Category: News Feeds

I know it’s only May 6th, but what with the COVID-19 global pandemic portending the end times (seriously, there are murder hornets now), February 13th seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only a few months ago. Back then, one of the big stories on Above the Law was the tale of Dennis Duffy, the butt-shaking Biglaw partner.

For those of you who don’t remember (and honestly, I wrote the story about him and I barely recalled the details), Duffy was a partner in the Houston office of BakerHostetler and represented Chevron in an employment discrimination case. The plaintiff’s attorney in the case was Alfonso Kennard Jr. of Kennard Law PC. Kennard filed a motion for sanctions and disqualification for Duffy’s “intolerable conduct” during a mediation which allegedly included Duffy “shaking his behind” in front of Kennard. Additionally, the filing alleged Duffy mocked Kennard’s ponytail and intimated that because of the hairstyle, Kennard would want to have sex with Duffy.

Now U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal has ruled on the motion for sanctions, and erm, she isn’t happy about it, opening her decision with, “One of the sentences a judge does not imagine—much less welcome—writing includes the words ‘butt shaking’ in describing a lawyer’s alleged actions at a mediation. Sadly, those words fit here.”

But ultimately Judge Rosenthal decided not to levy sanctions on Duffy. She noted that there was significant disagreement over what actually happened at the infamous mediation and said, “While Duffy’s behavior was clearly outside professional bounds, neither counsel was a role model of professional conduct.” She went on:

“No further or formal sanction is necessary at this point. Duffy has had to withdraw. Before he did so, he received national press coverage when the sanctions motion ‘went viral.’ Duffy’s professional reputation, and the closely related ability to attract new business, will no doubt suffer, and they should.”

And on the subject of Duffy’s professional consequences, he is no longer employed at BakerHostetler. As of last month, he works at Kane Russell Coleman Logan in Houston.

You can read the judge’s full order below.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Almost everyone knows that it costs an arm and a leg to go to law school. In fact, the average law school graduate leaves law school with up to six figures in debt. Some law schools, though, are interested in keeping their graduates out of the poorhouse. To that end, a few law schools have been handing out grants to students that often cover more than half of their tuition costs. But which law schools are the most helpful when it comes to assisting students with their tuition payments?

U.S. News obviously has a ranking for that, but like almost everything associated with their law school rankings, the data is off by a year. That said, feast your eyes upon the top 10 schools that offer the most tuition help. All data discussed here is for the 2018-2019 academic year. Things may have changed for the 2019-2020 academic year.

1. Penn State – Dickinson: Tuition: $50,582 in-state and out-of-state / Median grant: $49,896 / 93.2 percent of grant recipients received grants that covered more than half of their tuition

2. Penn State – University Park: Tuition: $50,984 in-state and out-of-state / Median grant: $49,896 / 90 percent of grant recipients received grants that covered more than half of their tuition

3. Belmont: Tuition: $44,470 / Median grant: $32,572 / 88.2 percent of grant recipients received grants that covered more than half of their tuition

4. UNLV: Tuition: $27,023 in-state, $38,923 out-of-state / Median grant: $30,000 / 85.6 percent of grant recipients received grants that covered more than half of their tuition

5. George Mason: Tuition: $25,354 in-state, $40,740 out-of-state / Median grant: $25,900 / 84.7 percent of grant recipients received grants that covered more than half of their tuition

Click here to see the rest of the rankings.

As we frequently mention, financial futures are on the line when law school attendance is in play. Information like this is readily available online, so please do your research before making a decision as to which law school you’ll choose.

10 Law Schools That Offer the Most Tuition Help [U.S. News]

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

No one wants to get a robocall, but there’s someone on the Supreme Court who may hate them even more. During oral argument on Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, the case considering whether the carve-out allowing government debt collection robocalls renders the whole Telephone Consumer Protection Act robocall ban unconstitutional, Latham’s Roman Martinez, counsel for AAPC, was minding his own business and outlining his case when someone forgot they had a hot mic:

Welcome to the Wednesday Oral Argument Morning Zoo! Let’s hope this ushers in a new era of judicial sound effect boards to give the audience a real show now that these arguments are going out live. Unfortunately, what this is really going to do is allow the Court to say, “this is why we can’t have transparency” and snuff out these public trust-building measures in the crib. Or, maybe that’s the wrong imagery — more like disposing of a goldfish.

