Friday, February 27, 2004
NY’s Kaye Scholer hits $1m mark
Legal Week reports:
New York firm Kaye Scholer has become the latest US firm to enter the millionaires’ club with profits per partner hitting $1.068m (£572,100).
The figures make Kaye Scholer the fourth top 50 US firm to break the landmark $1m (£535,700) profit figure in 2003. The firm also saw revenue jump 9% to hit $338m (£181.1m).
Author: Legal Week
Source: Legal Week
Start Date: 26/02/2004
End Date: 22/03/2004
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Kaye Scholer hits $1m mark
Legal Week reports:
New York firm Kaye Scholer has become the latest US firm to enter the millionaires’ club with profits per partner hitting $1.068m.
The figures make Kaye Scholer the fourth top 50 US firm to break the landmark $1m profit figure in 2003. The firm also saw revenue jump 9% to hit $338m.
Author: Legal Week
Source: Legal Week
Start Date: 26/02/2004
End Date: 22/03/2004
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Outsourcing Brief Writing, Legal Research to India
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
U.S. Law Firms Have Record Years
The Lawyer.com reports:
Kirkland and Simpson Thacher close to $2m average profits - O’Melveny, Gibson Dunn and Weil post 15 per cent profit hikes - Bryan Cave profits up 35 per cent
Bankruptcy, litigation and private equity were the key drivers of growth for US firms in 2003, with Kirkland & Ellis and Weil Gotshal & Manges starring in The Lawyer’s poll of US law firms’ preliminary accounts.
Chicago’s Kirkland & Ellis had a storming year, boosting turnover by 16 per cent to $709m on the back of those three booming practice areas. The firm worked on the United Airlines and Conseco bankruptcies and a string of acquisitions for private equity houses Bain Capital and Vestar Capital Partners. Despite the workload, profits rose just 5.5 per cent to $1.9m ($1m) per partner, as the firm increased bonuses for associates and junior partners.
Weil Gotshal continues to rake in fees from the Enron and MCI WorldCom sagas. Total revenues are up 16.5 per cent to $801m, but it is in Europe that revenues have shot up 23 per cent to $250m.
Part of Weil Gotshal’s European revenue rise can be attributed to the addition of French merger partner Serra Leavy & Cazals for the first full financial year. It was a good year too, with multi-billion dollar deals for General Electric and Vivendi Universal. But France cannot take all the credit.
Weil Gotshal’s London managing partner Mike Francies continues to blaze a trail. Last year saw his work ranging from more acquisitions for private equity house Hicks Muse Tate & Furst to West LB’s joint financing with Lehman Brothers for the purchase of the Odeon cinema group.
White & Case is right on track to smash its target of $1bn in revenues by 2005, according to its preliminary accounts.
The New York firm has recorded the biggest increase in turnover among the US firms polled, up 20 per cent to $811m. If it can match those figures in 2004 and 2005 it will smash its target, but a repeat performance will see it fall way short of its ambitions for profitability.
White & Case’s profits per partner are up 8 per cent to $1.01m per partner. Another two years at that rate would see the firm fall $220,000 short of its aim of $1.3m per partner.
Bryan Cave's 2003 Was Strong
St Louis-based Bryan Cave has had a phenomenal year with profitability rocketing 35 per cent from $445,000 to $600,000 per equity partner.
Turnover has also grown an impressive 13.9 per cent to $384m. A large chunk of this rise can be attributed to the success fee the firm received from Biomedical Systems after the firm won a contract dispute against GE Medical Systems. That alone accounted for about $100,000 per partner, a total of approximately $31m.
Bryan Cave’s chairman Walter Metcalfe echoed the feelings of many when he said that the litigation and bankruptcy practices remained strong throughout the year and noted the upturn in transactional work in the fourth quarter.
The firm also began to collect the fruits of its July 2002 merger with 180-lawyer New York firm Robinson Silverman.
US Law Firms by Global Revenue
10 US Law Firms to Watch
Source: The Lawyer
Monday, February 23, 2004
Ohio May Scoop Congress in Act to Protect Asbestos Companies by Requiring Impairment as Condition to Suit
February 20, 2004
InsuranceNewsNet.com
Following a similar Senate action in June, the Ohio House has approved HB 292, which addresses key issues related to improving the way in which asbestos-related cases are handled.
