“Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. is billing at $2,295 as a partner at Covington & Burling, according to a contract that the firm signed with a public university,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in Above the Law’s Law Firms.

“Holder revealed his hourly rate in a March 30 letter to the Oregon Health & Science University, report the Oregonian, the National Law Journal and Oregon Public Broadcasting.”

“The letter confirms that Holder and his firm have been hired by the university to investigate harassment, discrimination, bullying and intimidation. Covington & Burling will discount its hourly rates by 10%.”

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“Littler Mendelson appears to have parted ways with a shareholder who allegedly misrepresented to a federal court that human resources software company ADP LLC wasn’t complying with a subpoena when in fact it had,” reports David Thomas in Westlaw Today.

“ADP was nearly sanctioned by an Alabama federal judge last month when subpoenaed documents it submitted in a class action lawsuit never made it to the plaintiffs. That’s because the defendants’ attorneys at Littler never produced those documents, telling the court that ADP was refusing to comply.”

“As a result, Littler has been forced to pay more than $63,000 of ADP’s legal fees, with another fee payment coming thanks to a Wednesday ruling from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock. And there may have already been other repercussions as well: A Littler shareholder who allegedly misled the court, Gavin Appleby, was no longer listed on the firm’s website as of Friday.”

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King & Spalding, “the firm, ranked 21st on the Am Law 100 with $1,338,607,000 in 2019 gross revenue, announced special bonuses for associates yesterday. As one would expect from a firm with over a billion dollars in gross revenue, they’ve matched the market standard for associates, set by Davis Polk,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“And there’s more good news for associates in the memo, especially those in smaller market offices. The firm also announced that they are moving to a unified compensation and bonus structure for all U.S. associates, so those offices that were not previously on the $190,000 scale will see raises.”

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“The top in-house lawyer at Amazon.com Inc. received a total compensation package of nearly $17.2 million in 2020, according to the company’s annual proxy statement filed Thursday,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Daily Labor Report.

“David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel since 2012, saw the bulk of his pay comprised of roughly $17 million in stock awards. He also drew a base salary of $160,000. Zapolsky has not previously been one of Amazon’s highest paid executives. He became an executive officer last year, according to Amazon’s proxy.”

“Amazon has faced an array of complex legal issues over the last year as the Seattle-based company’s fortunes soared during the coronavirus pandemic. It hired thousands of employees—including lawyers—to respond with an uptick in online shopping and an increased emphasis on workplace safety, two areas that have also have important implications for antitrust and labor law.”

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“The latest firm to announce bonuses is Katten Muchin, a firm that brought in $669,709,000 gross revenue in 2019, placing it at #63 in the most recent Am Law 100 ranking. The firm has of course matched the Davis Polk special bonus scale …”, posts Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“Although the firm’s standard billable requirement for bonuses is 2000 hours, Katten is only requiring 1900 hours annualized (including pro bono, firm citizenship, and firm legal work) for these special bonuses. The May payment is based on four months of work, and the September payment is based on eight months of work. The firm is offering two catch-up payment periods in August and December so that everyone will have the opportunity to reap these rewards.”

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“It’s always a big day when Kirkland & Ellis’ year-end financial results are unveiled. There was even an extra little buzz this year after the Financial Times reported in January that the firm may be the first to crack $5 billion in revenue,” opines Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“The semi-official results came in last week, and the firm’s top line didn’t quite reach $5 billion. Still, Kirkland did have another blowout year: revenue up 16% to $4.8 billion, and profits per equity partner up nearly 20% to nearly $6.2 million, The American Lawyer reported.”

“Here’s why Kirkland is on my mind today: In a year of financial returns that look like historical anomalies, the firm’s performance didn’t really stretch the imagination. It has been putting up eye-popping numbers for a while now.”

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Hunton Andrews Kurth has announced that their firm will be matching the market standard for Biglaw special bonuses for associates, but they have to wait until the fall for their bonus, reports Kathryn Rubino in  Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“The firm noted that, to be eligible for the bonuses, associates must be in good standing and billing 1900 hours annualized. These will be in addition to any year-end bonuses”

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“Holland & Knight and Thompson & Knight announced on Friday that they are in talks for a merger that would unite two of the largest law firms from Florida and Texas, respectively,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“According to a joint statement released by the firms and viewed by Bloomberg Law, the two are in the midst of due diligence in connection with the combination that they expect to complete in the next 90 days. A tentative closing date is set for the summer, the statement said.”