It’s not clear who decided to flush Martinez’s argument but one assumes it has to be one of the justices or opposing counsel and it’s hard to believe even this Justice Department is taking a leak in the middle of an argument.

My money’s on Clarence Thomas. He spoke during arguments just the other day meaning he’s not due to have to pay attention for a solid five more years.

In any event, when history looks back, there may not be a more fitting historical record of the Roberts Court than this clip.

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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

There are a lot of different austerity measures a Biglaw firm can undertake to maximize their cash flow during this economically uncertain time. And it seems like in dribs and drabs, Nixon Peabody has hit just about all of them.

As we’ve previously reported, the firm laid off/furloughed approximately 10 percent of non-partner attorneys and did massive staff layoffs. Then they left law school students in their summer associate program “shit out of luck” when they canceled the SA program without guaranteeing those students future employment offers. Now we understand that attorney salaries are on the chopping block.

Multiple tipsters at Nixon Peabody report that, effective May 20th, associate salaries will be cut by 10 percent. Counsel at the firm will also see similar cuts. And the new class of incoming associates, originally slated to begin work at the firm in the fall, will have their start date pushed back until February 2021 (those folks are eligible to receive a $10,000 advance on their salary).

The firm provided the following comment on the latest cuts:

We have deferred our 2020 fall class until we can better anticipate future client needs. Our deferred fall associates will receive a $10,000 salary advance.

Our firm entered 2020 in a strong financial position. By making some difficult decisions and taking action, we plan to come out of this pandemic just as strong. Every day, our attorneys are supporting individuals, businesses and communities, helping them navigate the many issues they are facing in these challenging times.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

In this current environment, it is more important than ever to manage costs.  Spend management is evolving, and there are new technologies and services that can drastically improve the outcomes from your spend management program.

Join us on May 7th at 1pm ET for a webinar to hear about these solutions,  and how Chubb and Dell improved their operations with a Total Spend Management approach.

Panelists:
Michelle Gallagher, Senior Advisor, Legal Operations – Dell
Jonathan Weber, Vice President, Claim Optimization – Chubb

Moderator:
Jeffrey Solomon, Senior Director, Product Management – ELM Solutions

Sign up using the form below:

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected pretty much every aspect of daily life for most Americans. Indeed, walks outside, trips to the post office, and other routine tasks are dramatically different today than they were just a few months ago. As this website has detailed at length, the ongoing pandemic has also impacted many law firms, and numerous shops are adopting work-from-home programs and using virtual means to conduct work for clients. COVID-19 has also impacted the attorney-client relationship and how law firms develop business with new and existing clients.

Of course, under normal circumstances, business development with prospective clients usually occurs during face-to-face meetings. Some institutional clients typically prefer attorneys to conduct a formal pitch for a portfolio of work, and this usually involves traveling to a client’s office and giving a presentation on a law firm’s offerings. Other clients prefer to discuss prospective business in a more casual setting. Normally, attorneys and prospective clients may meet up for coffee, dinner, baseball games, or other events. This allows attorneys and clients to talk shop without the pressure of a more formal business setting.

However, face-to-face meetings between prospective clients and attorneys are extremely difficult right now. Many people are justifiably concerned about being exposed to COVID-19, and are trying to interact with as few people as possible. In addition, restaurants, coffee shops, and other venues where attorneys and prospective clients often meet to talk business have been closed in many parts of the country due to the ongoing pandemic.

As a result, attorneys must connect with prospective clients through virtual means more often in the “new normal.” Many lawyers have been using Zoom and other apps that they are using to collaborate with each other to facilitate talks with prospective clients. Although such conversations lack the personal feel that may distinguish an attorney in front of a prospective client, these virtual interactions are increasingly becoming the norm.