The Alliance of American Insurers is encouraging Ohio lawmakers to act quickly to reconcile the Senate and House versions of the bills. "We urge the House and Senate to come together as soon as possible to reach consensus on their reform bills," said John Lobert, senior vice president of state government affairs for the Alliance. "On the asbestos issue, the Alliance wants to make sure that those who are truly sick from asbestos are moved to the front of the line and compensated in a fair and timely fashion. At the same time, the vast majority of claims, which have been filed on behalf of people who are not currently sick and likely never will be, should be set aside until there is a legitimate claim for illness."
HB 292 would require asbestos claimants to meet a minimum level of medical criteria before filing an action. The measure would toll the statute of limitations, allowing those who do not yet show signs of impairment to file claims when and if they do become ill. In addition to its asbestos litigation reforms, the Senate bill contains more wide-ranging tort reform, such as caps on non-economic and punitive damages, limits on attorney fees, and a 10-year statute of repose for products and construction defects.
ATLA Study Argues: Companies Facing Asbestos Claims Still Prosper
By John Godfrey
Dow Jones Newswires
SmartMoney.com
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Large companies that sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy to shelter themselves from liabilities faced for exposing workers to asbestos remain profitable and should do well in the future, a study released Friday says.
Emory University Professor George Benston says the companies face high legal costs and other costs associated with bankruptcy reorganization. They also must contend with court-imposed restraints on their operations and set aside liquid assets to pay claimants, both of which reduce profitability.
Still, said Benston, "They have been able to continue their operations succesfully, and with few exceptions, they have prospered." Benston's study was sponsored by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Nixon Peabody Adds Matthew Fisher:
New York Lawyer, 2/23/04 reports:
Nixon Peabody has added former Bingham McCutchen attorney Matthew Fisher as a partner in the firm's business group. Fisher's practice focuses on corporate transactional matters and general corporate and securities law matters. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
GE to Require Outside Counsel to Compete in Online Auctions for Legal Work
Legal Week reports:
General Electric (GE) is forcing its legal advisers to compete in online auctions for legal work as part of a ground-breaking venture designed to slash the US giant’s legal spend.
GE, the world’s largest company, has already implemented the regime for its US advisers. It sees firms bid against each other for individual transactions.
The system has been touted as one of the most innovative attempts to modernise buying of legal services.
Advisers bidding for individual projects can see what rival firms are bidding and have the chance to make improved offers on cost and service.
* * *
GE, whose subsidiaries include GE Commercial Finance, GE Insurance, GE Energy and NBC, does not have a formal panel but regularly uses a host of major US firms including Cravath Swaine & Moore, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Shearman & Sterling.
A GE Commercial Finance spokesperson said: “We have an enormous legal business and we are trying to control costs but also get the best counsel possible.”
One GE adviser told Legal Week: “GE’s current legal system is fragmented and with this online system it is trying to consolidate its advisers.”
News of the changes comes as the company announced that its global general counsel of 17 years, Ben Heineman, has been replaced by Brackett Denniston. Denniston, who was GE’s head of litigation, assumed the role at the end of January.
Heineman, believed to be the world’s most highly-paid general counsel, will remain as a senior vice president.
Author: Paul Hodkinson
Source: Legal Week
Start Date: 19/02/2004
End Date: 26/02/2004
White & Case profits break $1m barrier
Legal Week reports:
Partner profits at White & Case have risen by more than 12% to break the $1m (£538,000) barrier, with turnover [revenue] hitting $800m (£428m), according to provisional figures. The results come against a backdrop of surging financial performance from leading US law firms.
Author: Legal Week
Source: Legal Week
Start Date: 19/02/2004
End Date: 26/02/2004
Revenue Growth Fails to Lift Hale and Dorr Partner Profits
Legal Week reports:
Boston giant Hale and Dorr has weathered the current slump in its core technology market to deliver a 10% increase in turnover.
The 500-lawyer firm’s fee income hit $337m (£187m) in 2003, against $306.5m (£170m) the previous year, with average partner profits static at $810,000 (£450,000). The top 50 US firm put its failure to increase profitability down to its acquisition of the European joint venture practice that it had run with Brobeck Phleger & Harrison until the San Francisco firm’s dissolution last year.
The deal saw Hale and Dorr take on and fully integrate the 50-lawyer practice, which includes branches in London, Oxford and Munich. The acquisition and a number of US hires saw the firm take on a total of 17 partners in 2003.
