“July 1 has come and gone, and Biglaw associates across the country whose firms have matched are now eagerly awaiting their fat new paychecks on the $205K Davis Polk salary scale. Of course, we’ve seen some stragglers when it comes to matching the market, and by that, we mean that a few firms took their time sweet time and decided to announce their matches yesterday,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“One firm that waited until the eleventh hour to match the new salary scale is really stretching its associates’ patience thin. Not only did partners wait to make their announcement until July 1, but these raises won’t be effective until February 1, 2022, a full seven months after nearly all other firms have instituted their salary increases. But, there is a bright side.”

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“For corporate law departments, doing more with less became a pandemic-era cliche, as many faced the combination of increasing legal challenges and reduced organizational revenue. While this led to a heightened focus on legal operations in 2020, a new survey shows that it also failed to slow the continued rise of Biglaw billing rates,” reports Jeremy Barker in Above The Law.

“The report also showed the 50 largest firms again taking a commanding share of this work, with 49 of outside counsel spending going to this group. The report wasn’t all bad news for budget-conscious GCs, however. The use of alternative fee arrangements also continued its steady growth for corporate counsel, with 16.8 of matters having a billing arrangement not entirely composed of hourly billing.”

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“Even though July 1 has come and gone, Biglaw firms are still announcing compensation moves. This weekend, yet another firm made fireworks when it notified associates that salaries would be exploding, as well as bonuses. Exciting news all around, but there’s a little caveat on the salary news: nothing will be happening until 2022,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Vedder Price, a firm that grossed $255,000,000 in 2020, landing it at No. 127 on the most recent Am Law 200, announced a new bonus program for associates on Saturday. Those with at least 1,800 annualized chargeable hours as of December 31, 2021 (including up to 100 pro bono hours) as well as a performance rating of 3 or better will receive base performance bonuses on the following scale.”

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“Good news for associates that haven’t, just yet, gotten the raises making their way through Biglaw firms are still announcing salary increases. The latest firm to make associates happy with well-deserved compensation bumps is Alston & Bird,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“The firm, which took in $851,601,000 in gross revenue last year, making them 53rd in the Am Law 100, announced a brand new salary scale yesterday. And it is a familiar compensation grid, at least for Biglaw observers, as Alston & Bird matched the raises set by Davis Polk.”

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“Listen, at the end of the day, any raise is better than no raise. And while associates may get pangs of jealousy when they hear about the $205,000 pay day for their peers, there’s still a place for Biglaw firms that don’t live up to the big raises going around,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law.

“Snell & Wilmer, a firm with $283,500,000 in gross revenue last year making it 115th on the AmLaw 200, announced raises this week. But they’re not quite as generous as other Biglaw firms are handing out. Announced during an associate town hall, salary raises will vary by location.”

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“There can be more than one motivation underlying that sentiment. The chance to earn more money tends to be part of the appeal, particularly if the lawyer is treating an especially successful client as the reference point. But beyond money, attorneys who yearn for a business role are often drawn to the notion of managing a P&L. In other words, they like the idea of being in charge of a business,” reports Lateral Link in Above the Law.

“The thing is, if you are a Biglaw partner, you’re already running a business: your practice. It might not feel that way. Maybe you view your firm’s managing partner as the person who is running the business, and relative to that leader, you feel like you don’t have much management autonomy. If that is your view, it may be worth considering that most of the clients on the business side are constrained by decisions made higher up the pyramid.”

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“Big Law is stepping up efforts to recognize Juneteenth, which falls on Saturday, after last year’s protests and firms own diversity shortcomings put a spotlight on racial inequities in the U.S. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is hosting a Pulitzer Prize-winning author Friday for a talk, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is helping to distribute food to the needy and Squire Patton Boggs is hosting what it describes as candid exchanges on race in offices globally. Those are just some of the activities firms have planned,” reports Elizabeth Olson in Bloomberg Law.

“Juneteenth, which commemorates the effective end of slavery in the U.S., is getting particular interest from firms after the killing of George Floyd while in police custody last year spurred protests throughout the U.S. Law firms stepped up their activism in response, providing legal help and donating to equal justice projects. There was a moral reckoning last year, said Tony Pierce, the partner in charge of Akin Gump’s Washington office. We are in a service business where our job is to look forward and figure things out.”

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“Another day, another announcement made in the 2021 race to raise associate salaries across the Biglaw landscape. There are just a few Am Law top 50 firms that have yet to match the new market salary scale, but one by one, slowly but surely, they’re making salary moves to remain viable as competition to attract and retain associates in this hot lateral market,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law.

“It’s Perkins Coie, a firm that brought in $1,001,498,000 gross revenue in 2020, which helped it to land at No. 42 in the most recent Am Law 100 ranking. The Seattle-based firm let associates and counsel know yesterday afternoon that salary increases would be coming in July.”

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“Campaign finance records show several Big Law leaders are backing Alvin Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and deputy New York attorney general, in Tuesday’s election for Manhattan’s next district attorney, a race that could reshape criminal justice in the largest U.S. city. Kim Koopersmith, chair of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Feld, donated  to Bragg in May, a June campaign finance disclosure shows. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison chair Brad Karp donated $1,000 to Bragg’s campaign in May,” reports Caroline Spiezio in Reuters.

