“Aren’t you excited to head back to the office? Oh, you’re not. But don’t you remember all of the super important professional development and mentorship opportunities you had when your the was packed full of associates and partners? Oh, no, you don’t. You must’ve had so much fun though when,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Wouldn’t you be surprised to learn that Biglaw offices were never really that full to begin with before the pandemic? It sure sounds like law firm leaders have some explaining to do. Although many Biglaw firms are now mandating office work to return their highly animated in-person working environments that once pushed occupancy limits.”

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“It’s not every day that an ex-Biglaw partner is arrested on federal cyberstalking charges and accused of launching a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats against his former partners, but here we are. Willie Dennis, 59, a former corporate partner at K&L Gates, was arrested last week in the,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Dominican Republic after allegedly sending an untold number of harassing, threatening, and intimidating emails and text messages to a number of people at the firm over the course of more than 18 months. The indictment against Dennis was unsealed this past Friday. Dennis, who is Black, was let go in May 2019, and he did not part.”

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“Cravath officially kicked off the 2021 bonus season yesterday afternoon, finally sweetening the pot by increasing its annual bonus offerings by up to 15% per class year. Now, another elite law firm has jumped to match the market rate as quickly as possible. Which firm is the first to match the official 2021,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The law.

“Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is the first firm to hop on the Cravath bonus bandwagon. The firm is usually the first or second to match year-end bonuses, and 2021 is no different. Bonuses at the firm will be paid to all associates in good standing on December 22. Here’s the bonus scale, in case you’ve forgotten what it looks like.”

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“With the holidays approaching, now is a great time to reflect. Of course, the holidays are an opportunity to think about the important people in your life. Don’t forget to do that. But as we near the end of a very busy year for most Biglaw attorneys, you may also want to think a bit about yourself,” reports Lateral Link in their Above The Law.

“Okay, not literally. Holiday parties can sometimes be a lot of fun, but you know what’s better than being hosted at a holiday party? Having firms flatter you, court you, and maybe throw a six-figure signing bonus at you! Just as your inbox will soon be brimming with party invitations, there will be no shortage of firms seeking to host you if you.”

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“Thanks to the hot lateral market, Biglaw firms are handing out partnership offers like candy, perhaps as a way to keep their best associates from fleeing to another firm. Biglaw firms have continuously announced record partnership class sizes in response to the ongoing talent war, but one,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“It was just last year that Cravath boasted one of its largest partnership classes in recent memory and its most diverse partnership class in history by promoting 11 associates. This year, the firm returned to its old ways, inviting six associates to become members of its partnership. Cravath has had a 6.4 new partners per-year average over the.”

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“Big Law firms that have shared their hodgepodge of plans for bringing lawyers back to the office have one resounding commonality they’re letting attorneys work from home at least some of the time. Bloomberg Law reached out to the 100 largest firms in the U.S. by gross revenue about their firm,” reports Ruiqi Chen in Bloomberg Law.

“Our attorneys and our personnel deserve the flexibility, said Nixon Peabody managing partner Stephen Zubiago. We’ve been able to maintain our service levels and meet the needs of our clients. The Bloomberg Law analysis shows that while many firms are eager to get lawyers in the office to preserve culture and train young associates.”

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“The collapse of Le Clair Ryan prompted its share of recriminations, but while finger-pointing between the former partners and United Lex continues, one bankruptcy partner found himself caught out in a multi-year embezzlement scheme. The firm’s former Chief Legal Officer, Bruce H. Matson, admitted,” reports Joe Patrice in Above The Law.

“Around $4 million from bankruptcy trust funds that he oversaw, improperly distributing some of those funds to himself and another attorney. Most of the total misappropriation came in the from wind-down funds that he sent around in 2019 that weren’t supposed to be distributed at that time. After the scheme got noticed, prosecutors say.”

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“Associates have been rightfully cheering the deluge of money coming their way this year. Because the Biglaw lateral market is super hot right now we are talking six-figure signing bonuses, firms have had to respond with money to keep their associates. So we’ve seen special bonuses and raises and,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“According to the latest Peer Monitor Index report by Thomson Reuters, direct expenses are up 7.2 percent, driven largely by these compensation increases. As the report notes, The increases in salary scale have never been as large or as frequent as they have in 2021 and that might just be a little nerve-racking since associate compensation.”

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“How badly does your firm want to compete in the white-hot lateral market? For some firms, the answer can be evidenced in its compensation. Did your firm raise salaries once this year? Great, a lot of firms did that. But did your firm raises salaries twice this year? Eh, probably not, only a few did,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Did your firm raise salaries three times this year? Only two firms that we know of can say that they did, and one of them did it earlier this week. As noted above, this firm has bumped associate salaries three times thus far in 2021… but it still hasn’t quite reached the $205K starting salary that associates have long been dreaming of which firm.”

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“Big Law bonus season is nigh, and firms are getting ready to throw higher amounts of money at some associates than they did last year even after giving them two seasonal awards and a base salary bump earlier in 2021. Annual bonuses will likely match last year’s scale of $15,000 to $100,000, though,” reports Ruiqi Chen in Bloomberg Law.

“Some lawyers will see special bonuses on top of that, as partners seek to reward increasingly overworked associates who carried the load for firms during another year of record profits. One thing firms have started to realize is that there’s no bottom, said Stephanie Ruiter, a director at legal recruiter Lateral Link There’s always going to be a firm.”

