slow news day?

Lat: This posting is pure $hit.

The facetime requirement may not be "new," but it's true that some associates *did* get calls from the admin. Maybe all of Lat's contacts are too hardworking to have been on it: http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=727605&mc=52&forum_id=2#8988015

So the unreasonable rumors are false, and the reasonable one is true. omg!

I can't get in lit or corp (or RE) right now.

HORRIBLE. This blog gets worse everyday.

Foley cookies have arrived!

the facetime requirement rumor is ACCURATE! sure they can't do anything to enforce it, but we were all definitely told on an individual basis that we are expected to be in the office during those times.

has there ever been a rumor reported on autoadmit that's been true?

Two people getting calls because they overslept does not constitute a new, firm-wide policy about facetime.

ITS FRIDAY.. and that is all the gossip and pics (tired Lewinsky photo)... this blog is making my law firm experience WORSE

and re new blackberries, it's about time!!! has anyone seen the blackberries we carry around?

exactly-- autoadmit rumors are auto-false.

8310s are for suckers.

8320s are for ballers.

Poor old Bartlett. Always left on the shelf.

where's the california firms' (NY offices) bonus info? should i buy that porsche for my mistress or not? this is killing me...

if people did get calls about face time, they probably have much bigger problems than when they're getting in to work.

Ah, yes, I used to love those Foley cookies. Unfortunately they don't send them during one's clerkship. But I suppose that's a good thing, since I would eat them all in approx. 2.4 days.

This site is pointless to read in the non-recruiting season.

Well that does it. My final day at ATL for quite some time. This post is just embarrassingly inane.

Worst. Blog. Post. Ever.

Quit slacking, slackass, and write something interesting.

DUMB POST

Junk show post. Not returning for a while. Way to ruin my Friday.

I would rather read a compilation of the week's best FRAT STUD lines.

Guys at my high school used to get reimbursed for their own data plan all the time. It was no big deal.

just when you thought there couldn't be a new low, Lat comes up with more boring, non-news.

Wow. SBT lawyers are getting a blackberry upgrade. How fascinating. My god.

Gallion OUT!

wow, this is really bad. embarassing.

STB is a third rate firm man, do a post for firms that actually matter and are prestigious...

i don't see why no one cares about this. i though rumor #1 was a big deal and i checked atl specifically to hear more about it.

also, regarding blackberries, anyone at a firm still have those crappy blue ones from 6 years ago?

Whooptee shit. Kaye Scholer allows associates to get reimbursed for whatever mobile device they want.

"Junk show post. Not returning for a while. Way to ruin my Friday."

Well aren't we a delicate little flower!

Wouldn't have glorified the shithole that is xoxohth by even posting on ATL about the STB facetime hoax. And nobody cares about what Blackberries STB associates get.

STB Admin is in the process of calling the junior associates, not one or two.

Check back with your sources in a week, #1 is absolutely correct.

Too bad they are too scared to send an email memo.

Why glorify xoxohth by repeating rumors?

I'm starting to think ATL is on its way down.

Come on, this was hilarious!

"Some of the associates who were moved had very little background in corporate law (e.g., they had not even taken Corporations / Business Organizations in law school)."

As if biz org or any other class you take in law school has fuck-all to do with what a corporate 1st year does. And, oh, the horror of being thrown in that practice area without a proper academic background!

9:30 to 6:00 are banker hours

Read ATL or don't read ATL. Your choice.

No need to announce your intentions in the comments. As if anyone else gives a s**t.

I would complain that you should have had a STB thread before Dec. 1, when I turned down their offer, but is non-news. In fact I don' even know why I am posting...

how come nothing about laying off first year corporate associates? heard second hand that simpson is giving the axe to freshly minted associates.

Actually, #1 and #2 are true. I know a number of people at the firm. Simpson called all associates by phone to tell them about the face time requirements instead of putting it in writing. Simpson associates are afraid to post to confirm!

3:39 - While not necessary, I'd recommend that incoming corporate associates have taken Corporations, Securities Regulation, and Tax. Also, some exposure to accounting is helpful.

This is why many of the best corp associates did banking, consulting, or something else quantitative before law school.

Not many pure humanities people turn out to be great corporate lawyers.

We've been hearing all sorts of rumors lately about Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Some are true, some are false, and some are in between.

MoFo gives us Blackberry Pearls!

There is no way STB is laying off anyone. That is one of their bedrock principles and they have so much money/work from Blackstone and especially KKR (even with the market) it is laughable to even suggest as much

just wait til reviews...amazing how all of those kids were such poor performers...

It's hilarious to see so many people posting about how ATL sucks and that they're not coming back.

First, the post may suck, but you suck even more by obliviously wasting your time through commenting that a blog post is a waste of time.

Second, go ahead and leave ATL. No one gives a crap. No one will miss you. In fact, I'm sure ATL's readership is growing all the time so that for everyone who leaves, two new people join.

Third, who are you kidding? You'll be back.

Why are you all bashing Lat for this post? There must be bunch of bitter law students here who didn't get an offer from Simpson. No need to lash out at Lat because you suck.

I like the trackwheel on my blackberry... although I have the 8700 and not the ghetto ass blue one from 6 years ago...

