Paying Law Associates What They're Worth - Now there's an idea

One of the things about law jobs these days is the need for firms that have any sort of appreciation of what their lawyers are actually doing to innovate and develop new pay scales and packages. In London, where there is intense competition among firms for legal talent, the boutique firm iLaw actually splits fees between itself and its associates. Is it working? So far. It's empowering associates in the same way partners are empowererd through their equity sharing deals. We'll keep an eye on iLaw.

The Summer Clerk Ratings - Summer Law Jobs

Lawyers that excelled in the American Lawyer Summer Clerk rating survey did so in three areas: training, communicating goals and expectations.

American Lawyer's Summer Clerk rating survey included over 170 firms, rated on a 1-5 scale. Ten of the 20 best firms of 2006 scored in the top 20 last year as well, including this year's winner, Arnall Golden Gregory. But plenty of newcomers grabbed top slots, including second-place winner Nutter McClennen & Fish (up from number 41 in 2005), and third-place Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian (up from number 37 in 2005). Two of the top ten slots were captured by firms that vaulted more than 100 spots: Dickstein Shapiro leaped from 119th to sixth, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius shot from 122th to seventh.


But, the survey reports, for the most part, law students gave their summer employers high praise. "I was struck by how genuinely happy and friendly all the attorneys were, from first-year associates to partners," said one starry-eyed summer in Gibson, Dunn's New York office. "You always hear horror stories [about] New York firms, but Gibson didn't get the memo about making lawyers' lives miserable." Not many other firms did, either, according to their summer clerks.