Four more law firms have announced that they will hand out year-end bonuses of $42,500 for eighth-year associates and above, according to Law360. These four firms will be extending the bonus scale that was first established by the law firm of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP and has since been matched by a couple of other firms in the United States. The four firms that announced the year-end bonuses include Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. These four firms will issue bonuses to their associates from the class of 2003 and earlier, which was reported by the legal blog of Above the Law.

The remainder of the pay scales for year-end bonuses to be handed out by the firms of Debevoise, Gottlieb, Cleary and Sullivan match the year-end bonus scale of Cravath. First-year associates will be receiving $7,500 while seventh-year associates will be receiving $37,500.

Also entering the fray is Kay Scholer LLP, announcing it will hand out year-end bonuses that match the Cravath bonus scale for its associates who work at least 1,950 hours in a year. Any associates at Kaye Scholer LLP that work at least 2,400 hours in a year will receive a bonus that tops out at $57,500.

Ever since the bonus scale of Cravath became public information last month, the list of firms matching that scale has grown steadily over the past month.

Another firm that announced it would hand out bonuses based on the Cravath scale is that of Shearman & Sterling LLP. Their announcement was made one day after that of Proskauer Rose LLP announced they would also match the bonuses of Cravath. The announcement from Proskauer Rose LLP followed announcements from Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP earlier this month.

The bonus scale released by Cravath for 2011 closely matched its scale used in 2010, which were the same for each associate group except for those in their seventh year with the firm. Associates working with the firm in their seventh year in 2010 received a bonus of $35,000. There were spring bonuses of $20,000 handed out by Cravath in 2011 for associates who were hired from 2004 to 2006. Associates from 2007 were issued bonuses of $15,000 and anyone who started later than that were given bonuses ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

Cravath has been the leader in the bonus category over the past couple of years, as other firms have followed their lead. For example, when Cravath announced in January that it would be issuing spring bonuses, multiple other firms decided to do the same thing. Industry experts expect that a couple more law firms will announce end of year bonuses for their associates prior to the end of December.

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Shearman & Sterling LLP is slated to sustain a precedent set by fellow law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP. Like Cravath Swaine & Moore, Shearman & Sterling plans to reward associates—from seventh-year on—with year-end bonuses of $37,500, according to Law360.com.

Ron Brandsdorfer, Shearman & Sterling spokesman, confirmed its bonus plans Tuesday. Apparently, newer associates won’t be shortchanged.

First-year associates will receive $7,500; second-year associates are slated to get $10,000; third-year associates will receive $15,000; fourth-year associates will get $20,000; fifth year associates will get $25,000; and sixth-year associates are expected to receive $30,000.

Abovethelaw.com reports the bonuses will be paid on Jan. 13, according to some of its readers.

New York-based Shearman & Sterling first- and second-year associates earn, on average, between $160,000 and $168,000 a year, according to glassdoor.com. The website notes that salaries are posted anonymously by both employees and employers.

Cravath Swaine & Moore should expect their bonus on Dec. 9, according to a firm memo. That memo was featured on WSJ’s Law Blog. In order to be eligible, associates must have been with the firm before Sept. 1 and still with Cravath Swaine & Moore when bonuses are distributed.

Billable hours don’t impact eligibility. Part-time associates will receive pro-rated bonuses. Bonus eligibility of senior attorneys, specialist attorneys, discovery specialist attorneys and foreign associate attorneys will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Cravath Swaine & Moore’s bonus schedule is eerily similar to Shearman & Sterling’s. Bonuses top out at $37,500. First-year associates receive $7,500; second-year associates receive $10,000; third-year associates get $15,000; fourth-year associates receive $20,000; fifth-year associates receive $25,000; and sixth-year associates get $30,000.

A first-year associate earns, on average, $160,000 per year, while a second-year associate earns between $150,000 and $170,000 a year, according to glassdoor.com. A third-year associate earns an average of $179,000 to $191,000, while a fifth-year associate earns, on average, about $195,000.

Unlike their American counterparts, Canadian lawyers at major firms won’t see big bonuses, Legal Post reports. Bonuses in 2010 are unlikely to match bonus this year. With that said, first-year associates are seeing their salaries increase.