The results underline the continued pressure on the technology-driven Boston legal market, which has fallen behind rival legal centres like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles during the three-year slump in the US venture capital market.
One London-based Hale and Dorr partner told Legal Week that tough market conditions in the firm’s Munich branch had also held back growth.
However, he added: “Overall, we had a good year.”
Author: Richard Tromans
Source: Legal Week
Start Date: 19/02/2004
End Date: 26/02/2004
UK Firms Making Money
Legal Week (UK) Commentary:
. . . [I]t would be rash to underestimate the ability of law firms to slide back into gear once they emerge from the current slowdown. In the latest fees survey of leading corporate counsel by Legal Week’s sister magazine, Legal Director, a whopping 52% of the respondents admitted that their advisers had succeeded in pushing their rates up. And 70% said their chief executives or chief financial officers were concerned about the legal fees they are forking out.
Look a little deeper, however, and there is evidence in the survey that some form of accommodation is taking place between the different interests of in-house counsel and those they instruct. A key finding is that the number of respondents boasting they have secured fee discounts over the year has more than doubled to 41%. This ties in with the rash of panel reviews that took place last year and the understanding between purchaser and supplier that in return for channelling more work to fewer firms, advisers must be prepared to offer discounts.
The law firms themselves have wised up to this trend. All the top firms have been busily drawing up lists of their top clients in a bid to get more work out of them. It is not all plain sailing though. While recognising they are here to stay, 64% of the partner respondents to a recent Legal Week/EJ Legal Big Question survey said panel reviews were inefficiently run. Supporters of these reviews cite the cacophony of law firm whinging that accompanied the Royal Bank of Scotland’s auction-style beauty parade last year as the most concrete evidence yet that they are starting to work. There is, nevertheless, some truth to the suggestion that those companies that chop and change their advisers too often will lose out on any efficiency gains that can be achieved by the so-called ‘partnering’ approach.
But trust is a two-way street. Clients are demanding more loyalty from firms they choose to instruct. In another recent Big Question survey, 66% of the respondents said their firms had been punished for advising in commercial conflict situations, a trend they said was increasing. As the market improves, so the ability of corporate counsel to call the shots will diminish. But it would be surprising if they lost all the ground they have made up. It may not be the end of a golden age, but it looks like law firms have got a touch of adapting to do.
Author: John Malpas
Source: Legal Week
Start Date: 19/02/2004
End Date: 26/02/2004
Willkie Farr -- 10% Growth in Partner Profits
Legal Week reports:
Firm latest of New York leaders to secure double-digit hike as partner profits hit $1.4m
Willkie Farr & Gallagher has become the latest New York firm to post double-digit growth in 2003 with partner profits at the firm exceeding $1.4m (£740,000).
Financial results released by Willkie Farr show fee income for 2003 up by 10%, rising from 2002’s figure of $320m (£169.2m) to $353m (£186.6m), with average partner profits up from $1.3m (£684,700) to $1.41m (£745,500).
Foley & Lardner Seeks Each Coast Presence
Law Week reports:
US firm Foley & Lardner has abandoned merger talks with Edwards & Angell as the Milwaukee-based giant pledges to find new suitors to bolster its emerging East Coast practice.
The talks, which would have created a 1,200-lawyer firm with a turnover of around $600m (£320m), started in the summer of last year but were called off, according to Foley, due to a number of client conflicts.
A merger would have seen Foley secure its long-held ambition of launching practices in New York and Boston, two key markets that the 900-lawyer firm has no coverage in, despite its 16-branch network in the US.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Oregon Initiative Could Attorneys Fees in Medical Malpractice Cases
The Associated Press
2/13/2004, 12:23 a.m. PT
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The health care industry has raised $1.6 million to put an initiative on the November ballot to limit attorneys' fees in medical malpractice suits.
The initiative could be among the more expensive in Oregon history, as trial lawyers fight the doctors' attempts to convince the public the attorneys are overpaid.
Monday, February 02, 2004
Asbestos Legislation Bill Could Save Billions
Firms Report Soaring Revenues, Profits
New York Lawyer
January 29, 2004
Latham & Watkins earned more than $1 billion last year, London's Legal Week reports. The milestone comes as the firm's revenue jumped 14 percent compared to 2002, while profits rose by 12 percent.
