Skadden takes your Blackberry service costs out of your tech allowance? Don't most firms just pay for that straight up?

(But I guess not every firm has a tech allowance, so the Skaddenites can't complain that much.)

Weil Gotshal tech stipend = $2K for first two years.

Ooh - good point on the different perks offered by various firms. Four straight years of post-grad education (took a few academic twists and turns before settling on law school) and family issues left my credit in disarray, and a firm guaranteeing a home loan would almost be grounds for moving.

Lat et al.: Could you include meal/car policies, as well? Not sure if those are fringe benefits, but my firm is super-cheap about that stuff and I'd love to know what other firms do. It's hard to argue against a policy without any comparative information.

From the Ropes & Gray webpage, http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/join/benefits.htm

"[benefits include] firm subsidy for purchase of a home computer and reimbursement of internet connections; the firm also makes laptops available to all associates who request them"

From the Ropes & Gray webpage, http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/join/benefits.htm

"[benefits include] firm subsidy for purchase of a home computer and reimbursement of internet connections; the firm also makes laptops available to all associates who request them"

1:03: I'm pretty sure that Wachtell gives you a Blackberry and pays for the monthly service.

I think they also give you a laptop and a cell phone (and pay for the monthly service too).

Cravath gives associates crappy old BlackBerries without CDMA. It pays for data, but doesn't allow the voice features to be activated, so associates must carry around their own cell phone and huge, old, and slow BlackBerry.

Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan provides all associates with free blackberries and service. We also get 250k of life insurance.

Wilson Sonsini provides three options of new model handheld devices (new blackberry, treo, and something that looks like a cingular sidekick), and then pays for monthly cell phone and data services. Associates can update the model of their handheld after a few years.

1:24 - But isn't the Blackberry not that great as a phone anyway? That's what people tell me.

(I no longer work for a firm but am probably going to buy either a Treo or a Blackberry for myself. I would like to avoid having a separate wireless email device and phone. People say the Treo phone is better than the Blackberry phone.)

My firm provides me with an in-office computer and a phone at no cost! Didn't even have to ask. I also put in a request for a Swingline stapler which they are processing. Beat that.

Also, I have unhindered access to a supply closet, so paperclips, binderclips, rubberbands, and no.2 pencils are on me.

1:40 the Treo phone is terrible. The BBerry phone is not much better, but it is better than the Treo.

2:03 - KBR also gives us unlimited coffee, sodas, water and popcorn. Oh, and on Friday's there are free begals.

Not bad, 2:03. Skadden Seoul gives us coffee, soda and water also. And here on Fridays, we have free beagles. That's right, where my dawgs at??

2:06--

Treo phone is much better than the BBerry phone. Neither are great but Treo wins on all accounts.

1:24/2:03: I'm glad to hear that you enjoy the perks at your firm, but most readers - myself included - really don't care about the inner workings of a midsized insurance defense shop.

2:08 -- well that's nice, but we also have on-site his and hers bathrooms (which are cleaned daily) complete with flushing toilets and complimentary soap. Also, I'm currently working in air conditioned comfort. Ah the life of Riley.

2:23 -- you are quite mistaken. I work for Uncle Sam.

what the hell can you spend $3k on for work? doesn't skadden already provide a laptop to every associate? i really don't understand what you could possibly spend the rest of that money on--is it supposed to cover services too (like wireless internet at home, voice/data on cell)? Even then, I don't see how you get to 3k unless you're billing them for a TV or something.

2:23 - Given that you're now done with your 1L year, you're expected to know that "myself" is a reflexive, not a subjective or objective, pronoun.

You're completely mistaken, 2:43. "Myself included" is a perfectly acceptably idiomatic expression.

Perfectly acceptable, that is.

I'm doing a very good job bolstering my case.

That's two typos in a row. I'll just shut up now.

2:43 - It's acceptable to people who don't understand grammar (i.e., 90% of the U.S. population). These are the same people who think it makes sense to say, "I could care less about grammar."

P.S. Either someone is mistaken or she's not. So, there's no reason to say "completely mistaken." And what does "perfectly acceptable" mean? Either something is acceptable or it isn't. Adding these words for perceived emphasis just makes you look dumb.

Sheppard Mullion pays for a sub-par laptop and my Blackberry plus usage fees.

Sheppard Mullin, typo, sorry.