The Robert Half Legal 2012 Salary Guide believes those increases won’t be high for first-year associates. They’re expected to rise only 0.4 percent in 2012 to a range between $82,000 and $89,500 at large law firms, defined as having more than 75 lawyers.

“The large firms were extremely busy at this time last year — as busy as they have been at year’s end for quite a long time  — so they went into 2011 with a fair bit of confidence regarding hiring patterns and compensation,” says Dal Bhathal, managing director, Eastern Canada for The Counsel Network, a legal recruitment firm.

Associates with one to three years’ experience could see their salaries rise 1.3 percent—ranging from $87,000 and $119,500.

More experienced lawyers can anticipate bigger salary bumps. Lawyers with four to 12 years’ experience could see their salaries rise about 3 percent, ranging between $87,000 and $119,500, also according to Financial Post.

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Former anti-trust partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and judicial nominee Katherine Forrest released her financial disclosure statements. Forrest is deputy attorney general at the Justice Department and Obama’s nominee for federal district court in the Southern District of New York. Other Obama nominees Mary Lewis, Edgardo Ramos, and Alison Nathan have also released their financial disclosure statements.

Read the full article here:

Judicial Nominees, Including Former Cravath Partner, Disclose Finances

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However, Cravath has set the bar higher as it revealed that its special bonuses would be significantly higher than the bonuses provided by the other firms announcing spring bonuses. For instance, Cravath’s payments to fourth-year associates are $15,000, an amount that is $5,000 higher than the extra payments to fifth years at the other three firms. Fifth through seventh year associastes at Cravath  will receive payments of $20,000 as compared to the other three firms which announced that their fifth, sixth, and seventh-year associates would receive $12,500, $15,000 and $17,500, respectively.  Payments for part-time lawyers will be on a pro-rated basis.

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Joe Sims, a Jones Day partner, said in an email that Jones Day will not bow to industry pressure by providing bonuses. He explained that the associates at their firm are rewarded in different ways. “We don’t do bonuses. We did away with that several years ago. Most bonuses are tied to hours billed, which creates an artificial incentive-artificial in the sense it is separate from any particular client needs-to bill hours. We compensate our associates based on their overall contribution in all the aspects of their work, just as we do our partners.” Sims added that although Jones Day does not give bonuses, the firm provides merit raises to its associates.

Recently, other law firms such as Boies Schiller, Susman Godfrey, Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan, Cahill Gordon & Reindell and Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced their year end bonuses. The bonuses in most firms range from $7,500 to $35,000. However, Boeis has moved well ahead with its $75,000 to over $200,000 bonus to its associates. Sims explained that even though Jones Day does not give out bonuses, their associates stay with the firm because it’s still making partners. In fact, Jones Day recently announced that the firm has 36 new partners in its various practices such as antitrust, trial practice, bankruptcy, merger and acquisitions–and even a couple or so in real estate.

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Boies Schiller partner Philip Korologos explained that 2010 has been a productive year for the firm and that’s why they can afford to give such bonus amount to its associates. “Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP is proud of its associates’ extensive contributions to the firm’s considerable accomplishments in what was a very busy year.”

According to the recent AM Law 100 financial data, Boies, Schiller & Flexner registered gross revenue of $296 million in 2009, which was 0.3% higher compared to its revenue in 2007. In 2009, the revenue per lawyer at the firm also hiked by 4.7%, closing it to $1.35 million.

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Former Texas solicitor general Gregory Coleman died in a plane crash…

Milbank will pay associate bonuses on what is rapidly becoming known as the Cravath scale…

Skadden matched the associate bonus scale announced earlier this week by Cravath…

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The numbers range from $7,500 for first-year associates to $35,000 for more senior associates.

Skadden is the second Am Law 100 firm to announce its year-end bonuses, and, according to the article at amlawdaily.com, as Nate Raymond at the New York Law Journal reports, this suggests the market is solidifying around Cravath’s scale.

Recruiters and partners at rival firms told the New York Law Journal on Monday that they expect other firms to match the scale, too.

For the last three years, Cravath has set the market rate for associate bonuses, the NYLJ reports. The firm is seen as a rate leader, especially among New York’s white shoe firms.

With over 2,000 attorneys, Skadden is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world.