Foley cookies have arrived!

unless you are at one of 3 or 4 firms (you know who you are), you can't say shit about Simpson without just sounding bitter

The facetime requirement is absolutely true and was conveyed by phone to all associates up to at least 3rd year status. Simpson is the only firm that I have ever heard of that has receptionists on every other floor whose duty is to log attorneys in and out.

This is completely true. All associates were told this policy during the staffing call. You ask any corporate associate within 3 years whether they were reminded of this policy and they will tell you...YES.

9:14 - Then email Lat and confirm it: tips at abovethelaw dot com.

Done. Note Lat's "Update / Correction."

face time requirement is 100% true. certain partners and other staff stalk associates 24-7 with the facebook (i.e., face-time book). it's absurd.

9:30 to 6 are bankers hours - but we're not bankers. we're professionals that are required to stay until 3 a.m. some nights so we can leave at 3 p.m. on days we're not busy. if they paid me to work 9:30 to 6 on an absolute schedule, i'd show up at 9 and leave at 6:30 without one complaint. but that's just not it.

as for working from home - nonsense. they want you to come in even on weekends despite the fact that there is no reason (with a remote connection) for you to be there. it just makes them feel better, i guess. go figure. sometimes even senior associates and partners get lonely.

http://www.stblaw.com/div_w_flexibleworking.htm

"The Firm values attorneys for their talent and the results they obtain for our clients, and does not promote a culture of "busy work" or "face time" for any of its professionals."

STB and Mr. Cross, please update your website.

TYIA, XOXO

The trolling here is truly pathetic.

I was at STB this summer, and it was rare to see an assoicate before 10.

Are you saying that their website has not been updated?

http://www.stblaw.com/div_w_flexibleworking dot htm

"The Firm values attorneys for their talent and the results they obtain for our clients, and does not promote a culture of "busy work" or "face time" for any of its professionals."

"working from home is permitted only for associates who have specifically arranged a flex time or work-from-home schedule; and"

Wow, that's bullshit. Maybe STB stands for Strict Tyrannical & Babying.

8:57 - Maybe that's why they've started making these calls to people.

This is still inaccurate. The face time requirement has not been announced in the past (at least to classes in the last three years). The employee handbook only says that lawyers should be available during regular business hours and if they won't be in the office, they should inform their secretary (not unreasonable). What was announced this week is a completely new policy.

Additionally, a colleague of mine pointed out that paralegals now have better job conditions than junior associates. Paralegals work from 9:30am until 5:30pm (unless in the middle of a deal when the start time is a little more flexible). Paralegals also are given a comp day if they work over 17 hours in a 24 hour day. ST&B now has a bizarre situation where assuming a paralegal and an associate both work until 3:00am on a deal (and there is no need for either of them to be in at 9:30am the next day), the paralegal can sleep in, but the associate is required to be at their desk at 9:30am.

ST&B is actually a great place to work - it's really too bad that they've done this as it is definitely going to affect recruiting.

...and milk & cookies are served for the associates at 3:30pm, right? So they have to be sure to be there.

Good grief, yet another reason to be glad I'm not stuck in the factory of BigLaw... useless face time requirements have nothing to do with skill or productivity... what a joke.

Wow, you're actually required to show up at work? In a services industry? This is shocking and amazing. What next, requirement work product?!?! How terrible!!!

Junior associates should be permitted to sleep the day away in bed while collecting $160k a year. Anything else is just an abuse.

2:10pm - totally missing the point. We're required to show up to work, at our client's request, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When we get to turn our blackberries on at 9:30am and off at 6:00pm, then feel free to complain about our work ethic. Otherwise, I'm not sure why I need to be in (if not needed) at 9:30am if I've been up until 2:00am the night before.

If you're up to 2am, and don't anticipate being needed in the morning, send your partner an email telling him you're sleeping in and will have your phone on if he needs you. If he complains, tell him to politely fuck off and do the work himself if he doesn't like it.

The main problem with associates is an inability to either generally conduct themselves as professionals, or to push back when appropriate.

How is 9:30 to 6 a facetime requirement? They want you to be there during the business day. Um. That is hardly unreasonable, and, frankly, associates should be at work during those hours even without a formal requirement.

That said, I am assuming they are not talking about extraordinary circumustances, and aren't getting bent out of shape when someone occasionally shows up at 10 after having left at 3am the night before. If my assumption is wrong, then this policy seems more than a little petty.

This is a pretty sad attempt by ATL to make news literally out of thin air. Big law has a bad enough reputation without making up bullshit, and then trying to justify it by finding a scintilla of truth from 10 months ago that applies to a headline story. Frankly, the ATL should issue a formal apology for misrepresenting what has and hasn't happened, and fabricating this story.

In the wake of 911 Simpson Thacher Bartlett was there and now where are they...This company has been passed down to their descendants and you have assholes like Steve Metro, supposed managing clerk and Dwayne Dela, lobby desk, and receptionist who talk about the history of the company from 1800's and have no clue or knowledge of what happened in between or do they...they are telling people that the descendants are dead, yes some did die in 911 but there were others who handled this legal matter and I want to know where they are? I already ask Steve and Dwayne...do you know?????