Biglaw Firms Better Match The New Salary Scale ASAP If They Want To Retain Their Talent “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 “On the other side of the coin, the competition for talent is fierce. The firms that are aggressively hiring will likely match so that they will be able to retain and attract talent. Associates take into consideration whether a firm matches salaries and/or bonuses when they are deciding to stay or leave their firm, as it speaks volumes of their long-term financial outlook and how these firms value their associates given the number of hours they have been putting in.” Read the article. Lawyers Get $164K Bonuses to Keep Working 100 Hours a Week “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.” Read the article. Biglaw Firms Change Hiring Criteria In ‘White-Hot Market’ “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” Read the article. The Future of the Big Law Office Is Now, Thanks to Covid-19 “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.” Read the article. McDermott Adds Six Transactional Partners Amid Corporate Boom “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.” Read the article. Kirkland Welcomes Private Equity Partner John Kaercher “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.” Read the article. Leading New Firm and Lawyer Rankings in Chambers USA 2021 “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.” Read the article. Slone Partners Places Stephana Patton as Chief Legal Officer at InterVenn Biosciences “Slone Partners, a nationwide executive search firm for life science, biotechnology, and diagnostics companies, has announced the placement of Stephana Patton, Ph.D., J.D. as Chief Legal Officer (CLO) at InterVenn Biosciences,” posted Slone Partners on their Latest News. “Patton brings more than 20 years of legal experience to InterVenn. She most recently served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at Eiger Biopharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for all legal and compliance matters. Previously, Patton served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at BioTime, Inc., and as Vice President, General Counsel, and Commercial Compliance Officer at BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. Patton began her pharmaceutical industry career at Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she was Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing until the company was acquired by Valeant, Inc. in 2015. Read the announcement. Big Law’s Associate Appetite Means New Perils for Regional Firms “A deluge of corporate work without enough associates to staff it has sent cash flush Big Law hunting for hires in smaller markets, a dynamic that could threaten regional law firms in the long run,” reports Meghan Tribe inBloomberg Law’s Business & Practice. “The nation’s largest law firms have thrived in spite of Covid-19, especially corporate practices, like M&A, where demand surged 7.8% in the first quarter of 2021 over the same period last year, according to a recently released report by Thomson Reuters. All that work has made this year’s hiring market for corporate associates the hottest in recent memory.” Read the article. Top 50 Biglaw Firm Introduces New Lockstep Salary Scale Across All U.S. Offices “Associate compensation is once again a hot topic in the highest echelons of the legal profession, and young lawyers at some firms are finally reaping the benefits of the 2018 salary hike that brought starting salaries to $190,000. By the time this wave of salary increases is over, we may finally see a somewhat uniform salary scale across the majority of large law firms, all across the country,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw. “The firm announcing salary increases this time around is Holland & Knight, ranked 38th on the Am Law 100 with $1,044,337,000 in 2020 gross revenue. The firm has been in the news recently for its potential merger with Thompson & Knight, but now, the firm is making news by offering lockstep salaries in each and every one of its U.S. offices.” Read the article. Big Law Builds Up State AG Expertise Amid Enforcement Boost “Top law firms are building out practice groups focused on state attorneys general, whose aggressive moves on everything from workers’ rights to Big Tech have clients looking for lawyers with a deep understanding of the process,” reports Ellen M. Gilmer in Bloomberg Law’s Environment and Energy. “The latest entrant is DLA Piper, which unveiled its new practice Tuesday, led by veterans of the New York and California state attorneys general offices. Other big firms with similar practices include Jones Day, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and Crowell & Moring LLP.” “Companies face scrutiny from state attorneys general on all sides. Democratic-led offices are set to team up with the Biden administration on complex investigations and, in some cases, have been granted broader jurisdiction. Republican-led offices are taking aim at Big Tech.” Read the article. Thompson & Knight Finance Leader Jumps to Baker Botts Ahead of Merger “Shad Sumrow, who practiced at Thompson & Knight for more than two decades and led its firmwide finance group, is taking his practice to fellow Texas firm Baker Botts,” reports David Thomas in Reuters’ US Legal News. “He joins Baker Botts as a partner in Dallas, the firm said Tuesday, touting his work on oil and gas and asset-based lending and structured finance transactions as well as restructurings. The firm noted that it added Doug Getten, the former chair of Paul Hastings’ Houston corporate department, as a partner last week.” “Sumrow’s departure from Thompson & Knight comes a little more than a month after the firm and Miami-based Holland & Knight said that they were in talks to merge later this summer.” Read the article.