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“Whether it’s 100% deserved or not, Biglaw has an unfortunate reputation. Like, you go to law school to save the turtles, but the Biglaw money is so good and the student loans so bad that you wind up graduating and working for Wolfram & Hart defending Goliath Corporation over their latest oil spill,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“The truth is there’s a lot of money on the table and it can be difficult to turn that down, so maybe you compromise a little of the kind of work you imagined doing when you applied to law school. But the good news is that some Biglaw firms are doing the work to do good and now there’s a ranking to see how the firms’ efforts stack up.”

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“Biglaw bonus season is nearly upon us, and the lateral market is hot, hot, hot. Associates are expecting bigger and better year-end bonuses than ever before, and they know if they don’t receive them, they’ll be happily welcomed at another firm that may be more willing to show them the money,” reports Staci Zaretsky in their Above The Law.

“As far as special bonuses are concerned, however, associates don’t think they’ll be seeing them again. We released the results of our annual bonus survey just yesterday, and a little more than 55% of respondents reported that they do not believe any additional special bonuses will be offered. One firm just decided to blow associates expectations.”

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“Happy Halloween, associates! One Biglaw firm just gave its associates the best treat of all raises. That’s right, it’s the end of October and law firms are still handing out raises. Which firm is the latest to scare up an increase in compensation That would be Littler the world’s largest employment,” reports Staci Zaretsky in their Above The Law.

“Which brought in $613,640,000 gross revenue in 2020, ranking it at No. 69 in the most recent Am Law 100. Yesterday, during a video town hall presentation, the firm announced raises for all U.S. associates, effective immediately and retroactive to January 1, 2021. The raises are based on market and associate level, and will range.”

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“Biglaw firms across the country are implementing all manner of initiatives to bring attention to the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion among their ranks. We’ve previously acknowledged nd Wilmer Hale as firms where approved diversity and inclusion-related work will be billable for,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Attorneys and will count toward bonus thresholds. We now have news that one of the top firms in the country has amended its billable hours policy in the name of promoting diversity. Greenberg Traurig a firm that brought in $1,730,230,000 gross revenue in 2020 has been focused on this important initiative since July 2020.”

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“This week saw some encouraging legal news for the commercial real estate industry. For Biglaw associates who overwhelmingly support remote work policies, perhaps not so much. According to data from Savills, law firms that use more than 20,000 square feet of office space leased 2.1 million,” reports Jeremy Barker in their Above The Law.

“This marks the highest quarterly total of the pandemic era, and a 51% increase from the previous quarter. Savills experts told Law360 the increase signals a bet among law firms that lawyers can be convinced to return to the office, along with firms renewed interest in long-term commitments” to physical office space. We do have it on good.”

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“Biglaw firms across the country are implementing all manner of initiatives to bring attention to the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion among their ranks. We’ve previously acknowledged s firms where approved diversity and inclusion-related work will be billable for attorneys and will count,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Stoel Rives a firm that brought in $259,328,000 gross revenue in 2020 is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to its commitment to diversity and inclusion with its new billable hours policy. This is a firm that truly cares about diversity. Last month, Stoel received Mansfield Rule 4.0 Plus Certification from the Diversity Lab.”

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“Biglaw firms across the country are implementing all manner of initiatives to bring attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion among their ranks. We’ve previously acknowledged as firms where approved diversity and inclusion-related work will be billable for attorneys and will count toward,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“K&L Gates a firm that brought in $1,019,674,000 gross revenue in 2020 recently announced that all attorneys across its global offices would be able to receive up to 50 hours of billable credit for their qualifying internal and external diversity and inclusion work. Here’s an excerpt from the firm’s press release on its new policy.”

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“The number of law firm associates that are leaving Biglaw altogether right now is quite high. Associates find opportunities in or out of legal practice which they think will provide better hours with acceptable pay.  The misconception is that if they go to another Biglaw firm that everything,” reports Jason McCann in Above The Law.

“However, there are meaningful differences among associate Biglaw experiences.  If you are at a Biglaw firm yourself, just think about your own firm: If you talk to other associates in different practices areas or different working groups, chances are you will hear about some completely different work cultures. The fact is that there.”

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“Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati announced last month that it had teamed up with Workiva Inc. to create an application that automates the S-1 form that companies must file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission when going public. But David Wang, chief innovation officer at Wilson Sonsini,” reports Lyle Moran in ABA Journal.

“Emphasizes that the firm’s lawyers will still have key roles to play in assisting clients with completing their registration statements ahead of planned initial public offerings. He says that is why he refers to the new application, known as WS-1, as an “augmented automation solution. Our attorneys are able to spend their time working.”

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“Biglaw firms’ thoughts on the return to the office in our post pandemic world continue to evolve. While some firms have simply canceled previously scheduled reopenings without announcing a future target date, with the promise of offering 30 days’ notice if a new date should be chosen, others have,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“The latest firm to do so is Ropes & Gray, a firm ranked at No. 11 on the most recent Am Law 100, with $2,192,810,000 gross revenue in 2020. Right now, Ropes is still within Phase 1 of its reopening plan permissive office use, and had most recently planned to move to Phase 2, a broader reopening for all personnel, on October 18.”

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