In this list of 2,336 idioms, "myself included" is NOT included:
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

2:03 - Though you were obviously joking, you should know that rubber bands and binder clips are not available in the supply closet in my BigLaw shop.

That's why they're on me! Happy to help.

ropes & gray gives a "firm subsidy for purchase of a home computer and reimbursement of internet connections; the firm also makes laptops available to all associates who request them"

http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/join/benefits.htm

http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/join/benefits.htm

http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/join/benefits.htm

3:13 - thanks for the link. I think what he/she meant to say is that "myself included' is a "perfectly acceptabl[e]" colloquial expression (to ignorant English speakers).

I hope that we can all agree how much more annoying (than "myself included")it is when people say: 1) "Other than myself, there were four morons present"; and 2) "an agreement was made between myself and the idiot next door."

This whole discussion on the use of "myself" and idioms is annoying. Who cares? Let's get back to the topic at hand.

My understanding is that at Morrison & Foerster, you get a blackberry (although it may be a used one, handed down from a partner who upgraded to the newest version) and blackberry email and phone service, which the firm pays for. If you don't use the blackberry as your cell phone, you get ~$25 towards your cell phone bill.

You're assigned a desktop computer, but you can put a request in for a laptop and docking station to replace your desktop.

If you leave, you have to return the blackberry/laptop, etc. (Do you get to keep the equipment you buy with your stipend at Skadden/Weil?)

2:38- Skadden gives a $3k tech allowance, but it forces associates to purchase blackberries and service. To apply the allowance to the service, you have to purchase it all within your six months at the firm- so after you buy 2 years of service and your blackberry, you are back down near $2k, which many firms offer. They don't give you a laptop, so that is what most people use it for.

FYI, Skadden also forces associates to take payroll deductions if they want decent health and dental insurance. Does anyone else have that?

any firms use macs? ...

Cahill has a 2k tech stipend for anything that could help you with your job. Also, give you a blackberry and pay for data service not cell phone service.

Anything you purchase with your tech stipend is yours and can take with you when you leave the firm.

any firms use macs? ... or even "allow" associates to use macs, even if they're not officially supported?

do summer associates get a tech budget at skadden?

"FYI, Skadden also forces associates to take payroll deductions if they want decent health and dental insurance. Does anyone else have that?"

I think it is very unusual for a firm to cover the entire cost of health and dental premiums, although firms usually pick up several thousand dollars of the cost of health and dental costs per year for each associate. No offense, but I am kind of amused at the things that lawyers expect to get for free when they are making $160k+/year (and I am a Biglaw associate).

Re the people who asked about blackberries vs. treos, law firms seem to be extremely attached to the blackberry, whereas treos seem to be more popular among non-lawyers. I don't use my blackberry as a phone, but it seems like it would be less awkward to talk on a treo phone than the older square blackberries. However, some firms have started rolling out the cooler Blackberry 8800s that are more user friendly. Or you could get a nifty headset.

anybody know what Baker & McKenzie provides tech wise? They say a technology package "laptop, etc..." on the website, but what the hell does the etc. include?

Lat should do a list of firm perks.

Thompson Hine pays for your treo or blackberry (voice, data, and device). New associates get a laptop. For health premiums, we have payroll deductions. We get a dinner budget ($30) and car service if we are working after 7.

I'm more interested to know if any firms do 401(k) matching. Depending on the firm's policy, the value of a 401(k) match may be just as valuable as another round of pay raises.

Kirkland & Ellis pays for Blackberries and service, provides a laptop which would be returned at the end of employment, though the blackberry is yours to keep.

There is

The health insurance is outrageously expensive, though insurance for staff is wonderfully affordable. It's one thing for partners to be subsidizing the staff's medical care, but I don't think junior associates should have to.

How much are people paying for health insurance at their various shops? Of course I'm sure it varies, but I'm starting at a D.C. firm this fall and am curious as to what to expect.

CWT gives blackberries and pays for data. The bberries are actually pretty nice, but you have to return them if you leave and they make you pay a LOT to replace yours if you lose it. They used to give all new associates laptops which would be yours to keep after 2 years, but last year they changed the policy and now we have one laptop, which also functions as our desktop, that we are supposed to carry back and forth with us. Everyone I know just bought their own laptops. I got an ibook, even though rumor has it we will never support any apple product. Whatever.

