It was a wild ride for associates at big law firms during the first decade of the century. In the end, most everyone was a little queasy from the experience.
Between 2000 and 2009, law firms doled out jaw-dropping bonuses, lavished benefits like never before and hiked first-year salaries to a point that drew the envy of federal judges. The decade also featured mass job cuts, pay reductions and a decided shift in power for recent law graduates, many of whom, at the decade’s conclusion, were clamoring for even part-time work at living-wage levels.
