The Wolf of Biglaw

“If you’re looking for a high-powered, take-no-prisoners law firm straight out of central casting, they don’t come bigger or badder than Kirkland & Ellis. The firm unquestionably enjoys a reputation for top-flight lawyering where businesses go when everything is on the line. The firm also sits atop the,” reports James Goodnow in Above The Law.

“Am Law 100 rankings based on gross revenue. But amassing more money than any other U.S. law firm in an industry built on human beings billing hours doesn’t come without some baggage. For those who somehow don’t know, Kirkland & Ellis made its modern reputation as the OG, eat-what-you-kill megafirm. Whereas Biglaw firms.”

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These Are the Biglaw Firms Racking Up the Lateral Partners

“The Biglaw lateral market continues to be fire. And, as Above the Law has documented, that’s resulted in all manner of repercussions, But while a lot of these trends are focused around associates that are potentially looking to leave their firm, the partner market has also seen a spike in activity. The,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“Remember the blockbuster move of 43 attorneys including 18 partners from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan to Paul Hastings? As historical as that move was, Paul Hastings is far from the only firm looking to bolster their partnership ranks. Leopard Solutions has broken down exactly which Biglaw firms have added the most lateral partners.”

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Big Law Attorneys Share Why Mentoring Matters: Part Three

“In the third part of our Why Mentoring Matters series, two female partners at large law firms write about their personal journeys and how mentoring or being mentored has played an important and positive role in their careers. Morgan Lewis & Bockius labor and employment partner Debra,” reports MP McQueen in their Bloomberg Law.

“Her lack of a female mentor as a young attorney inspired her to become a mentor to others, especially women. She relates how she had no role models to guide her when she returned from maternity leave at another firm in the 1990s. That, and her discovery that she had been excluded from male partners’ get-togethers, forced her to create.”

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One Way to Get Senior Associates to Lateral Biglaw Firms? Offer them Partnership

“We already know that Biglaw is super busy and there really aren’t enough qualified lawyers out there to handle all of the work. That has led to intense competition for qualified associates and begat a scorching hot lateral market with all manner of repercussions, like special bonuses, signing bonuses,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“The newest hotness for the battle for senior associates is lateral job offers bumping their title from associate to partner. As Adam Oliver, CEO and co-founder of Firm Prospects, says, Firms used this as a way to lure those senior associates away from one firm to another. They needed bodies. The only way they could get people to jump ship.”

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Biglaw Firm’s Plan to Slash Office Space by 20 Percent

“Duane Morris chief executive officer Matthew Taylor said the firm is planning on cutting its office space by a whopping 20 percent over the next five years. And they’re in a great position to do so as 75 percent of the firm’s office space leases are due to expire over that time frame. The plan to cut the,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“These new plans represent a major cost savings Taylor said, That’s opportunity knocking. As reported by Bloomberg Law, the plans to cut back on office space are already well underway: The firm is moving towards hot desks and embracing being “nimble” post-pandemic. And those big, cushy partner offices that were once a staple of Biglaw.”

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Top 20 Biglaw Firm Matches Salaries that Go Up to $415K

“The 2022 salary wars seem to be winding down, but there are still dozens of firms that have yet to make a move that we know of when it comes to compensation. The key phrase there was that we know of — if anonymous sources don’t reach out to us, it makes it difficult for us to report on and track how,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“In fact, it took one of our recent dives into the firms that hadn’t raised salaries yet (to our knowledge) to get tipsters from one very highly ranked firm to reach out to us. This is just a little reminder for folks to get in touch with Above the Law as soon as your firm announces any kind of salary or bonus news. The more tips we receive, the merrier.”

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Big Law Attorneys Share Why Mentoring Matters

“Starting as a new associate at a law firm marks the exciting beginning of a dreamed-for legal career. But for many—especially women, minorities, or first-generation attorneys walking through the door doesn’t mean you know what to do, how to do it, or whom to ask for help. Mentorships can play a pivotal,” reports MP McQueen in Bloomberg Law.