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft reported a 12 percent rise in revenues to $353 million, while partners at Weil Gotshal & Manges and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are also predicting record years. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Bingham McCutchen hopped on board the bandwagon; both are expecting to report dramatic rises in revenue, according to Legal Week.
Shearman & Sterling, however, will announce a sharp increase in partner profits, but only a modest increase in revenues.
NY Firm Weighs Outsourcing to India, Possible Staff Cuts
New York Lawyer
January 29, 2004
Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy is considering outsourcing non-legal work to India, London's Legal Week reports. The move could affect such staff functions as document preparation and transcription. Last September, London's Allen & Overy announced it was cutting 40 jobs as a result of such an outsourcing pact.
Law firms make a case for strategic marketing plans
Sheri Qualters
Staff
Industries & Communities - bizjournals.com, 1/30/04
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Network Firms to Host Dinner During Product Liability Conference
February 11 - 13, 2004
New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, LA, USA
The DRI's Product Liability Committee's 2004 Product Liability Conference will return to New Orleans this year, and so will we.
Member firms have hosted dinners at most of the past Product Liability seminars since 1994. Our dinners are by invitation and are well-attended, usually drawing 50 to 70 program attendees invited by Network member firms attending our program. This DRI program is one of DRI's most successful and draws more than 1,000 persons, mostly defense counsel, but many in-housers also.
This year our dinner will be Wednesday night, Feb. 11, at the Palace Cafe (sister restaurant to the famous Commander's Palace), on Canal Street, across the street from the New Orleans Marriott Hotel (555 Canal St., 1 504-581-1000) -- 7:00 p.m. for cocktails, and 8:00 p.m. for our sumptuous buffet dinner (menu to be published soon).
Invitations will be sent to member firms for their use in inviting program attendees to our dinner.
This year we expect to make a big splash on the DRI scene by sponsoring DRI's briefcase-style bags with the TRIAL.COM logo and "The Network of Trial Law Firms" tagline. The logo bags will contain key conference information and be distributed to all program attendees.
Please let us know who from your firm will be attending this year's DRI Products Liability Seminar. Our dinner will be an excellent opportunity to meet and entertain in-house counsel attending the seminar.
What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession
ABA Law Practice Management Section
January/February 2004, PAGE 10 By: Robert Dennedy (bob@robertdenney.com), President of Robert Denney Associates, Inc., a strategic marketing and management consultancy.
PRACTICE AREAS
Red Hot
Bankruptcy. Still as hot as the Sahara in July, both in the U.S. and Western Europe.
Litigation. Just about every type, and particularly securities; construction; intellectual property, notably patent infringement and trade secrets; and products liability, with filings having nearly doubled in the past four years. Leading claims include asbestos, pharmaceuticals and health care. (Also see “Hot.”)
Mutual Funds Investigations. With Eliot Spitzer and the SEC crossing paths everywhere.
Hot
Corporate Governance. Thanks, of course, to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But there are some reports that it is already starting to cool off.
Health Law. Up from its “Getting Hot” rating last year.
Employment Law. Perennially hot.
Public Finance. And not just in Pittsburgh and California.
Intellectual Property. Including international copyrights and nanotechnology.
Contingency Litigation. Up from its “Getting Hot” rating in midyear.
White-Collar Crime. Post-Enron fallout continues. . . .
Natural Resources/Land Use. Particularly in Western U.S.
Biomedical & Pharmaceutical. As reported last year.
Education & School Law. As reported last year. There’s no end in sight. Special education is one of the reasons.
Immigration. Also as reported last year.
Real Estate. But commercial may be cooling off in some parts of the United States, although it’s red hot in Arizona. Residential development continues to be hot almost everywhere.
Getting Hot
Native American Law. In much of the U.S.; Indian Country isn’t confined to the Southwest.
IPOs. Hot last spring, cooled off in the summer, and now heating up again.
Family/Privately Held Companies. Even the larger firms are seeing this.
Hot & Cold
Mediation/ADR. Major corporations go through cycles on this.
M&A. Hot at some U.S. firms; still cool at others. Very cool outside the United States.
