Category: News Feeds

Bonus season really is the best time of the Biglaw year. Sure, you probably worked a ton and had to sacrifice your personal life to do so, but at least you get a nice big bonus in recognition of all that hard work. But just how generous will those bonuses be?

That question was largely answered when Milbank acted first in announcing bonuses, then Cravath matched that scale. Now Cadwalader has announced that their associates will also be compensated on those market rates as well.

And the market scale that pretty much all the big firms will be following is:

Class of 2019 – $15,000 (pro-rated)
Class of 2018 – $15,000
Class of 2017 – $25,000
Class of 2016 – $50,000
Class of 2015 – $65,000
Class of 2014 – $80,000
Class of 2013 – $90,000
Class of 2012+ – $100,000

Plus, the exciting part for those who’ve notched a particularly busy year, is that associates and counsel who bill over 2,200 hours will receive bonuses of 120 percent of their class year. Which is a nice extra way to say thank you. Bonuses will be paid by the firm in February. (Full memo on the next page.)

Remember, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for all salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for your help!

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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).

Some people enter the legal profession because they are truly passionate about the law. I’m sure all of us know individuals who genuinely love practicing law, and not to sound disingenuous, but I definitely count myself among these lawyers. Many people enjoy the advocacy, research, and writing involved with being a practicing attorney.

However, there are also a number of lawyers who simply go through the motions in their jobs as lawyers. Most people just work to pay the bills, and many attorneys view their jobs as 9-to-5 gigs about which they are not passionate. This phenomenon is found in every industry, and most people work jobs that they are not enthusiastic about simply to make a living.

Even if attorneys were once passionate about the law, it is also easy to get burned out in the legal profession. Constant conflict with adversaries, clients, and coworkers can take a toll on even the most hardened attorneys. Furthermore, most lawyers handle repetitive matters, and it is easy for numerous lawyers to fall into a routine without making any extra effort. Many firms also squeeze their attorneys to bill more hours with fewer resources in order to compete in the competitive legal market. All of these conditions can burn out overworked attorneys, and in many ways, the burnout plaguing lawyers is similar to the stress experienced by physicians, teachers, and many other professionals.

Of course, none of this information is new to many people within the legal industry. We all know how grueling legal work can be and are aware of the challenges many attorneys face. However, what may be less clear is that lawyers can use this understanding about the legal industry to better serve their clients. Knowing that most attorneys simply do the minimum when working on matters, and will likely not put in much extra effort, can give lawyers valuable perspective when facing off against adversaries.

For instance, at several points in my career, I have been involved with cases that could have been easily dismissed because of prior releases, service of process issues, and other matters. For some of these cases, other attorneys have refused to get involved with these matters, because they were nervous that the cases would be subject to a motion to dismiss or summary judgment motion, and the cases would be dismissed. Of course, some attorneys do not want to handle matters that might require more work than normal, and dealing with a dispositive motion can greatly complicate a case.

However, motion practice can be time-consuming, and many attorneys do not go the extra mile by filing motions, even if a case could be dismissed because of a well-researched motion. Indeed, motions to dismiss often need to be filed within a short time period, and attorneys sometimes do not have the time nor the willingness to file such motions. In addition, summary judgment practice can be extremely exhausting, and it is often difficult to assemble all of the exhibits and papers necessary to file such a motion. It can also can take a substantial amount of time and effort to be apprised of all of the facts of a case, so some attorneys simply do not have enough information about a matter to effectively file a dispositive motion.

On several occasions in my career, remembering that many attorneys are underpaid and overworked has given me valuable perspective about litigation. As a result of this understanding, I have accepted matters and formulated case strategies based on the belief that my adversaries would likely not devote extra energy to litigating a case. This perspective has benefited my legal work, since I have conserved resources and provided advice to clients based on what I expected my adversaries would actually do in litigation instead of simply discussing my adversary’s options in a given case.