In addition, more clients than ever are retaining lawyers without having met the attorney in person. Indeed, clients are increasingly relying on online resources to find an attorney with which they would like to work without following up this research with in-person contact. As a result, attorneys should try to improve their virtual presence, since online resources are more important than ever to originating new business.

Many attorneys are already engaging their clients online in ways that they probably would have never considered just a few months ago. For instance, an increased number of law firms are establishing law firm blogs and posting content to their websites. Blogs are a great way to improve a firm’s search engine traffic, which can lead to additional leads for a law firm. In addition, blog articles can be shared on social media, which can increase a firm’s presence in front of new and existing clients. In addition, blog articles can also form the basis for “client alerts” that can be sent to individual clients who may have specific needs. Blogging can often be a somewhat technical process, and it is impressive how many law firms have embraced this virtual presence in the “new normal.”

The ongoing pandemic has also impacted how law firms develop business from their existing clients. Many attorneys have regular in-person meetings with key clients to discuss ongoing matters and any new legal work that might need attention. At such meetings, attorneys and clients can go over legal papers that have been served, talk about documents in person, and solve issues facing clients face-to-face. Such meetings also help show that an attorney is committed to serving their clients and can help strengthen bonds between clients and attorneys.

However, it has been very difficult to meet with clients at regular intervals in the current environment. Although many such meetings take place at a client’s office, most people are working from home right now, so face-to-face meetings are largely out of the question. Attorneys have had to adapt and conduct such regular meetings via Zoom, Skype, or other means. Such meetings may lack the personal touch of face-to-face interactions, but they still permit clients and attorneys to maintain contact given the ongoing pandemic.

Many small and large law firms have also been embracing pro bono work in ways not seen since the Great Recession. It makes sense that firms would want to keep busy with legal matters when work may have dried up due to COVID-19, and it is great that clients who cannot afford legal services are getting help from some leading law firms. Of course, firms have altruistic motivations for completing pro bono work, but such work can also help firms develop new business. Indeed, pro bono work can help firms increase their profile and build connections with individuals and companies who may be paying clients in the future. This is a great “win-win” situation that represents the best the legal industry has to offer, and hopefully, such pro bono offerings will continue for as long as the ongoing pandemic affects individuals and businesses.

Every industry has had to adapt in order to contend with COVID-19, and the legal industry is changing its methods as well. Law firms are implementing different practices to develop business from new and existing clients that allow attorneys and clients to connect while social distancing guidelines remain in place.

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

As we noted earlier today, not even the Biglaw firms with the most impressive financial performance are immune from the economic ravages of COVID-19. We’ve learned that Mayer Brown — a firm that came in 17th place in the latest Am Law 100 rankings, with $1,484,000 in gross revenue in 2019 — will be implementing extensive austerity measures firmwide.

We’ve been told that not only have partners been taking reduced monthly draws, but they’ve also suspended their distributions for the first half of the year. Today, Mayer Brown announced that effective May 18, salaries for all non-equity lawyers and staff (who make more than $200,000) will be reduced by 15 percent, and this will most likely last until the end of 2020. All other staff will have their salaries reduced on a graduated scale, with no reduction for those making less than $30,000. The firm has also created a voluntary leave program, where those who take advantage of it will receive 25 percent of salary and benefits for up to 12 weeks leave, plus 10 percent more if they complete a certain number of pro bono hours. Last, but not least, the firm will be postponing the start date for their incoming first-year associates to January 2021.

Here’s a statement we received from a Mayer Brown spokesperson on the firm’s plans:

Mayer Brown is in a very strong financial position, with excellent capitalization and record financial performance in recent years, including the first quarter of 2020. We have always managed the firm conservatively, and the extent of the pandemic’s impact on our clients, and therefore on our business, remains impossible to predict. Accordingly, we have adopted a series of cost-saving and cash-management measures that will enable us to prepare for the remainder of 2020. In designing and adopting these measures, job preservation and providing seamless service to our clients are our top priorities.

