law from the inside out
The Wired GC had a hidden camera at a recent beauty contest for national litigation counsel run by a Midwest manufacturer.
In a rare twist, the law firms insisted that the client be blindfolded to ensure impartiality (click on arrow and adjust volume):
Apparently, at least one name partner was on vacation.
So they sent the summers.
One name mentioned this year in notable law firm departures was James Sprayregen of Kirkland & Ellis, who left the partnership to join the Chicago office of Goldman Sachs.
WSJ Law Blog had the initial scoop. The National Law Journal recently mentioned Mr. Sprayregen as departing for an in-house position, and the context left open an inference that it was a legal one.
But Crain’s Chicago Business reported earlier this year that Mr. Sprayregen was joing Goldman in a turnaround advisory capacity, not as a lawyer. The Chicago Sun Times further quoted Mr. Sprayregen at the time:
He went on to say that while he’ll always have great affection for the firm, the opportunity at Goldman “is a new challenge that I could not resist.”
Goldman is wildly successful in no small part because it hires and develops extremely talented people. Whether it entered into Mr. Sprayregen’s calculus or not, Goldman is also a place that allows lawyers to develop the business side of their skills. For Exhibit A on this, you need to look no further than CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Mr. Blankfein is also an attorney, who made the jump to the business side at Goldman years ago. (An Exhibit B: Vice Chairman Suzanne M. Nora Johnson is also a lawyer, and practiced with Simpson Thacher).
Maybe at the end of the day, when somebody leaves a law firm, it’s less about the firm and more about the person. Sort of like this…
Two last items from Leigh Jones’ excellent article in the National Law Journal. Both involve partners departing law firms rather than the more common trend tilted at last week involving associates.
Today, we look briefly at law firm partners departing to become GC. A number of these departures are mentioned:
Some of the more notable moves in recent months from firms to their clients include James Sprayregen from Kirkland & Ellis to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; Robert Osborne from Jenner & Block to General Motors Corp., and Kurt Wimmer from Covington & Burling to Gannett Co.
Although having top performers join clients is better than a defection to a competing firm, law firms should not overstate the advantages, said Mitchell Dolin, a partner at Covington & Burling in Washington.
After all, the firm has already won over the client before it hires the attorney to join its own ranks.
“The hiring of a general counsel is a really singular decision,” he said. “It’s more of a tribute to the individual and the skill set of the individual.”
I think Mr. Dolin has it exactly right. A partner with a major law firm leaving to become a GC may do it for a lot of reasons. The reality is that as a GC you will get closer to a client’s business consistently than you can ever get as an outside counsel. True, you may be an uber-counselor with the gravitas to be consulted on major acquisitions or a go-to trial lawyer who gets the call when bet-the-company litigation is filed.
But you aren’t in there every day, seeing the law in every way. And when it’s good, there’s nothing better.
And when it’s not, watch out. After all, as a GC you only have one client. If a problem develops, there’s no remaining “book of business” to fall back on.
We will close out this fixation with law firm departures tomorrow, with one that has been looked at, but not on 100x magnification.
We’ll say goodbye to the subject of associates departing early with a look at the beginning (here are parts one and two).
The American Lawyer will report next week that some law firm summer associates wonder what life will be like “when the party’s over.” Writer Tamara Loomis digs in to the survey results to serve up the real world view of pre-lawyers in their second season. Some firms call these lucky clerks “summers.”
A sample of why things may have changed over the years (the named quote is from Jennifer Gotch, director of recruiting at Arnall Golden Gregory in Atlanta):
There’s also a generational difference. These aspiring lawyers want to have a life, too. “They’re really looking for a balance — they’re not interested in the churn-and-burn,” Gotch says. Summers want to know about alternative work arrangements, such as part-time work and telecommuting, and the firm’s family-friendliness, including child care facilities and paternity leaves. “Work-life balance is not some faddish buzzword, but a pending crisis that will, eventually, affect your firm’s prosperity and longevity,” warned a clerk at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Does this clerk expect an offer of $150,000 per year to start? Nights and weekends off, too?
While there seems to be an admirable attempt to provide a dose of reality for summers, sometimes it was a bit too real:
At other firms, things sometimes got too authentic. “Keep summers away from the horrendous partners that are hard to work with and make people cry,” whimpered one summer at fifth-ranked Cozen O’Connor. A clerk at 156th-ranked Cadwalader grumbled about the “torture of working for an associate who is notoriously awful to work with.” Apparently, there’s reality, and there’s reality, summer-style.
Cry?
In my world, this is 100% wrong. Any firm that wants summers to make an intelligent decision should have them work with a curmudgeon or two, not just the stunt Perfect Partner called up from central casting.
The top three firms in TAL’s survey of summers satisfaction:
Congratulations to these firms. It would be interesting if TAL goes back in two years and sees how associate satisfaction correlates with the summers 2006 hit list.
The Wired GC has obtained a copy of the training manual used at one of the top-ranking firms:
And, in a stunning coup, The Wired GC also was emailed a photo from an event for summers earlier this year at a cellar-dwelling white-shoe firm in Gotham City (note: update firm policy on cellphones with cameras):
If you’re partner material and you know it clap your hands….
Day two of associates held hostage. And today we hit the hot-button issue of associate pay. Sort of.
The National Law Journal reported yesterday that many associates are leaving law firms. The NALP reports that 78% leave by the fifth year. To be clear on this, however, not all associates leave law firms to go in-house. Some go to other firms, or to government work. A handful may even become investment bankers.
And it’s not like one feels too sympathetic about newly minted (read: totally inexperienced) lawyers who make $150,000; but that’s another story.
Any way you slice it, there is a significant level of attrition at many large law firms. Are the “greener pastures” of in-house life (itself somewhat of a stereotype) mostly to blame? I don’t think so.
I think the single biggest factor in these departures is the law firm itself. I said yesterday these attrition stats are symptoms of a flawed business model. I still think that’s accurate, but not the whole story.
What they are really a warning sign of is a bad people model. And if you value people, then it’s an issue. If not, then focus on profits-per-partner or something.
To examine the “people model” issues at play, consider the main plot points of the kabuki drama that is life at some large law firms, seen from the perspective of a fictional partner on the hiring and comp committees:
— There is a war for talent. We must overpay. (It’s free advertising, too.)
— These ungrateful associates must work for their supper. (in my day…)
— Billing 2,150 plus hours per year is a good start. (Good time for clients who pay, to boot…)
— They want a work-life balance? (I’ll show ’em balance this Friday at 5 pm…)
— What’s this about Fifth year associates griping that their base is only $1,000 more than the new starting salary? (I’ll put them on the professional development committee…)
— Business is flat, we can only grow revenues by jacking up our rates and yearly targets. (I guess we can’t promote as many to partner this year…)
— Why the hell are all these associates leaving? (Don’t these clients know we need workers!)
Harshly drawn to be sure. But seen through these opera glasses, making news out of the annual rite of raising starting pay is like warming up the dance band on the Titanic. Sounds good, but you don’t want to be around for the fifth encore…
But if it makes you feel better, go ahead, blame your friendly GC (who likes buying by the year rather than the hour…). She is not just hiring your associates, by the way. She’s also looking at new service alternatives, outsourcing and technological tools.
And maybe other law firms…