MARKETING STRATEGIES and TACTICS
Cross-Marketing. This most talked-about-but-underutilized strategy is finally being implemented in a growing number of firms, based on the premise that it’s easier—and less costly—to develop additional business from current clients than to obtain new clients. But keep two factors in mind: (1) large corporations generally don’t favor “one-stop legal shopping”; and (2) every firm, regardless of size, needs a steady flow of new clients to refresh the client base and to replace clients that leave, sell or go out of business.
Client Service. Firms seek new ways to keep their clients. One example: Laner Muchin (Chicago) states on its Web site that client phone calls will be returned quickly—“Two hours. Period.” Other tactics continue. More firms are using client relationship management (CRM) software. Client service teams that span practice areas continue to grow. So do programs to obtain client feedback. But the first requisite is still giving value by performing high-quality work on a timely basis and at reasonable rates—with “reasonable” being defined by the clients, not the firm.
Special Events. To celebrate the firm’s anniversary, introduce its new logo and the like. Clients are usually included, but focus in most cases is toward firm personnel—including support staff.
Sales/Business Development. A few larger firms have created a position either to make sales calls or to manage the sales function. (See Bob’s “Trends Report” column in the April 2003 Law Practice Management.)
Increased Lawyer Writings. On substantive legal issues for publication in legal and business journals, in newsletters and on the firm’s Web site.
Productizing. Repackaging a legal service into a product, thereby making it easier for clients to buy. (See Sally Schmidt’s article in the July/August 2003 Law Practice Management.)
Branding. Continues to cool. Hopefully will be replaced by competitive positioning as part of strategic marketing plans.
Media Training. Being required by more and more corporate counsel for outside litigators so they won’t mess up while talking to the press about high-profile cases. (See Steve Taylor’s article in the November 2003 Of Counsel.)
Marketing Departments. Continue to get larger as firms demand that expenditures be goal-oriented, benchmarks be created and ROI be measured. All good news for marketers.
OTHER TRENDS and ISSUES
Mock Trials. As well as focus groups, facilitated by psychologists and other consultants—complete with computerized graphics and “evidence”—for high-stakes cases.
Electronic Discovery. There are areas of technology that have become effectively substantive.
Mergers. Among U.S. firms are down sharply. The main reason for fewer firms expanding into new geographic markets. “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Dissolutions appear to have increased, and not just with high-profile firms. Principal reasons are reduced profits and partner compensation, increased egos and poor or weak management.
Knowledge Management. Mainly in larger firms, but all firms need it. IT people can maintain the systems, but legal technologists, who know how to apply technical knowledge to law practice, need to set up the systems.
Lateral Entries. The market is still red hot for partners but has cooled for associates.
Profits per Equity Partner. Have increased 5 to 10 percent in most firms, regardless of size. Reasons include cost cutting, more attention to collecting receivables (see “Fire Sales”), increased revenues in most practice areas (particularly litigation) and, in some cases, fewer slices in the profit pie. (Also see “Multitier Partnerships.”)
Multitier Partnerships. The number of firms that have them continues to grow. As a result, the number of non-equity partners is increasing faster than the number of equity partners. A number of firms have even trimmed their equity partner ranks so that there are fewer partners to dine on the profit pie.
Midsize Firms. Despite the conventional wisdom—i.e., “midsize firms are dead or dying”—they continue to survive. Many are having their best years ever. A strong litigation practice is one of the keys.
Diversified Practices. Instead of following the strategy of developing a niche practice in one area or with one type of client, midsize firms have maintained diversified and balanced practices. As a result, declines in certain practice areas are more than offset by growth in others. Further, these firms are able to shift lawyers from cold areas like M&A to hot areas like bankruptcy.
General Counsel. The good newsis that the top lawyers in the legal departments of the biggest companies are being paid more than ever. Further, general counsels’ pay, unlike CEOs’ compensation, isn’t generally tied to stock performance. The bad news is that the role of general counsel is changing. Whether owing to unprecedented scrutiny of corporate governance or the general anxiety in corporate America, the demands on in-house counsel have ratcheted up substantially—along with their workloads.
Corporate Legal Departments. Cuts in staff and budgets continue. About the same amount of work is going to outside firms, but the percentage going to national and local firms has increased, while the percentage going to regional firms has decreased.
Going-Private Transactions. Insider-led buyouts that transform a publicly traded company into a privately held one. Pressures from Wall Street and Washington continue to drive companies to consider going private.