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The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea set the stage for China to make a distinctive mark on the world stage…

The law firm bonus season began…

Crowell & Moring LLP & the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law established the Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk youth…

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We can only hope that Cravath isn’t as influential at setting the market rate this year.  Cravath will be paying bonuses that look identical to Sullivan’s 2009 scale – that is to say, no different from their own 2009 bonuses unless you are a 7th year associate.  First year associates will receive $7,500, senior associates will get $35,000 and everyone else falls somewhere in between.  AM Law has the full bonus scale and a copy of the firm’s memo here.

Obviously 2009 was a difficult year for the legal industry, as it was for the rest of the economy, but most signs indicate that 2010 was a vast improvement.  We had hoped to see that reflected in bonuses for the year.  It’s possible that other firms will buck the Cravath scale, even though very few did last year, but according my magic 8-ball the outcome is doubtful.  Skadden has already followed with an identical bonus schedule.

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Jones Day said Monday will an office in São Paulo, Brazil…

Cravath Swaine & Moore litigation partner Katherine B. Forrest will leave the firm to serve the U.S. Department of Justice…

Ian Ballon, a shareholder in the Silicon Valley and Los Angeles offices of Greenberg Traurig, received a 2010 IP Vanguard Award…

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Cravath Swaine & Moore

Forrest, an antitrust and intellectual property specialist, joined Cravath in 1990 and made partner in 1998. In her role at the DOJ, she will oversee the operations of the antitrust division’s criminal and civil programs, the New York Law Journal reports.

Evan R. Chesler, presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, commented on the move in a prepared statement.

“We are very excited for Katherine as she takes on this new challenge,” Chesler said. “The firm has a long tradition of commitment to public service and Katherine is joining a long line of Cravath partners who have accepted important government service roles over the years.”

He added that he hopes Forrest would eventually return to the firm when her term in public service is completed.

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AM Law Daily

Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which has a summer class size of 23 now, is expected to increase its hiring to around 75 for next summer. The story notes how Cravath “shocked the market” when it slashed its summer class size from 123 in 2009 to this year’s low number.

The number of summer associates at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom fell from 225 in 2009 to 79 this year, but that number could jump back to over 100.

While still not at the levels from before the cuts, the AM Law Daily notes that the increases are “a modest jump, but modest jumps are what pass for good news these days.”

Ropes & Gray could go over 100 summer associates after having 82 this year. Jones Day expects to increase its summer class from the 124 of this year and Proskauer Rose will hold steady.

None of this is official, however, as much of the information for the story is based largely on anonymous sources.

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Am Law is also reporting that some of the biggest dips in hiring came from those firms found on its “A” List.  This includes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which went from 223 summer associates last year to a meager 79 this year, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which saw an 81 percent cut in summer jobs.  Ballard Spahr eliminated its summer camp entirely.

Finally, both Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Latham & Watkins had the largest summer school classes, although both saw a shrinking, about 40 associates less, of those classes.

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Corporate law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore is considering adding a four-person marketing team…

The American Association for Justice named Alabama-based attorney C. Gibson Vance its new president…

McKool Smith earned its 2nd consecutive selection to National Law Journal’s Midsize Hot List…

Bracewell & Giuliani opened an office in Seattle…

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips added a new team of lawyers and advisers to its New York City government practice…

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According to Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, leading consultants to the legal industry, law firm merger activity picked up during the second quarter…

Profits per partner were up 10 Percent at Allen & Overy…

Baker Botts’ Robert W. Jordan, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, returned as partner in charge of the firm’s Middle East offices…

The Los Angeles based firm Munger Tolles & Olson placed for the third year running at the top of the American Lawyer A-List…

Francis P. Barron,  a partner from Cravath, Swaine and Moore, joined Morgan Stanley as its chief legal officer…

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At Cravath, Barron worked in the firm’s Litigation Department, with a practice focused on antitrust and securities, arbitration, regulatory, and merger and acquisition matters.  He has represented a number of financial institutions, including Solomon Smith Barney, Citigroup, UBS AG, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

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The lone blemish in the report was the firm’s revenue per lawyer, which decreased 1.5 percent to $1.192 million.

Perhaps the most encouraging news for Cravath is it managed the increases without having to cut its workforce. The number of lawyers at the firm increased to 477, an eight percent jump, and the number of equity partners went from 90 to 92, reports AM Law Daily.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore is a general practice firm. Founded in 1819, the firm is headquartered in New York City.