I do not mean to fault any attorneys for not devoting their full attention to their matters. As I know firsthand from working at a number of different law firms, attorneys are often overworked and demoralized in many roles. In addition, working for someone else can eliminate a major incentive to give one’s all to their job. One of the reasons why Biglaw firms have many advantages is because these shops pay employees more money and can expect their attorneys and staff to devote more energy to their matters. In addition, now that I run a law firm with my brother, I see how reaping more benefits from good representation can incentivize attorneys to work harder.

However, it is undeniable that many attorneys, like people in other fields, are not too passionate about their jobs, and usually just devote a minimal amount of effort to get by. If attorneys apply this understanding to their work, they can better strategize for the benefit of their clients.

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.

* A Florida woman who has a law degree but never passed the bar has been charged with stealing the identity of an admitted attorney. This was funny in My Cousin Vinny but not in real life. [Tampa Bay Times]

* Sarah Palin said she first learned of her husband’s divorce plans in an email from his attorney. Jeeze, that’s cold. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* A U.S. service member is challenging a ban on active military personnel suing their doctors for malpractice. [NBC News]

* The Louisiana Supreme Court has refused to revive a lawsuit against the NFL regarding a missed call at a Saints game. Hope the plaintiff is not a sore loser. [ESPN]

* Massachusetts lawmakers are considering whether to make coerced suicide a crime after the suicide of Conrad Roy III at the encouragement of his girlfriend. [CNN]

* A Nevada attorney has been disbarred for letting clients use her cellphone during jailhouse consultations. Seems harsh — prisoners use cellphones in Orange is the New Black all the time… [Bloomberg Law]

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.

MDC speaks on economic meltdown – VIDEO

Dr Magumbeyi abudcted himself – Ziyambi Ziyambi (VIDEO)

Zimbabwe’s central bank chief said the new Zimbabwean dollar should help alleviate the need for people to queue outside of banks to get their hands on hard currency [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]

Harare, Zimbabwe – Gason Mukuvadzi, a lanky man with boyish looks, sits behind a makeshift desk in Mbare’s Mupedzanhamo centre. An umbrella canvas shelters him from the blistering sun as he waits for customers looking to exchange electronic money for hard currency, neat stacks of which are perched on the table beside him.

Mukuvadzi is an EcoCash agent. He earns a commission by providing “cash-in, cash-out services” that allow customers on the EcoCash platform to convert the electronic balances in their mobile money wallets into hard currency, and vice versa.

But his business was badly hit in late September when the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe temporarily banned and then severely restricted cash-in, cash-out services, saying that price gouging by agents was contributing to the rapid depreciation of the country’s currency, the Zimdollar, and exacerbating a chronic shortage of notes and coins.

“Mbare is a busy area and all transactions are cash-based. So there is strong demand for cash here,” Mukuvadzi told Al Jazeera.

“I used to cash out more than 20,000 Zimdollars [worth $1,000 United States dollars, at commonly used black-market exchange rates] daily here. Now, I dispense less than 10,000 [$500].”

On Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s central bank initiated its latest measure designed to alleviate the country’s physical cash crunch, releasing into circulation a new generation of Zimbabwean dollar notes and coins – the first of a planned one billion Zimbabwean dollars to be injected into the country’s financial system over the next six months.

But some economists say the infusion of new cash is not enough to meaningfully redress the underlying causes of the monetary dysfunction that has plagued Zimbabwe for years.

The next-generation Zimbabwean dollar hit the streets of Harare on Tuesday [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]

Hard currency and electronic money

EcoCash agents have become an integral part of Zimbabwe’s payments system, with approximately 50,000 agents scattered throughout the country.

In the face of acute cash shortages – a persistent problem for years – most Zimbabweans have taken to using their mobile phones to execute financial transactions electronically.

More than eight in 10 transactions in Zimbabwe are made on mobile money platforms, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The platform with the lion’s share of those transactions is EcoCash, which is owned by Zimbabwe’s largest mobile phone operator, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd.