“The lawyers did not immediately provide comment. A spokesperson for Bragg said the candidate has the most stringent self-restrictions on lawyers contributions of any candidate in the race, barring donations from any attorney who had a case appear before the DA’s office over the last four years and limiting contributions from active New York City lawyers “to under 10% of what is allowed by law.”

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“I’ve been writing about Big Law’s “innovation space” long enough to spot a cycle. A law firm announces new innovators or innovative ideas. These grab the attention of a cynical industry. The story becomes, “Big Law is finally changing!” The particular law firm becomes the proof,” reports Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law.

“But eventually, the firm’s grip on the prize—let’s call it the “Big Law Innovation Title”—slips, until a different firm comes along to grab it. There is no Big Law innovation dynasty, and this week showed proof of that. I reported Tuesday that David Cambria has left Baker McKenzie, where the long-time legal department change agent almost singlehandedly won the Big Law Innovation Title by taking on the chief services officer position at one of the world’s largest law firms.”

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“The U.S. Supreme Court is clucking like a chicken about affirmative action in higher education. It just requested that acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar weigh in on the highly-watched Harvard College admissions policy case—which means the high court can duck the issue of race as a consideration in college admissions until later this year,” reports Vivia Chen in Bloomberg Law.

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“While too many of us get overdosed with clownish depictions — from doctors, hospitals, insurers, and corporations, especially Big Pharma firms — of how the civil justice system operates, it’s always worth a reminder of the tremendous fortitude ordinary folks show in pursuing malpractice and other personal injury or liability claims,” reports Patrick Malone in JD Supra.

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“Salaries for junior lawyers are rising above $200,000 at many top law firms for the first time, following a year of record-breaking profits in the legal industry and competition to retain a workforce that has billed long hours at home during the pandemic,” reports Sara Randazzo in The Wall Street Journal

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“Firms have been busier than ever and this is one way to demonstrate an appreciation for their associates, but also to show more broadly the long-term financial strength of the firm. Compensation increases are a permanent change and I expect that the firms that see long-term financial growth will increase their salaries as well,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law

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“In September 2020, Cooley LLP, a Palo Alto-based law firm, announced it was handing out $2,500 to $7,500 in one-time payments to associates. The bonuses came as the firm — along with many others in the legal industry — realized it was both flush with cash and facing worker burnout during the pandemic,” report Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“While most attorneys at larger firms expect to receive one annual bonus, Cooley’s move was quickly matched by others, including Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. One payout was becoming two and now potentially three in a single year.”

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“Biglaw firms are doing everything they can to hire new associates in this super-competitive, post-COVID market, and to snatch top talent, some of them are expanding their searches outside of their traditional recruitment criteria,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“If you work in a sought-after corporate practice area but don’t have a degree from a top law school or have never worked at top Am Law firm, then it may be time to brush off your resume because opportunity apparently awaits”

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“Many of the attorneys making their way back to Perkins Coie’s Seattle office will reconnect with colleagues in person for the first time in a long time, with some sharing workspace more than ever before,” reports Rebekah Mintzer in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“The firm, which is set to welcome lawyers back to offices by Oct. 1 in a hybrid arrangement that includes some remote work, is cutting more than 70,000 square feet of space—or around 25 tennis courts—across four of its offices. As part of the move, it’s getting rid of some assigned seating in certain offices, encouraging a ‘hoteling’ setup, where individuals book desks as needed, and implementing office sharing, in which lawyers with work schedules that don’t overlap use the same workspace.”

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“McDermott Will & Emery is picking up six transactional partners as builds out across the U.S. amid record levels of corporate and transactional activity for law firms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“The six new partners are joining from Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin Procter, DLA Piper, Foley & Lardner, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. They are joining McDermott’s Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, and Los Angeles offices, respectively.”

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“Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that John Kaercher has joined the Firm as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group to help launch its Austin office,” posted Kirkland & Ellis in their Press Releases.

“Mr. Kaercher counsels clients on complex transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, SPACs, private equity and public and private securities offerings, with a particular focus on the technology, media, telecommunications and energy sectors.”

“Mr. Kaercher was co-chair of his prior firm’s private equity pillar and was recognized as a Texas Super Lawyers – Rising Star in 2018, 2019 and 2020.”

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“This year’s Chambers USA 2021 features over 8,000 firm and almost 22,000 individual rankings in more than 2,000 practice areas, across all 50 states and nationally. Leading the charge, having amassed the most firm and individual rankings in the Guide for the second year in a row, is industry titan Latham & Watkins. With 351 ranked attorneys and 131 ranked practices, Latham continues to showcase its credentials as one of the United States’, and indeed the world’s, most successful and well-rounded full service firms,” reports Kushraj Cheema in Chambers and Partners.

“Latham’s position comes as little surprise, with its 11 US offices consistently attracting praise from clients and fellow practitioners alike in Chambers USA research. An elite pedigree, full service capabilities and extensive geographic coverage are common features of top performing firms in the Chambers USA 2021 Guide, as the chart above shows. Firms which accrue the most rankings in the latest edition of the USA Guide are united in the breadth of their expertise, their bicoastal office networks and their sizeable contingent of partners.”

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