Where Does All That Associate Money Go?
May 31, 2007
Kathryn Cole, a 25-year-old who earned her J.D. last year from the University of Michigan Law School, accepted a position at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP in Silicon Valley. Her starting pay was $135,000, but before she even began working she got a $10,000 raise. Then in January, just a few months into the job, her salary went up another $15,000.
Firms Hunting for Stars Re-examine Partner Compensation
May 31, 2007
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP managing partner Mark Walker is old school when it comes to partner compensation. He sees no reason to change Cleary's seniority-based lockstep scheme, in which the spread between the highest- and lowest-paid partner is less than 3:1. It's a no-hassle system — no long meetings explaining bonus decisions and no disputes among partners over credit for bringing in business. And it is the foundation of Cleary's culture, Walker says, which emphasizes the collective over the individual. If the firm is not a magnet for hot lateral candidates who want to be paid like A-Rod, that's okay with Walker. 'My view is that if someone says I'm not going to Cleary Gottlieb because [another firm] is guaranteeing me a salary of X, then they don't belong at our firm anyway.'
Confronting Corrupt Practices: Maintaining a Moral Compass in International Business
May 31, 2007
<i>Hide a dagger in a smile. Murder with a borrowed knife. Loot a burning house.</i> If you cannot anticipate these and the other classic 'Thirty-Six Stratagems' that are widely studied and practiced in China, you may be perilously unprepared to pursue business, including legal business, in the world's largest market. And while China may be an extreme example, analogs of these deceptive and sometimes corrupt practices appear in other cultures worldwide.
Associates Need Financial Savvy: Ten Concepts Managing Partners Wish Associates Knew Better
May 31, 2007
A solid grasp of financial and accounting fundamentals can enormously enhance the value of a young attorney's work product. I often saw evidence of this in my previous legal administrator role for a 50-attorney Denver law firm. In my current CPA practice, in which I serve more than 20 law firms on an ongoing basis, I see the same pattern in working closely with attorneys on tax planning and compliance, financial reporting, fraud investigations, forensic accounting, and business appraisals.
In the Marketplace
May 31, 2007
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
Valuing the Closely Held Business
May 30, 2007
The assessment of replacement compensation should not be undertaken without careful consideration. The valuation expert must be able to demonstrate that the analysis has been conducted using the best available data, that it was properly researched for reliability, that the components of actual compensation and replacement compensation are similar in nature and that the resulting determination is not biased and does not advocate for any position.
Older Couples and Divorce
May 30, 2007
Payment of estate tax is the greatest economic loss faced by elderly couples who divorce. While married, each spouse may leave all or any portion of his or her estate to the surviving spouse, either in trust or outright, free of all estate and gift tax. This marital deduction, coupled with the applicable exclusion amount and prudent estate planning, saves a married couple a substantial amount of federal estate tax, and in some instances all estate tax, allowing more accumulated wealth to pass to their children and grandchildren.
Getting Systems in Line
May 30, 2007
As law firms realized the benefits of having a billing system specifically designed to their needs, they sought out systems that could help streamline the then-manual processes for searching conflicts and managing client files. IT personnel are most likely more familiar with the processes involved in managing time and billing system conversions. However, the same methodology cannot be applied universally from system to system. For firms about to embark on records management or conflicts management conversions, recognition of how these key firm systems define and manage data is critical to ensuring a successful transition.