When the central bank announced a blanket ban on EcoCash on September 30th, Econet challenged the move in court, arguing it negatively affected millions of innocent customers.

The court challenge was only partially successful. Though the ban was lifted after three days, EcoCash customers have been limited to cashing out only 100 Zimdollars ($5) a day since October.

The restrictions have piled even more pain onto ordinary citizens dealing with an economic crisis including hyperinflation, stagnant wages, soaring food and energy prices and daily power blackouts.

“There is no money at the banks and everyone relies on us for cash here,” said Kundai Gohodza, an EcoCash agent who also operates a stall in Mbare’s Mupedzanhamo. “This is a busy area where most people don’t have physical money,” he told Al Jazeera.

For most Zimbabweans, the hard cash shortage is a daily obstacle that is expensive to surmount. Some EcoCash agents charge outrageous premiums of 40 percent to 50 percent for cash-out services.

But when those services are blocked, or the EcoCash network goes down during one of the country’s daily power outages, consumers can face even greater hardships because many businesses will only accept cash payments.

Charles Pilime, a pensioner, told Al Jazeera he was stuck in Harare without bus fare in September when EcoCash’s cash-out service was blocked.

“On those days, I had to ask for bus fare from friends who had cash,” he told Al Jazeera. “It was a very difficult time for me.”

The new Zimbabwean dollar coin went into circulation on Tuesday [Chris Muronzi /Al Jazeera]

A chronic cash shortage

Shortages of physical cash date back to 2015, when US dollars, which had been the currency of choice after the country ditched the hyperinflation-wracked Zimbabwean dollar in 2009, started disappearing from the formal banking system.

In a desperate bid to end the shortage, Zimbabwe’s central bank introduced bond notes- a form of surrogate currency. But black market speculation quickly eroded the value of bond notes, triggering a shortage that the central bank subsequently tried to offset by creating electronic notes.

Earlier this year, bond notes – both physical and electronic – were merged into the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar, or Zimdollar, an interim currency that also fell prey to speculative attacks.

A government decree that outlawed the use of foreign currencies in local transactions failed to shore up the faltering Zimdollar. In August, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate hit 300 percent, the highest in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s latest salvo against the cash crunch, the next-generation Zimbabwean dollar, finally hit the streets.

“We will make sure that we drip-feed the physical cash into the market in order to ensure that there is sufficient cash in the economy,” central bank chief John Mangudya told the Sunday Mail. “We believe this will also help in eliminating queues at the banks where people spend countless hours of productive time queueing for cash.”

Mangudya said the newly minted Zimbabwean dollars would not stoke inflation because the new physical notes would take the place of existing electronic money.

But some economists say the new notes and coins are unlikely to redress the cash crunch because they fail to address the underlying cause of the country’s monetary travails.

“Our research has shown that there is more prevalence of barter trade among rural Zimbabweans where people use maize as a currency because of the cash shortages,” Gift Mugano, an economics professor at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University, told Al Jazeera.

“If we don’t deal with the problem of corruption where a handful of people get cash, this billion dollars will be taken up by the same privileged few who get cash when everybody does not have access to it.”

When Mugabe stepped down unexpectedly in 2017, after 37 years in power, there was widespread jubilation, but that quickly dissipated as it became clear that it was business as usual for the new government.

His protests became popular and caught the attention of the Mugabe regime who detained him for “inciting public violence.” Mawarire was released a day later after mounting public pressure.

“Seeing Robert Mugabe step down was unbelievable,” said Mawarire. “The atmosphere was just euphoric. It was something none of us expected to see in our lifetime.”

Cramming for the CCPA

Cramming for the CCPA

Axiom & Above the Law

You might think you can disinherit your spouse, but the law holds otherwise. American rock band The Cars singer Ric Ocasek passed away on September 15, 2019, as a resident of Manhattan. While technically married for 30 years to model Paulina Porizkov, the two were allegedly estranged upon his passing.