“The combined firm would have nearly 1,600 lawyers across 30 offices, placing it among the largest law firms in the U.S.”

“This proposed combination would expand significantly each firm’s presence in important geographic markets and would also improve the breadth of the services offered to clients in key industries, said Mark Sloan, managing partner of Thompson & Knight and Steven Sonberg, managing partner of Holland & Knight, in the statement.”

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“Nine Kirkland & Ellis lawyers have taken in-house private equity positions during the first quarter of 2021, with most leaving for legal chief roles,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Kirkland corporate partner Nadia Karkar left the firm’s San Francisco office last month to join TPG Global LLC as a general counsel based in the same city. Elizabeth Freechack, a New York-based mergers and acquisitions and private equity partner, joined private equity firm L Catterton as a deputy general counsel, also in March.”

“Among other notable exits, Andrew Fleischman, a New York-based corporate partner, jumped to FTV Management Co. LP in February as general counsel. Joshua Merrill, a newly promoted private equity and M&A partner in Dallas, also left that month to become legal chief at Echo Investment Capital.”

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“Biglaw has done well — really, really well — in spite of the ongoing pandemic. In fact, the largest law firms in America have done so well that many of them are in the process of handing out millions of dollars’ worth of special bonuses to their hardworking associates. But are there any firms that are willing to do more and increase salaries along with those bonuses?” asks Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“The last time we saw a salary raise was in 2018, when the majority of Biglaw firms increased their base pay for associates to $190K. Earlier this spring, DLA Piper increased base pay for its associates in some offices, and we wondered whether others would follow in the firm’s footsteps, and now, it looks like that day has come.”

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“Three lawyers were among the top six highest-paid executives at ViacomCBS Inc. in 2020, according to a proxy statement filed by the media conglomerate,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“General counsel Christa D’Alimonte and fellow attorneys Nancy Phillips and Doretha “DeDe” Lea received more than $12.7 million in total compensation, the April 2 proxy filing shows.”

“The payouts come as the company continues to face shareholder litigation related to the Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. merger a year ago. The reunion of the two companies resulted in rounds of layoffs by New York-based ViacomCBS, which is now divesting itself of non-core assets.”

“Phillips and Lea joined the combined company in late 2019 ahead of the completion of the $11.7 billion all-stock merger. D’Alimonte, a former top lawyer at Viacom who succeeded Michael Fricklas in 2017, assumed leadership of the combined ViacomCBS legal group in December 2019.”

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“Law firm mergers may quadruple by the end of the year after cratering in 2020 when offices struggled to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, an Altman Weil report released Tuesday found,” reports John Hughes in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“Law combinations began a rebound in the first quarter of 2021 with 26 transactions, putting deals on a pace to shatter the total of 65 in all of last year. Acquiring firms on average had 908 lawyers compared with 14 in those being acquired, according to Altman Weil.”

“The Altman Weil findings resemble those of legal consultancy Fairfax Associates, which found firms focusing on smaller combinations. Fairfax Associates recorded 18 completed mergers in the first quarter of 2021, a slight drop from the same time period in 2020, which saw 21 mergers.”

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“Bona Law, a national boutique antitrust law firm headquartered in San Diego, announced today that two prominent antitrust attorneys, Pat Pascarella and Jim Lerner, have joined the firm. Together they bring with them more than five decades of experience at top international law firms and a dozen years as chief in-house antitrust counsel at a Fortune 10 company,” released Bona Law in their Law Firm News.

“Pascarella, who moved from a Global Competition Review 100 firm, brings with him wide-ranging experience in antitrust litigation and counseling. He has represented clients facing investigations, enforcement, and litigation in the United States, Mexico, Columbia, and Europe. His career also includes service with the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C., and a dozen years as AT&T’s chief in-house antitrust counsel.”

“Lerner moved from Global Competition Review 100 firm Winston & Strawn. He is a global antitrust counselor and litigator who has represented clients before competition enforcers in numerous high-profile U.S. and international criminal and civil cartel investigations involving products such auto parts, carbon fiber, cathode ray tubes, computer components, food flavor enhancers, impact modifiers and processing aids, lysine, and vitamins. He has also defended numerous clients in major multi-district antitrust class actions.”