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Delaware Chancellor William Chandler called a disqualification a “Draconian” measure because there was no evidence that any information Cravath gleaned while representing Airgas would be used in the buyout case, Reuters reports.

“Airgas here has not demonstrated…persuasively, let alone clearly and convincingly, that it would be disadvantaged by the presence of its former counsel as advocate for its opponent, Air Products,” Chandler said in his ruling.

According to previous reports, Cravath has represented Air Products for at least 43 years. The firm also worked for Airgas from May 2001 until October 2009, but then resigned when it was made known of the pending offer.

Cravath told Reuters the decision “speaks for itself” and offered no further comment. Air Products said it intends to move forward in its proposed $5.1 billion acquisition, which Airgas has called grossly undervalued. Reuters reports the two companies would have about $13 billion in annual sales if the merger goes through.

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Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Cravath, which is representing Air Products in its $5.1 billion takeover bid, has been slapped with a conflict-of-interest suit by Air Gas because of work the firm has previously done with the company. However, Reuter is reporting Thursday that Cravath could be in the clear because its relationship with Air Products goes back at least 40 years.

As the story notes, courts “tend to frown on law firms that drop one client for a higher-paying one.” But Cravath’s long-established relationship with Air Products could alleviate the court’s concerns.

“The fact that Air Products is a long-standing client is one that weights in Cravath’s favor,” Georgetown University Law Center professor Milton Regan told Reuters. “It’s not as though they dropped Airgas to represent a new, lucrative client that just appeared on the scene.”

Cravath began working with Airgas in May 2001 and left in October 2009 when it got wind of Air Products’ pending offer. At issue now is to what was the extent of Cravath’s work for Airgas. Sources close to Air Products tells Reuters Cravath only provided minor financial work to Airgas and didn’t have access to proprietary information.

Airgas disagrees. In its lawsuit, the company claims Cravath had access to “intimate knowledge of Airgas’ operations, finances, executive personnel and their agenda, and corporate expansion and differentiation strategies.” Airgas also says Cravath provided counsel when Airgas’ president and chief operating officer left in 2005.

It is not yet known where the conflict-of-interest case will be heard. It was filed in Pennsylvania state court and transferred to federal court in Philadelphia. Air Products wants it heard in Delaware while Airgas prefers the matter be heard in Philadelphia first.

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Last June the firm announced delayed start dates for 120 incoming associates and in exchange each one received a monthly stipend of $65,000. How many associates the firm will take on this fall has not been decided. If too many associates decide to begin in the fall a lottery will be held by the firm to select associates.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore is a general practice firm with 500 attorneys in two offices. Founded in 1819, the firm is headquartered in New York City.

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Joffe spent 42 years at Cravath where he developed a special practice, advising independent directors on corporate boards. Among other notables, he advised the directors of Fannie Mae during its accounting scandal in 2004 and again during the government buyout in 2008. He recently assisted Citigroup as the bank accepted billions in government bailout funds. As a corporate lawyer, he represented Time Inc. in its mergers with Warner Brothers and again with AOL.

With the exception of a two year fellowship in Malawi where he worked on law reform projects, Joffe spent his entire career with Cravath. He passed up many other attractive offers to remain with the firm he loved, including the position of general counsel for Time Warner. Joffe was committed to pro bono work and encouraged colleagues to do the same. In 1989 he took Martin v Wilks, a pro bono civil rights case in which he represented black firefighters in Alabama to the US Supreme Court.

In a fitting display of compassion for the man who loved his firm and loved his work, Cravath’s home page is black tonight with a simple memorial for Robert Joffe.

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On the one hand, these are low. On the other hand, everyone receiving a bonus still has a job, which in today’s legal economy is a bit of a bonus in and of itself. What remains to be seen is how other big firms will react. Will this trigger a race to the bottom with other firms using Cravath’s low bonus rates as an excuse or will other firms pay out bonuses more in keeping with their own bottom line? Either way, we’ll keep you posted!