The couple separated in 2018 but never legally divorced. In the eyes of the law, they were still married upon his demise and Porizkov is legally the surviving spouse. Porizkov and Ocasek have two sons together and according to her, they were in close contact at the time of his passing.

Ocasek’s purported Last Will and Testament is dated August 28, 2019. The impetus for the Last Will and Testament is likely a surgery he underwent at that time. Porizkov claims to have helped him recuperate following the surgery. As such, she contests the allegations made in his Last Will that she abandoned him. Ironically, it is Porizkov who discovered him dead in his New York home.

The Last Will and Testament states that no provision has been made for Porizkov, who married Ocasek in 1989 after first meeting him during the filming of the 1984 video for famous Cars song, Drive. Ocasek acknowledges that the couple was not legally divorced and further states that should he die before a divorce is finalized, Porizkov is not entitled to any elective share on the grounds of abandonment.

The estate is valued at approximately $5 million in copyright assets in addition to $15,000 in cash and $100,000 in tangible personal property. It is possible that Ocasek had assets that passed outside of the Last Will and Testament if such assets had named beneficiaries or were held jointly, like an insurance policy or a trust.

The Right of Election is the statutorily prescribed share of a decedent’s estate that the surviving spouse can petition the court, within a specific time period, to grant. In the State of New York, under E.P.T.L. Section 5-1.1A, the surviving spouse may receive the greater of $50,000 or one-third (1/3) of the deceased spouse’s net estate. The Right of Election arises when a spouse is disinherited from a decedent’s estate plan, by accident or purposefully. Even though the Last Will specifically states that Porizkov is disinherited, she still retains the right to file and pursue her Right of Election in the Surrogate’s Court. The executor of the Last Will and Testament will then have an opportunity to accept or reject the claim, which may result in litigation between the executor and the survivng spouse. Sometimes, the beneficiaries of the Last Will and Testament are the surviving spouse’s own children with the decedent, pitting parent against child. Ocasek’s Last Will and Testament leaves provisions for the children he and Porizkov share together.

It is important to note that when calculating the Right of Election, the law takes into account all of the decedent’s assets, not just those passing through probate. It is possible that a surviving spouse may not receive anything under a Last Will and Testament, but has a significant life insurance policy due to her or perhaps some real estate. If the Right of Election is deemed valid, the claim will be paid like any other claim against the estate which results in less for the named beneficiaries.

It seems that Ocasek was anticipating a challenge from Porizkov, as he references her “abandonment” in his Last Will and Testament. Abandonment is a defense against the Right of Election. In this case, the executor can reject the Right of Election claim and try and demonstrate that the spouse abandoned him. Other defenses includes waivers of the Right of Election which are sometimes included in pre- and post-nuptial agreements, especially for second and third marriages. Proving that a marriage was invalid from the start is another way to defeat the Right of Election. Needless to say, if you kill your spouse, the Right of Election will not be honored.

Ocasek’s case illustrates the issues involving divorce and estate planning. Often divorces take many years to complete and parties die during the interim. Ocasek appears to have preempted a challenge by Porizkov by anticipating a Right of Election claim. Porizkov has immediately responded with the news of her disinheritance by claiming her devotion and participation in Ocasek’s care. This case is a prime example of the peculiarity of divorce litigation that continues following the death of a litigant. The venue changes to Surrogate’s Court and a new party, the executor, is charged with fighting the surviving spouse about personal matters he likely knows little about.

Cori A. Robinson is a solo practitioner having founded Cori A. Robinson PLLC, a New York and New Jersey law firm, in 2017. For more than a decade Cori has focused her law practice on trusts and estates and elder law including estate and Medicaid planning, probate and administration, estate litigation, and guardianships. She can be reached at cori@robinsonestatelaw.com.