The Washington, D.C. office of UK firm Clifford Chance has recruited three lateral partners from Sidley Austin. The litigation team consists of Juan Morillo, Steven Cottreau and Stephen Nickelsburg, whose work focuses primarily on white-collar crime and criminal defense, but also covers civil law. In addition to the Sidley laterals, Wendy Wysong, a senior lawyer with the US Government’s Bureau of Industry & Security has also joined the U.S. Litigation group as a partner. Clifford Chance has recently been putting a lot of effort into expanding its U.S. lawyer operation; hires have been made in New York and D.C.
Source: www.legalweek.com

Alston & Bird has raised Atlanta first year associates’ salaries from $130,000 to $145,000, matching the firm’s pay in its Charlotte office. The raises will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2008. Alston’s pay raise matches the rate set by Hunton & Williams back in February; the firm raised its starting salary to $145,000 in all offices except for New York. This raise reaches $190,000 for seventh-year associates, and many mid-level associates have voiced complaints that their raises are not equal to those of the first-year associates. To compare, Hunton’s Charlotte pay scale tops at $240,000 for seventh-years.
Source: www.law.com

Fox & Rothschild has done it again – less than a month after its merger with Roseland, NJ’s Goldman & Kramer, the firm has announced another merger. The latest acquisition is Pottstown, PA firm Binder Kalis & Proctor. The three-attorney outfit specialized in corporate matters, municipal law, real estate and estate planning. Founded in 1941, it was the oldest continuously existing firm in the area. This merger is Fox & Rothschild’s seventh since 2005, with most of the expansion taking place in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Continuing a trend among Chicago law firms, both Baker & McKenzie and Jenner & Block have raised their first-year base salaries to $160,000. These increases follow those made by other Chicago firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley Austin, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, and DLA Piper. The Chicago pay hikes are part of a national trend started in New York and California and are due in large part to increased competition among firms for top law school graduates.
Source: www.nylawyer.com