In March, our equity partners agreed to a 20 percent reduction in monthly draws and the suspension of their distributions for the first half of 2020. Today, the firm announced a 15 percent reduction in salaries for our other lawyers, as well as business services staff who earn more than $200,000. Salaries for business services staff who earn less will be reduced according to a graduated scale. Because these reductions are for just over seven months of the year at most, the 15 percent cuts calculate to an annualized reduction of just under ten percent.

In order to protect the health and safety of our people, as well as uncertainty in the cities in which we operate, we are postponing the arrival of our fall associate class in the US to January 2021. We will provide a $5,000 monthly payment to our new colleagues for three months, starting in October 2020, and we are paying now our usual summer stipend of $10,000. In addition, we will cover the cost of premiums for medical and related insurance programs during the postponement period.

Finally, in acknowledgement of these challenging times, we are also offering more flexibility to our lawyers and staff with a program that will enable individuals to request up to 12 weeks of voluntary leave / sabbatical. Program participants will be paid 25 percent of their salary during this leave period, rising to 35 percent for those who handle pro bono matters during their leave.

We are grateful for the collective contributions of our great lawyers and business services staff, which will ensure we navigate this period and emerge from this crisis an even stronger global law firm.

On the bright side, Mayer Brown has established a firm-funded Mayer Brown COVID-19 Relief Fund to help employees who have suffered “undue economic hardship” as the result of the pandemic. Plus, sources say the firm is strongly committed to rewarding high billables during these tough times through 2021 bonuses.

(Flip to the next page to read Mayer Brown’s memo on salary cuts.)

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

What’s the newest depressing news about COVID-19? Just kidding! It’s time for a little mental break from coronavirus news to focus on more important things … like celebrity gossip and assisted reproductive technology law.

Congratulations, Anderson Cooper!

First, congratulations to world-renowned reporter Anderson Cooper on becoming a father to surrogate-born baby boy, Wyatt Morgan Cooper. In a sweet and moving announcement, Cooper shared with the world how as a child who knew he was gay from a young age, he thought he may never get to experience being a father. Thanks to advancing assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy, the impossible is now possible. Cooper also generously shared that he is “eternally grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, watched over him lovingly, tenderly, and gave birth to him.”

Finally some happy news these days! If you want to hear more about this story and my interview with WNYC, check out this link.

The Ex As A Donor.

Turning to other celebrity assisted reproduction news, Khloe Kardashian (the tall one; not the one married to Kanye or the one who used to be with Scott Disick) recently publicly shared her efforts to preserve her future fertility options.

Kardashian has one daughter, True, with ex-Tristan Thompson. She was going through an ova (egg) retrieval procedure, and considering whether she wanted to freeze just her eggs alone or combine them with sperm to be preserved as embryos. While egg freezing technology has improved in recent years, frozen embryos still have higher pregnancy success rates.

In considering the embryo option and who would provide the sperm, Kardashian spoke with her family about her potential choice for a sperm donor to form such embryos. The donor she had in mind, to their surprise, was her ex and the father of her daughter, Tristan Thompson!

Legally speaking, is having an ex as a sperm donor a good idea?

I spoke with California assisted reproductive technology attorney and sperm legal expert, Amira Hasenbush, about the potential legal risks. Hasenbush explained that under California law, even if a sperm donor and the donation recipient did everything right before the birth — including signing a contract – a sperm donor can still be found to be a legal parent to a child if he later cares for the child by taking him into his home and holding himself out as the natural father. Hasenbush points to the case of celebrity donor-dad, Jason Patric (for those who remember the ‘80s and The Lost Boys — the vampire one).

In that case, Patric agreed to help his ex-girlfriend conceive, and indicated in writing that he would just be a sperm donor. However, after the baby was born, Patric and his-ex got back together, and Patric ended up spending a substantial amount of time with the child. And, significantly, he made a room in his home for the child and held himself out as the child’s father. After the couple broke up again, a legal case ensued where Patric argued that despite originally being a donor, he was entitled to legal recognition as father of his child. The courts ultimately agreed.