Akin Gump gives you obsolete blackberries/service and lets you choose between using a desktop or laptop in your office. No technology stipend. Pretty stingy.

7:44 - I was recently deciding between two offers and the amount I was expected to contribute for health insurance was a factor in the decision. One firm (Amlaw top 15) expected me to contribute about $850 per month for a family plan while the other firm (Top IP only firm) expected me to contribute about $250 a month. Also - the relocation packages differed significantly. One firm covered $3000 of my cross-counrty relocation while the other firm would cover up to $15,000 in expenses.

I know these minor details appear insignificant at first blush, but $7,200 a year adds up quickly. The ultimate factor in my decision was the work I would be able to do (straight litigation vs. litigation and prosecution) at the IP only shop, but the difference in the insurance / relocation compensation only bolstered my decision.

If you want a laptop at Skadden, you have to pay for it out of your tech allowance? That is lame - I can understand that they want to encourage people to be in the office, but there are plenty of times when you really have to work on the road. Does the laptop you buy get all the firm software and support?

Frankly, I would not want some tech allowance that cuts into what I would otherwise be getting paid for by the firm, like laptop, blackberry and blackberry service. I assumed that Skadden people were buying cool big LCD monitors or printers for home, and not having to buy their laptops with it.

Another way that the Skadden myth pales in comparison to reality, I guess.

Sidley benefits lawyer here.

At all Sidley offices you get a Blackberry and get the service paid for, but you get nothing for any cell phone or bills.

Insurance and the related stuff is far more expensive and important than all the tech stuff. I didn't realize until I compared with friends from law school how much some associates pay for good health and dental insurance and disability insurance. Our ST and LT disability is totally free (even the imputed taxes for the LT disability that gets paid for are added back into our pay) and I pay about $120/month for dental, health and vision. I know associates at other firms paying twice that and paying another $2k/year for REQUIRED disability insurance.

A lot of firms tend to make associates pay a much higher percentage of their dependents' health care than the associate has to pay of their own health care. As a single person without dependents, I am fine with that. I also get to see lots of insurance plans (from other businesses) and 9 times out of 10 the single people are seriously subsidizing the big families.

5:46, I'm curious to hear what other associates have to say, but 401(k) matching is rare for associates, for tax reasons that most people other than the Sidley benefits lawyer probably don't want to hear about. To make a long story short, firms could provide matching contributions to associates, but it would cost them a lot more money than the contribution amount to prevent their benefits package from being considered discriminatory against lower compensated employees (i.e., staff). I'm guessing that, similar to the recent bidding wars, if more firms offered matching, other firms would be forced to offer matching as well to compete.

401(k) matching itself isn't rare ... just that matching above, say $1000 a year is, for the exact reasons you mentioned (non-discrimination testing). The match is actually used to incentivize the staff to partcipate so the lawyers (associates) can ... since we're all highly compensated persons for discrimination testing anyway ...

401(k) matching shouldn't ever become a point of serious contention in terms of comp ...

401(k) matching for lawyers at large law firms is very rare. 10:52 is wrong.

Mendes & mount does some very minor matching, although there is a 5 yr vesting schedule - so really no match at all.

WTF is Mendes and Mount? You just made 12:46's point.

Dewey NY: no tech stipend. Blackberries (recent upgrade) and choice of desktop or laptop/docking station.

STB give no tech allowance. You get an outdated bbery or you can buy your own and they will give you 45 a month towards the data service. But that's it, no laptops etc...

Skadden tech allowance does NOT cover any cell phone (you have to designate which specific calls were for which client to get any reimbursement) nor does it cover home internet. Starting in year 3 you get $1000 per year. The $3K is great, but when you factor in Blackberry and service the $1K does not go far at all. As for laptops, you CAN borrow a laptop from IT for each trip you take, I think. But I was happier to buy my own - I got a really light one that they don't have.

There is a 401(k) contribution (not match) for Counsel. I think it comes out to about $9K per year.

We get cars home after 8 PM and when ordering dinner I think the test is just "reasonable." I sometimes spend $35 and get no complaints.

S&C: no tech allowance; new BB 8300 upon joining with update after 1 or 2 yrs, with all service except cell run by the firm; several models of Dell laptop from which to chose upon joining. One partner uses a new mac laptop and it works fine on the network.