Despite the New York pay raises, some California-based firms are holding their ground by increasing pay in NY, but remaining at $145,000 in their CA offices. Firms feel pressure to match salaries in NY because it is one of the most active and competitive legal markets in the world. In CA, on the other hand, firms will closely watch their competitors to decide their pay rate, recognizing the fact that the west-coast is a very different market than is NY.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Almost all of the attorneys from New York’s real estate law firm Solomon and Weinberg have relocated to Greenberg Traurig’s real estate practice. Seven attorneys – Gary Kleinman, Howard Shapiro, Joseph D’Angelo, Nicole Fenton, Howard Schochet, Bennet Deutsch and Steven Sinatra – will join the firm as partners. Founding partner Craig Solomon, as well as Dana Gallo and Andrew Kellner, will become of counsel. Seven of the lawyers will join Greenberg Traurig’s New York real estate group; the remaining two will join the REIT tax practice and the litigation group, respectively.
Source: www.law.com

After New York firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett raised first-year pay to $160,000, all eyes have turned to large California-based firms to see if they too will raise their rates. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, for example, was one of the few CA firms that had matched NY’s $145,000, but now it has another 15 thousand with which to contend. Other NY firms like Sullivan & Cromwell matched Simpon’s raise, but unlike Simpson, not all of them applied the new salary to all of their offices. Speculation abounds as to whether CA firms will rise to the challenge, but most likely the powerhouse firms will match NY to stay competitive, while the lower-performing firms will not. This difference will increase segmentation in the CA market.
Source: www.law.com

New York firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has raised first-year associate base salaries to $160,000. This increase comes soon after the hike, occuring less than a year ago, which raised first-year salaries from $125,000 to $145,000. Because firms compete for the same group of top law school grads, there is great pressure to match each other in pay for junior associates. Salaries vary more widely when it comes to senior level associates.
Source: www.law.com

About a year ago, LA firm Irell & Manella was the first California firm to raise associate salaries to $145,000, starting a trend that quickly spread. The CA raises were in response to the raises that first occured in New York. While some firms like Latham & Watkins held firm to their $135,000 starting salary, other smaller LA firms like Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges matched the NY salaries in their California offices. Associates wait with anticipation for the time when the salary increases become widespread.
Source: www.law.com

After its December merger, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner is using the increased budget to add five new attorneys to its technology & outsourcing practice group. All five were lateral hires, and were the firms most recent additions after the merger between California-firm Thelen Reid & Priest and New York-based Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner. The technology practice now has 37 attorneys, 30 of them located in NY, and three of the new five joined the Hartford office. The Hartford office now has 41 lawyers, a dramatic increase from the numbers at opening in 1994.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

D.C. firm Howrey has gained three veteran litigation partners in its New York office. Michael F. Armstrong, 74, was most recently a partner at Cooley Godward Kronish’s NY office. Paul K. Rooney, 69, who has practiced at his own firm since 1970 also joins the team. William O. Purcell, 65, joins Howrey from the New York office of K&L Gates. Howrey’s New York office opened late last year after the acquisition of eight-lawyer litigation boutique Engel McCarney & Kenney. The firm has 600 lawyers worldwide.
Source: www.law.com

There have recently been several lateral moves for attorneys in New York. David E. Prager left Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross for Bond, Schoeneck & King. Morrison Cohen gained two partners and a senior counsel. After leaving Morea Schwartz, Aliza F. Herzberg joined Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky as a partner. Also departing from Morea Schwartz, Paul R. McMenamin joined Wiggin and Dana as a partner.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

New York’s Dewey Ballantine and San Francisco’s Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe canceled a merger that would have resulted in a 1,500-lawyer firm. Morton A. Pierce, chairman of Dewey Ballantine, stated that the two firms were not able to overcome differences about a number of key issues, keeping them from completing the merger. Orrick chairman Ralph Baxter did not provide details and emphasized that the merger had never been a done deal. The recent departure of a number of partners from Dewey might have affected the merger discussions, though Pierce denies that as being the cause.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Boston-based Bingham McCutchen recruited New York bankruptcy partner, Steven Wilamowsky, from Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Wilamowsky has focused on the representation of purchasers of assets of distressed companies, and has represented bidders and investors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcies of Polaroid, RCN Corp., and FAO Schwarz, among others. Out of Bingham’s 850 attorneys worldwide, 100 of them are located in the New York office.
Source: www.nylawyer.com