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Clifford Chance: 10 lawyers

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt: undisclosed staff

Simpson Thacher: undisclosed staff

Cravath: 25 lawyers

Paul Hastings: 25 staff

Miller Canfield: 16 lawyers, 9 staff

Total: 51 lawyers, 34 staff

Previously:

Week of June 7th: 81 lawyers, 61 staff, 85 undisclosed

Week of May 31st: 101 lawyers, 142 staff, 49 undisclosed

Week of May 24th: 66 lawyers, 119 staff

Week of May 17th: 40 lawyers, 118 staff

Week of May 10th: 274 lawyers, 499 staff

Week of May 3rd: 274 lawyers, 160 staff

Week of April 26th: 352 lawyers, 220 staff, 70 undisclosed

Week of April 19th: 61 lawyers, 184 staff

Week of April 12th: 67 lawyers, 50 staff, 115 unidentified

Week of April 5th: 144 lawyers, 310 staff

Week of March 29th: 199 lawyers, 474 staff

Week of March 22nd: 455 lawyers, 219 staff

Week of March 15th: 91 lawyers, 177 staff

Week of March 8th: 574 lawyers, 812 staff

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• The Week in Law Firm Layoffs
• The Week in Law Firm Layoffs
• The Week in Law Firm Layoffs

According to online sources, more layoffs are expected this month. Cravath has refused to comment.

Apparently this news is coming out because laid off associates are angry that Cravath will pay incoming 2009 associates $80,000 to defer to 2010.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the US, Cravath was founded in 1819.

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First: the 2009 class is being offered a voluntary deferral option. Anyone willing to defer to Fall 2010 will get an $80,000 stipend, health care, $1,000 a month in student loan repayment, and a guaranteed job when the deferral is over.

The offer requires no public interest fellowship, and there are no strings attached.

Second: the 120 members of the 2010 incoming associate class will be deferred to Fall 2011. It’s mandatory, but includes a $65,000 stipend plus the health care and the student loan repayment.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the US, Cravath was founded in 1819.

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The rankings are based on a poll of 6,300 directors and general counsel.

Here are the top 20 on the America’s Best Corporate Law Firms list, including last year’s ranking:

1. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, New York (1)
2. Jones Day, Cleveland (7)
3. Cravath Swaine & Moore, New York (2)
4. Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, New York (3)
5. Sullivan & Cromwell, New York (5)
6. Weil Gotshal & Manges, New York (9)
7. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles (13)
8. Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago (8)
9. Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles (6)
10. Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston (17)
11. Baker & McKenzie, Chicago (14)
12. O’Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles (19)
13. Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York (4)
14. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto (14)
15. Sidley Austin, Chicago/New York (-)
16. Shearman & Sterling, New York (11)
17. Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, New York (11)
18. Covington & Burling, Washington DC (16)
19. Hogan & Hartson, Washington DC (20)
20. Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, New York (-)

Corporate Board Member is a leading information resource for senior officers and directors of publicly traded corporations, large private companies, and Global 1000 firms.

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The data come from a Legal Week study tracking hiring at 33 US and UK firms’ London offices.

Orrick, Weil Gotshal, Arnold & Porter, Cleary Gottlieb, Cravath, and Skadden all brought on laterals.

On the other hand, Shearman & Sterling, Dechert and White & Case cut lawyers.

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New associates will have the choice of beginning work in October, November or January.

The start dates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If one’s date of choice is “oversubscribed,” the firm will create a new start date set for one week after one’s original start date.

Cravath brought in 161 summer associates in 2008, up from about 90 the previous year.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the US, Cravath was founded in 1819.

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Revenue grew to $760.8 million, but profits per partner dropped to $2.23 million.

The drop-off in profitability followed declines at other New York-based firms, such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Sullivan & Cromwell; and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Only a few, such as Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, have posted positive results.

Debevoise’s profits per partner dropped in part because the firm had more equity partners in 2008. The firm’s overall income actually increased 1.3% last year to $318 million. But the number of equity partners also increased.

Revenue per lawyer inched up slightly by less than 1% to $1.2 million.

The firm cut associate bonuses in December, after Cravath, Swaine & Moore set the market floor at $17,500 for a first-year associate bonus.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a prominent international law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson, the firm currently employs about 680 lawyers in eight offices throughout the world.

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Fourteen of the 100 firms did not include any women.

The survey included 100 law firms, which were chosen based on prior years’ surveys, firm size, reputation, and availability of information.

