but have a "harsh" message, as he puts it himself. "If killing the golden goose is stupid, then this is not harsh at all." And Patrick Lamb writes on his blog In Search of Perfect Client Service that he views every announcement of increased starting salaries for new associates "as good news. The firms who march to that beat are putting their client relationships at risk. And for those of us who view our relationships with clients differently," he says . Well, read the survey results.

Salaries: Supreme Court Bonus Babies

A New York Times article about Supreme Court clerks, and the bonuses they receive from the large, elite firms they join post-clerkship (Supreme Court Bonus Babies), has generated a lot of buzz on the web. The associate gossip e-rag, Abovethelaw.com is responsible for much of it, as the writer of the article, David Lat, is an editor there. He recently pleaded with readers to email the article to their 50 closest friends because he was "desperately trying to crack the NYT's "Most Emailed Articles" list. As of this posting, his article had made it to #17.

The clerkship bonuses are indeed jaw-dropping. As described by the NYT, signing bonuses are expected to reach $250,000 this year - paid on top of starting salaries approaching $200,000 - for the select few "young legal geniuses who spend a year assisting the justices in selecting cases for review, preparing for oral argument and drafting opinions. Thus some former clerks, in their first year practicing law, will earn twice as much as their former judicial bosses (the chief justice earns $212,000 a year; his colleagues earn $203,000 each)." Normal clerkships - that is, within an appellate court - earn the average AmLaw 100 firm associate about $50,000.

But Lat argues that the economics of this situation are just. "Even if the astronomical Supreme Court clerkship bonuses may be dubious investments for law firms," he writes, "they are good news for our legal system. By promising clerks a financial windfall on the back end of their clerkships, firms encourage bright young lawyers - many of whom carry loads of educational debt - to render service to the court and country."

Training: Business Development, Marketing

The Web Audio Conference Division of ALM Media is offering several conferences in June and July relating to business development for lawyers. The Law Firm Associates Guide to Personal Marketing and Selling Skills is scheduled for June 21st at noon EST. And the Lawyer's Field Guide to Effective Business Development is scheduled for July 19, also at noon EST. For questions and information on bulk pricing, email: CMartinez@alm.com or call 212-313-9248.

Bar Exam Results: Pennsylvania

Results of the Pennsylvania bar examination given on February 27 and 28 of this year are now available. The Legal Intelligencer published a full list of names for the 402 candidates (out of 724) who passed the exam.   

Salary Wars: London Firms Joining the Fray?

According to on-going reports from LegalWeek.com, big firms in London are considering whether to follow the trend started by Simpson Thacher early this year, to raise first-year associate ("newly-qualified") salaries. Clifford Chance, according to LegalWeek, fired the starting gun by increasing associate and "trainee" salaries by up to 15%, to £63,500 (US$ 127,141). But after Allen & Overy matched and raised CC's move, by raising their already-higher starting salaries by 15%, LegalWeek reported that London's elite firms were attempting "to head off a knee-jerk pay war in the wake of Allen & Overy's (A&O's) 15% assistant pay rises with the magic circle's pace-setters hoping to put the issue on hold until the spring."  According to LW, Linklaters and Freshfields indicated that they intend to resist short-term pressure to hike salaries in the wake of the surprise move by A&O. Ashurst, Herbert Smith, Simmons & Simmons and CMS Cameron McKenna will also attempt to avoid an early move on salaries, according to the report.

Salaries: Associate Salary Update

Can’t keep up with which firms have raised their first-year salaries? Well, we’ve been keeping track, and have put all the information published so far into a handy, searchable spreadsheet: the 2007 Associate Salary Update, available free to subscribers, and for-fee to non-subscribers through ALM Research Online. Included are all NLJ 250 and Am Law 200 firms, Global 100 firms with the largest U.S. presence, and several other regional and boutique firms whose raises have made the headlines.

Billing Rates: $11,000 an Hour?

Carolyn Elefant, writing on the Law.com Blog Network, drew our attention to an article in which a litigator's fees were calculated to amount to $11,000 an hour. litigator According to Elefant, litigator Willie Gary is seeking $93.1 million in attorney fees, or an hourly rate of $11,000, for his representation in a $10 billion trade secrets case against Motoroloa that ended in a mistrial. claimed that the mistrial resulted from Motorola's violation of the court's sequestration order preventing witnesses from reading or hearing other witness testimony before taking the stand. At least one lawyer, plaintiffs attorney Walter "Skip" Campbell, testifying for the plaintiff, said is worth $11,000 per hour because of his status as one of the country's top litigators. But another attorney conceded that he was not aware of any attorney paid $11,000 per hour for a case that ended in a hung jury.

And by the way, if you're interested in good, hard data on real-world billing rates at the largest firms, ALM Research Online has the 2006 NLJ Billing Rates and 2006 Associate Class Billing Rates survey reports available online in searchable spreadsheet format. Reports are free to subscribers and for-fee for non-subscribers.

Analysts Analyze the College Rankings

The annual release of college, university, and professional school rankings such as U.S. News & World Report's Law School Rankings engender endless debate, interpretation, and analyses. Several have been published recently, including one from the Institute for Higher Education Policy, called "College and University Ranking Systems: Global Perspectives and American Challenges," which urges "greater understanding about how these ranking systems function to ensure accountability and greater transparency," and from Inside Higher Education by Tony Keller, called "Truth, Lies, and Rankings," which examines charges on both sides of the aisle (magazines, universities) that folks are making up the data used for the rankings.

Law School Rankings: Academic Study

In a new academic study available through the Social Science Research Network, the authors contend that a boom in law school rankings has encouraged many U.S. law schools to take new measures to encourage and publicize faculty scholarship. The establishment of associate deans for faculty research is one such measure. The authors conducted a study to determine the number of law schools that have these dean-level positions. They argue that many law schools have established these positions as part of their efforts to improve their standing in the increasingly important rankings. The paper includes a historical overview of the original law school model and discuss how that model evolved over time. They focus on how those changes led to a competitive law school market that helped lay the groundwork for U.S. News & World Report and other law school rankings.

Associate Salaries: Alston & Bird

According to the Fulton County Daily Report, Atlanta-based Alston & Bird has raised the starting salary for first-year associates in its Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina offices to $145,000--almost 50 percent more than it was paying them a mere 15 months ago. It also has raised the starting salary for Atlanta patent attorneys to $160,000. Atlanta first-years in other practices, however, will receive $130,000, according to this report. Alston’s New York office has matched the going rate in the Big Apple, $160,000 for first-years.

Associate Salary: Atlanta Firms Raising First-Year Salaries

According to a series of reports by the Fulton County Daily Report, many Atlanta foot-draggers in the latest round of first-year associate pay raises have now climbed on board. Arnall Golden Gregory and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan are the latest firms to announce that they will raise starting salary to $130,000.  In February, the same pay raise was announced by over a dozen firms, with only a few going above the $130k threshold. Hunton & Williams will be paying their new associates $145,000 in Atlanta, as well as all their non-New York offices. DLA Piper and Jones Day will be paying their Atlanta first-years $135,000.

Understanding the U.S. News Law School Rankings

The Loyola Law School in Los Angeles recently released a study by Theodore Seto called Understanding the U.S. News Law School Rankings. Descriptions, analyses, and conclusions of the study are based on U.S. News' published descriptions of its 2006 computations, telephone conversations with U.S. News' staff clarifying those descriptions, and a spreadsheet Seto compiled to replicate those computations. His goals were, as he says, “relatively modest”: to help prospective students, employers, and other law school stakeholders read the U.S. News rankings more critically and to help law school administrators get a better handle on how to manage their schools' rankings. In addition, the Article suggests ways in which U.S. News methodology might be improved.