Of course, in Kardashian’s case, the situation is even slightly more complex, since Kardashian and Tristan already have one child together. While by itself that isn’t a legally significant fact, it may naturally lead to greater legal risk on both sides. When Thompson spends time with his daughter, True, he may naturally end up spending time with any child resulting from his donation. Both parties may quickly find Thompson in a position to be legally determined a “presumed” parent, where he could attempt to assert parental rights, or Kardashian could attempt to assert parental and financial responsibility.

Hasenbush explained that she frequently counsels clients who naturally face increased legal risk regarding their family structure, and that turning to an ex as a sperm donor is not an unheard-of proposition.

Hasenbush noted that the law favors black and white, while the reality for many families falls in the in-between gray. When her clients are looking to pursue an especially risky family path, Hasenbush often recommends that they seek counseling or talk to a mental health professional to make sure that they are clear with their intentions before proceeding. However, Hasenbush takes pride in empowering and protecting families that might not fit a traditional mold to the greatest extent possible under the law.

So, should Kardashian have her ex donate sperm? True is, after all, absolutely adorable. But Kardashian may want to think long and hard about the inherent risk of unintended parental rights and responsibilities that would accompany such an arrangement. And she should definitely talk it through with an expert attorney like Hasenbush first.

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Ellen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcast I Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at babies@abovethelaw.com.

We’ve long suspected that even the Biglaw firms with the most impressive financial performance weren’t going to be immune from the economic ravages of COVID-19. Now we’ve learned the Hogan Lovells — a firm that took in $2,246,050,000 in gross revenue last year, making an impressive 8th on the latest Am Law 100 ranking — has instituted salary cuts for attorneys.

The firm had previously announced they were delaying bonuses and 2019 profit distributions for all partners (income and equity). They also deferred UK and Asia Pacific salary reviews and discretionary bonuses for lawyers and for the majority of business services teams worldwide, which were scheduled for May 1st. Now the firm announced in an email (full version available on the next page) that, “April was better than we expected but it was still down both in relation to budget and last year. As far as the outlook for May, we expect further softening as some of the COVID-19 specific project wrap up and overall economic activity continues to be affected. Although the constraints affecting litigation will begin to loosen, we predict that it will be some months before we are back to pre-crisis levels.”

And if you guessed all that all that means the firm will institute salary cuts, well, you get a prize. The new salary cut scheme is as follows:

The series of measures which the firm is additionally enacting as of 1 June are as follows:

U.S. equity partners will reduce their monthly draws by between 15% and 25%. In addition, all equity partners will defer half of any profits for the first quarter of the year normally paid in August until November.

Non-equity partners will be taking a reduction from 1 June of 15% in their base compensation, equivalent to a cut of about 8.75% to their annual compensation.

Base compensation of Counsel, Associates, Attorneys, Specialists and Knowledge Lawyers in the U.S. is also being adjusted. For certain highly compensated Counsel and Specialists, the reduction will be 15% – an effective reduction of 8.75% for the year. For everyone else in these categories, the reduction will be 10% from 1 June onward – effectively 6% for the year. In addition, the firm will be reducing the compensation of Senior Counsel by 15%. There will be no reductions for those (including Senior Counsel) whose base compensation is $100,000 or lower.

Decisions on U.S. attorney bonuses will be made in the normal course at the end of the year.

HoLove CEO Stephen Immelt had this to say about the firm’s austerity measures and overall financial outlook:

“The firm’s overall position is very solid. We continue to see an uptick of work in the technology and life sciences sectors, our restructuring practice is very active, and we have successfully advised on headline-grabbing M&A deals. However, we are facing an uncertain environment and economic activity globally continues to drag. Complacency is not an option for us. We are therefore continuing with our policy of cutting back all non-essential costs and making measured adjustments to compensation. Our approach is to share the burden to protect both the business and our people so that we are well-positioned to meet our clients’ needs when the economy bounces back. We can always revisit and unwind some of these measures if the economy rebounds faster than expected, but otherwise, we plan to revisit these measures by the end of the year.”

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).