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“Will Meyerhofer’s patients lately tell their therapist a similar story. They are working all hours of the day and night. Being the Big Law workhorses they are, they’re going along fine. That’s until they hit a wall, staring at a blank screen when they know they have more work to do,” opines Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Meyerhofer, a former Big Law attorney who now practices psychotherapy on Zoom based in Manhattan, said burnout among Big Law associates is not a new phenomenon, but it has kicked up to new levels during a pandemic that has seen record levels of demand for associates’ time. One recruiter recently estimated some Big Law associates could be on track to put in an annualized 3,000 billing hours in 2021 if they continue their current pace.”

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“A corporate litigant disputing the legal bill charged by Squire Patton Boggs has filed a third-party complaint alleging that LexisNexis helped the law firm inflate its fees,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Law Firms.

“… filed by the Armor Screen Corp. against the RELX Group, LexisNexis’ parent company. The suit alleges that LexisNexis charged Squire Patton Boggs a flat rate, but the law firm billed more than $100,000 for what appeared to be separate searches with the help of a LexisNexis product.”

“The product, called PowerInvoice, can be used to generate customized reports. The product was used “to construct sham bills,” according to the suit, filed in Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit.”

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“In an effort to capture this sought-after talent, Biglaw firms are pulling out all the stops. We’re talking big signing bonuses for associates (Above the Law has anecdotally heard they’ve hit six figures), same-day offers, and the opportunity to work remotely with no set date for return to in-person work (Goodwin Procter is even willing to hire associates on a permanent remote basis).” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“So where is this associate battle taking place? According to data by Decipher, a competitive intelligence firm, lateral movement in the most active 10 markets is up double digits in the first two months of 2021 compared to the four-year average.”

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“Fried Frank, a firm that place 56th on the Am Law 200 thanks to $776,000,000 in gross revenue in 2019, announced its own special bonuses. As expected for such an elite firm, they’re matching the standard set by Davis Polk,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“At Fried Frank, the two special bonus payments are split equally, which is a nice touch. The billable-hour threshold for the bonuses is 1850, annualized, and associates who miss out on the first payment have an opportunity to catch up if they bill the requisite hours in the back half of the year.”

Read how the payments break down at the firm.

“The role of general counsel and chief legal officers has shifted from a defensive position to an offensive one. Bobby Balachandran, CEO of Exterro, says the Association of Corporate Counsel’s legal officers survey shows more GCs and CLOs are being called on to quarterback compliance, risk mitigation, and data privacy,” reports Bobby Balachandran of Exterro in Bloomberg Law’s Health Law & Business.

“A seismic shift has been occurring over the last several years in the role of general counsel and chief legal officers. This role is now focused as much on business risk as legal risk.”

“The increasingly overlapping responsibilities among legal, privacy, compliance, security, and IT teams in global companies are creating new challenges for GC and CLOs everywhere. Rapidly evolving regulations and laws are forcing them to assume a broader role in organization-wide compliance and risk mitigation strategies.”

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“Massachusetts’ top court ruled Thursday that a Duane Morris litigation partner got off too easy when she was suspended for six months for overbilling clients at her prior law firm, saying her actions reflected manifest “dishonesty” and deserved a two-year suspension instead,” reports Reuters Legal in Thomas Reuters’ Westlaw Today.

“The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned a single justice’s decision to impose a six-month suspension on Doreen Zankowski, saying her billing practices while at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr showed a “reckless indifference” to what her clients should be charged.”

“Justice David Lowy, writing for the 4-0 court, said that by all accounts, Zankowski had worked ‘exceptionally hard, was one of the firm’s highest revenue producers, and achieved excellent results for her clients.'”

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“… a trend that was started by Willkie on Friday, March 19, 2021 (offering between $7,500 and $40,000), and quickly one-upped by Davis Polk on Monday, March 22, 2021 (offering between $12,000 and $64,000) — many firms quickly fell in line and matched the generous scale,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

Above the Law has compiled a comparison table of “special bonus scale, the minimum hours required to receive those bonuses (if available), and the date those bonuses will be paid.

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