“What Goes Around.” When the big accounting firms started creating legal affiliates and multidisciplinary practices a few years ago, they attracted and recruited lawyers from law firms. Now the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which is causing even more headaches for accountants than it is for lawyers, is prompting lawyers to head back to law firms—and may also sound the MDP’s death knell.
Alternate Fee Arrangements. More corporate legal departments want them owing to budget cuts. Most popular forms are fixed fees and blended hourly rates.
Diversification/Ancillary Businesses. Continuing. One of the most intriguing is PlayMaker, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepper Hamilton that aims to offer a wide array of services to professional sports franchises.
Fire Sales. Over-90-day accounts receivable have grown in many firms because clients are taking longer to pay. Most of these firms have (finally) instituted follow-up procedures. As a last resort, some are holding fire sales—offering to settle for a lesser amount if the client pays that amount immediately. (See Bob’s “Trends Report” in the November/December 2003 Law Practice Management.)
“Let’s Get Away from It All.” More lawyers are taking sabbaticals to recharge their lives, and more firms are allowing—or even requiring—their lawyers to take them. Six months is the most common length.
Firm Management. A few large firms have spread firmwide management responsibilities from a single managing partner to a group of partners. It will be interesting to see if this structure lasts. Some large corporations instituted this “Office of the President” approach several years ago; most have since dropped it.
Practice Organization and Management. Smaller and midsize firms are creating a more structured practice organization and managing their practice areas more closely. Large firms, which have had a practice structure for years, are now reorganizing it to streamline reporting and management.
Martindale-Hubbell. More firms are discontinuing their listings because they don’t see the value. On the other hand, most general counsel say they use Martindale-Hubbell for evaluating referrals.
Pro Bono Work. Continues to increase. Some firms just encourage it, some firms require it, and a few firms make it part of their culture. A few take it so seriously they appoint a partner as full-time head of the pro bono practice. Latest example: Dechert, where Suzanne Turner (based in London) will focus on human and civil rights litigation in both the U.S. and Europe.
Succession Planning. For both clients and firm management.
Model Rules. The ABA Task Force on Corporate Responsibility has recommended that the Model Rules of Professional Conduct be amended to permit lawyers to breach client confidentiality to prevent fraudulent conduct. Another result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Unbundling. The practice of allowing lawyers and clients to contract for specific and limited services without the lawyer becoming responsible for the entire case. Some types of law commonly practiced by solos lend themselves particularly well to this. ABA policy favors and several states have already moved to allow it. But some lawyers fear that unbundling can lead to bungling and also malpractice claims.
Office Environment. As most firms continue to reduce the size of lawyers’ offices, they’re reinvesting some of the savings in occupancy costs to create amenities that contribute to job satisfaction and performance. Examples include upscale cafeterias, dining rooms and catering kitchens. And workout rooms, which first appeared more than 10 years ago, are being updated and enlarged.
GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS
United States: Although some firms continue to open offices outside their home cities, the pace seems to have slowed. (See “Other Trends and Issues.”) As a result, there are no really hot locations. One exception: San Francisco, where some firms are rebuilding and Jones Day is arriving on the scene.
Foreign: A mixed picture, depending on the part of the world—and the local economy.
London: Still hot. Mainly owing to continuing U.S.-U.K. firm affiliations.
China: Still hot.
Brazil: Getting hot again. Firms feel the country’s economy is stabilizing. But this is the exception in South America.
Germany: Cold. In the midst of its worst economic slump since World War II.
Europe: Mostly cool. Spain, Italy and The Netherlands could become hot because their economies are strong and growing.
South America: Cool. Political and financial instability in several countries, plus growing mistrust of the U.S. everywhere. However, still a target for free trade.
Japan: Cool. The stagnant economy has severely impacted investment here.
India: Has been attracting invest-ments from multinational corporations. This could be a sleeper to watch in the future.
ASSOCIATES
Associate Attrition
Down slightly from prior years. Interesting to note that large firms have the lowest rates of attrition for both entry-level hires and laterals. However, the attrition rate for laterals is higher than for entry-level hires in all firms, regardless of size.
Associate Compensation
Few firms are increasing starting salaries. Many have reduced year-end bonuses. A few have even eliminated bonuses for all but the top performers.
Summer Associate Programs
Many firms reduced the size this past year. A few even eliminated their summer programs, and more are considering eliminating theirs permanently.