From the report:

The best: Cravath (67%), Dickstein Shapiro (67%), Wiley Rein (60%), Andrews Kurth (57%), Bryan Cave (56%), Arent Fox (50%), Baker & Daniels (50%), Hogan & Hartson (50%), Holland and Hart (50%), King & Spalding (50%), Luce Forward (50%), Simpson Thacher (50%), and Sullivan & Cromwell (50%). A special mention goes to Farella Braun, whose only new partner is female (100%).

The worst: None of the following firms made a female partner this year: Cadwalader, Cleary Gottlieb, Dechert, Foley Hoag, Kaye Scholer, Lowenstein Sandler, Milbank, Schulte Roth, Steptoe, Strook, Venable, Wachtell, White & Case, and Wilkie Farr.

PAR is an initiative of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

• 50 Best Law Firms for Women Announced
• Cravath to Give Special Spring Bonus to its Associates
• Lateral Hiring Up 100% in London
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• Reduced Hours for Associates Instead of Layoffs?

The firm announced last November that it was cutting associate bonuses.

Last year’s revenue was $532.5 million, compared to $610 million in 2007. Its costs — all expenses except partner income — actually fell last year, despite an enormous summer associate class of 160 and a large first-year class of 110.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the US, Cravath was founded in 1819.

• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Morning Roundup
• Revenue and Profits Increase at Cravath

I’m a trial lawyer. I bill by the hour. So do the associates who work for me. I have lots of clients, so I can pretty much work, and bill, as much as I want. This needs to be fixed. Yes, you read that correctly.

Clients have long hated the billable hour, and I understand why. The hours seem to pile up to fill the available space. The clients feel they have no control, that there is no correlation between cost and quality.

Chesler compares what he does to what a contractor does — except the contractor gives you an estimate, and then sticks to it. If the contractor gets the job done quickly, he makes more money — if there are problems, he makes less.

So what am I proposing? For reasonable periods of time during the life of a lawsuit, say three months at a time, I should do what [a contractor] does: identify the client’s objectives, measure, calculate, build in a contingency and come back with a price. Once the price has been agreed upon, the billable hour should be irrelevant. The client will no longer be surprised by a whopper bill and met by the standard (albeit true) explanation that “litigation is unpredictable.”

Read the whole article.

Via State Policy Blog and The Los Angeles Examiner.

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CADWALADER, WICKERSHAM & TAFT — MEMORANDUM — 2008 ASSOCIATE BONUSES

We are pleased to announce that the Firm will award year-end bonuses to associates and counsel as follows. Bonuses will be based on previously communicated criteria and are expected to be paid in January 2009. Associates who joined the Firm subsequent to January 1, 2008 and prior to October 1, 2008 will receive a pro-rated portion of the bonus.

Class of 2008: $17,500, prorated
Class of 2007: $17,500
Class of 2006: $20,000
Class of 2005: $22,500
Class of 2004: $25,000
Class of 2003: $27,500
Class of 2002: $30,000
Class of 2001 and prior: $32,500

Senior Attorneys, Special Counsel and Counsel bonus awards will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will be communicated shortly.

Thank you again for your efforts and contributions to the Firm and our clients. The Partners and I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season.

The numbers will look familiar to anyone who remembers Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s numbers announced in November.

• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Bonus Season has Begun!
• Report: Women Still Not Making Partner

Want an early look at how law firms will end 2008? Check out their associate bonus memos.

Of the 14 firms whose memos have made it onto the blogosphere, all but one in some way refer to the economy or firm finances in explaining why bonuses are down this year….

Take Debevoise & Plimpton…. The memo its associates received Dec. 9 notes deal work in 2008 has dropped, suggesting the firm is bracing for weaker results.

…

Much of the bonus attention has focused on Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, since they were the first two firms to pull the trigger on bonus announcements. … Skadden, diversified internationally, said of 2008, “the level of the firm’s business continues to be relatively strong, with our total workload, until very recently, being similar to 2007, our most successful year.”

“However, we have more attorneys to do this work, and therefore, our results aren’t as strong as they were last year,” the memo from executive partner Robert Sheehan said….

Cravath presiding partner Evan Chesler, in contrast, wrote that “the economic downturn has severely affected our clients,” who “are under strong pressure to cut costs dramatically.”

Link.

• Morning Roundup
• Debevoise Reports Revenue Up
• Skadden Follows Cravath’s Lead for Bonuses
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun