Skaddenfreude: Dickstein Shapiro, Friday Open Thread
Dickstein Shapiro can be removed from the LIST OF SHAME. Their memo appears after the jump.
And here's an open thread, in which you can discuss the latest associate compensation developments. It's a perfect space for speculating, as some of you are already doing, about whether today might be the day for some Texas law firm announcements.
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(34) Comments
So wait, Dickstein doesn't pay you $30-50k of your BASE salary until you hit 2300 hours?
That's some serious bullshit right there.
10:46 am,
Deferred compensation is Dickstein-speak for bonus in the DC and LA markets. So you get your base salary (that's a given), and then hours in excess of 2100, 2200, 2300, etc. qualify you for a bonus ("deferred compensation"). See table in memo above.
BB? V&E? FJ? Who is going to step up to the plate today?
Could Dickstein come up with a more complex set of descriptors for its associate classes?
did they raise the billable requirements for their bonus structure? I'm just amazed at how much better my "shame list" compensation is (hours v. comp + bonus) than that (or at least was yesterday before they raised salaries)
My guess is Fulbright, they want to help erase the little recruiting slip of the tongue incident.
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Riiiiiiigght. You keep on thinking that. Don't hold your breath on FJ coming to the rescue.
Duane Morris has raised to $135,000 for first-year associates in the Philadelphia office (see law.com).
V&E has the most to lose by remaining below BB. My bet is with them. Then again, I doubt they want to be leap frogged again.
C'mon Texas, let's get the ball rolling and make this a good weekend for everyone!
So the NY office isn't lockstep bonuses?
If the deferred compensation list is supposed to signify a "bonus," these guys are incredibly cheap. There is no bonus if you are under 2100 hours. Pathetic. Last year I billed 1998 hours at a top 25 firm (according to Vault) and got a $40k bonus. I would have to work an extra 302 hours to get $30k at Dickstein. Unbelievable.
If the deferred compensation list is supposed to signify a "bonus," these guys are incredibly cheap. There is no bonus if you are under 2100 hours. Pathetic. Last year I billed 1998 hours at a top 25 firm (according to Vault) and got a $40k bonus. I would have to work an extra 302 hours to get $30k at Dickstein. Unbelievable.
have any other philly firms raised? i know dechert, mlb, dla, blank rome, duane morris... any others?
Is the amount of deferred compensation on the chart what an associate gets for each level of hours incrementally or is it the cumulative amount in each box?
So any word on the street about forthcoming Texas raises? Speculation about what Big Tex firms are thinking?
last time firms raised salaries, f&j took two months after the initial set of raises to match the market. my guess is that it will happen, but not for a while. f&j has missed out on the opportunity to grab headlines by falling into lockstep with the big NY firms immediately, and it already has its summer class set for 2007. so until serious recruiting starts again, they will be in no rush to bump.
You have listed all the Philly firms that have raised.
what philly firms have raised - and to what?
Dickstein claims that its bonus structure (deferred compensation) is so low because it wants to discourage its associates from working any more than the 1950 minimum a year. Of course people who end up working that much out of no choice of their own get fucked.
Dechert/Morgan- $145,000
Duane/DLA Piper/Blank- $135,000
These are the only firms that have raised.
Yeah, Dickstein giveth with one hand and yanks it right back with the other. Contrary to their inflated egos, they are by no means a top tier firm.
Well, Dissatisfied, if you work there, I understand why Dickstein is "by no means a top firm." Using "they" and "their" to describe "it" and "its" - pathetic.
Drinker in Philadelphia also raised to 135 but it is not effective until September 07.
I heard Drinker raised for their NJ offices but not for Philly. If they raised for Philly why didn't they bother to tell anybody?
time for an update to the List of Shame
the SHAMEFUL final 11:
43. Baker & McKenzie (3)
50. Fulbright & Jaworski (36)
58. Vinson & Elkins (39)
75. Nixon Peabody (64)
77. Bryan Cave (56)
82. Reed Smith (33)
83. Dorsey & Whitney (68)
86. McGuireWoods (65)
90. Baker & Hostetler (73)
92. Mintz Levin (91)
100. Seyfarth Shaw (66)
SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME
The Real List of Shame
17. Williams & Connolly
42. Freshfields
43. Baker & McKenzie
45. Boies Schiller
50. Fulbright & Jaworski
56. Irell & Manella
58. Vinson & Elkins
71. Patton Boggs
75. Nixon Peabody
77. Bryan Cave
80. Howrey
82. Reed Smith
83. Dorsey & Whitney
87. Squire Sanders
89. Finnegan Henderson
90. Baker & Hostetler
92. Mintz Levin
93. Kilpatrick Stockton
94. Fenwick & West
96. Venable
100. Seyfarth Shaw
Venable sucks. They wont raise ... lame Baltimore firm.
Why is Squire Sanders even mentioned? they're a has-been. i hear theyre still at 125,000
a little bird told me that Reed Smith is in danger of losing at least 2 associates in the DC & Philly offices if they do not raise soon ...
ooh, two associates
In response to the question about why Drinker didn't tell anyone if they raised in Philly. My only knowledge is the Legal Intelligencer (Philly's legal paper) which noted that Drinker raised to 135, effective in Sept.
Can Anyone Confirm
http://www.infirmation.com/bboard/clubs-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0037SB