“Finding a mentor who can offer ongoing guidance and support is key. We asked partners who were once mentored themselves to share how the experience affected their careers. They said professional guidance from a more experienced attorney a senior associate or partner who worked in their same practice area, or who shared similar.”

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Pact’s Experts Discuss Why ESG Matters and Partnering for Positive Impact

“Roger-Mark De Souza is Pact’s Vice President for Sustainable Markets. Over his more than 20-year career, De Souza has built social, economic, health and environmental justice and resilience programs, teams and movements across the world to encourage local ownership and empowerment. David,” reports CSR Wire in their blog.

“Bonnardeaux is the Director of Pact’s Environment practice. A seasoned environment and natural resource management practitioner, Bonnardeaux has more than 15 years of experience living and working across the globe, from Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Mexico and Peru.  Cristina Villegas.”

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Big Law’s SPAC Love Affair Draws Watchful Eye of Regulators

“This is an uncertain time for Big Law practices that piled into the SPAC craze in the past two years. Special purpose acquisition companies, which are alternatives to initial public offerings for presenting share sales, became so popular after years in financial obscurity that regulators are now scrutinizing them,” reports Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission last week proposed new rules that could put law firms, investment banks and other advisers on the hook for the lofty projections SPACs have used that aren’t allowed for traditional IPOs. Citibank will pause new SPAC IPOs, Bloomberg News reported this week, citing uncertainty around legal liability.”

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Biden’s Granddaughter, A D.C. Biglaw Associate, To Marry T14 Law School Grad at White House

“Love will be in the air in the nation’s capital this coming fall, when Naomi Biden, an associate at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, marries her longtime boyfriend. Biden, of course, is granddaughter to President Joe Biden, and earlier this week, she announced on Twitter that the affair would be taking place,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“According to the New York Times, Naomi’s future husband is Peter Neal of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Neal is a third-year student in his final semester at Penn Law. You may recognize his name as one of the creators of My CARES Act Benefits, an online quiz that calculates eligibility for federal relief. He spent the past summer working.”

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Ukraine Government Taps Big Law Firms for War Crimes Task Force

“The Ukraine government has turned to global law firms Covington & Burling and Withers, along with human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, to help prosecute war crimes in the Russian invasion of the country. The Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine will work to secure,” reports Elizabeth Olson in Bloomberg Law.

“Accountability and reparations in forums such as the International Criminal Court. Covington & Burling and Withers said they are working with the group. The Ukraine government has tapped several major law firms for work stemming from the invasion. It has also turned to human rights attorneys like Clooney, a lawyer for U.K. based.”

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Associate Tells Biglaw to Buzz Off So He Can Start New Career as Beekeeper

“The pandemic brought more to Biglaw than just record revenues it also inspired some associates to find their true calling outside of the law. If you’ve been dreaming about escaping from behind your desk, you’re not alone. Read on to learn more about a highly pedigreed lawyer who left the Biglaw hive,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Meet Michael Walsh, a Cambridge law graduate who worked in the London offices of Clifford Chance and Covington & Burling. In December 2021, Walsh decided that his career in project finance was no longer the bee’s knees, so he quit. It’s not all about the money, honey, so Walsh opted to start a business that would both help.”

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Big Money for Associates At this Biglaw Firm

“Biglaw firms seemed to have cracked the code on what it takes these days to be considered as a member of the elite, and as it turns out, the secret isn’t really that secret. A Cravath salary match is what it will take to propel your firm into the Biglaw stratosphere during this hot lateral market, and the latest,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Sources say the firm which brought in $430,200,000 gross revenue in 2020, landing it at #93 in the most recent Am Law 100 — doesn’t usually send out mass emails to reflect compensation or bonus news, but it looks like a Cravath match has been made. From what I can tell talking to associates in multiple classes, it is a Cravath match.”

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Big Law’s Pay War is Dangerous Game for Firms Posing as Elite

“An ongoing pay war is making lawyers at some of the top firms in the world more money than ever before. It’s also exposing a growing fault line between the richest firms and everyone else. In just a few weeks, Milbank LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Cravath Swaine & Moore all announced a series,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law.

“As the salary scales reach new heights, many of the top performing law firms have quickly moved to match—seeing it as an imperative in the tightening battle for top associate talent. Now, a small group of the richest firms appears to be pulling away from the pack. The firms that can match the Cravath salaries are making a point of setting.”

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Top 50 Biglaw Firm Delights Associates With Big Ol’ Raises

“March may be rapidly coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean the associate salary game is over! Just the other day, Holland & Knight — on the back of the firm’s strongest financial performance in the history of the firm announced raises for hardworking associates. And, of course, with $1,044,337,000,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“Gross revenue in 2020, making it 38th on the Am Law 100, the firm is matching that top-of-market compensation grid popularized. For associates well, at least the ones in the Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, San Francisco.”

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What All the Biglaw Firms are Saying About Future Russia Business

“In the days following the invasion of Ukraine, we saw responses from a number of major law firms with business in Russia shut down their offices and withdraw from representations. But some firms didn’t make a clean break with Russian business, and some that did issued cagey statements that made the,” reports Joe Patrice in Above The Law.

“The page divides firm statements between firms no longer doing work in Russia — like MoFo and Gowling WLG — firms that have dropped Russian government-related entities — like DLA Piper, Norton Rose, and Hunton Andrews Kurth — and firms that are either silent or issued equivocal statements. Looking through the list of inconclusive.”

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The Best Law Schools for Getting a Biglaw Job (2022)

“Rankings season is upon us, and many publications are rolling out their best offerings for readers’ perusal in advance of the release of the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings. For more than a decade, Law.com has published a list of the best law schools to go to if you want to,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Work in Biglaw after graduation. Law.com refers to these institutions of higher education as the go-to law schools, and this year, they’re ranked by the percentage of 2021 graduates who took associate positions at the 100 largest law firms based on attorney head count. Before we get to the list of the go-to law schools, it’s worthwhile to speak about.”

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The Big Money is Coming At this Biglaw Firm Just At a Slightly Later Date

“The associate salary party is far from over. While the market has seemingly settled on a standard compensation grid for associates, we now play the much longer tail game of which firms will match. And think about it with at least 200 firms earning the moniker Biglaw and a wave of elite boutiques also,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“Well, there’s now another Biglaw firm shelling out the big bucks for associates. Mintz a firm that brought in $502,100,000 gross revenue in 2020, ranking it at No. 79 in the Am Law 100 has decided to up associates salaries. They’ll be matching the market standard set by Cravath. While most firms have backdated the raises to January 1.”

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Top 20 Biglaw Firm Finally Matches Market Compensation for Associates

“Way, way back in January, Milbank introduced a new salary scale that served as a catalyst for the mad race to increase associate salaries at Biglaw and boutique firms across the country. One of the firms that matched Milbank  at first quietly doing so under cover of its annual review process, before a,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Formal announcement was made was Cooley. Since then, the firm has been silent through the introduction of two more salary scales, one from Davis Polk and one from Cravath. On Friday, the firm finally addressed salaries once again. Cooley, of course, is matching the Cravath salary scale, like all other firms that wish to remain elite during.”

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Big Law Talent Battle: Natural Selection or Artificial Scarcity?

“It’s never paid more to be a Big Law associate Cravath Swaine & Moore just made sure of that by announcing yet another pay bump for mid-level and senior associates. Yet, firms still can’t seem to get enough associates in the door. I’ve been asking law firm leaders lately whether they think there are actually,” reports Roy Strom in Above The Law.

“People who can do the job of a Big Law associate, or whether the current talent shortage is an artificial result of maximizing profits. No, it’s not artificial, one Am Law 50 firm chair told me. Our microchips are great legal talent. And the truth is there are only so many people who fit the mold. To cut it in Big Law, the chair said associates need.”

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