http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/index.jsp Law.com Career Center - Where legal professionals find jobs and the latest career information. en-us 03 Jul 2009 06:03:01 -0400 Copyright 2009. Incisive Media US Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/lawjobs/alert/career_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/index.jsp In a what may be a first-of-its-kind swearing-in ceremony for a lawyer, a soldier in Iraq became an attorney last week via a live video conference, taking his oath before a Michigan judge who was over 6,300 miles away. The long-distance ceremony for Army Major Miles Gengler was a promise made good by an associate dean at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, John Nussbaumer. "I promised Miles that if he passed the bar exam, I would find a way to get him sworn in even though he would still be in Iraq," said Nussbaumer. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431988726&rss=careercenter 1202431988726 Aspiring lawyer Robert Bowman took the New York bar exam four times before finally passing last year, but now his debt is preventing him from joining the Bar. The New York state appellate division recently decided that the size of Bowman's student loans, about $400,000, along with his failure to repay them, show that he lacks "the character and general fitness requisite for an attorney." Bowman graduated from the University of California Hastings College of Law and also has a masters of law degree. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431983945&rss=careercenter 1202431983945 Blank Rome has become the latest law firm to put the squeeze on associate salaries, with much of the focus on more junior associates. Effective July 17, first-year associates face a $15,000 pay cut. Other associate classes will see a 2 percent to 10 percent pay reduction, the firm said in a statement, adding that the cuts are a market adjustment. One recruiter predicts that first-year associate salaries will ultimately fall to a "natural level" of between $110,000 and $120,000. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431986525&rss=careercenter 1202431986525 Florida-based Ruden McClosky has laid off eight attorneys as part of a cost-reduction effort that includes 18 percent pay cuts for most of its lawyers, according to sources. The laid-off attorneys worked in the firm's litigation, corporate and land-use practice areas. The latest layoffs follow three rounds of dismissals conducted since late last year. An attorney at the firm who asked not to be named said morale has declined because of the cuts in jobs and pay and that many of the firm's lawyers are seeking other jobs. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431985047&rss=careercenter 1202431985047 Jason Murtagh says that the most nerve-wracking moment during his work on Haywood v. Drown was when the U.S. Supreme Court granted writ of certiorari in June 2008. That's because he was the one set to argue the case. But it turned out well for the 34-year-old attorney and his client in the prisoner rights case -- the Court ruled in their favor in May. Murtagh took the pro bono case while an associate at Dechert, but he's moved on to 40-attorney Rubin Fortunato to pursue a greater amount of casework. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431945120&rss=careercenter 1202431945120 Howrey and Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder made their union official Wednesday, capping at least six months of serious talks. All but one of the Silicon Valley intellectual property boutique's 26 attorneys joined Howrey's Palo Alto, Calif., office, effective July 1. The move includes nine partners and 16 associates. Managing partner Lloyd "Rusty" Day said 725-lawyer Howrey's vision is a good fit for his firm, which couldn't add resources quickly on its own. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431965984&rss=careercenter 1202431965984 Lawyers seeking employment must have a Web presence, said speakers at a recent seminar for unemployed lawyers hosted by the State Bar of Georgia -- but their ideas varied on which avenues to take. Lawyer and social media enthusiast David A. Barrett advocated spreading one's name far and wide on the World Wide Web through "open networking," while other speakers discussed blogging or maintaining a professional Web site. The speakers also had several ideas for self-promotion that didn't involve the Web. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431945939&rss=careercenter 1202431945939 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe dumped lockstep associate promotion on Wednesday and began assigning associates to one of three tiers within its partner track: associate, managing associate or senior associate. Orrick will also create a nonpartner-track option for associates, and boost the number of staff attorneys doing more routine work like document review. Orrick Chairman Ralph Baxter Jr. said the moves are meant to create a system in which clients aren't paying for unnecessary costs. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431957874&rss=careercenter 1202431957874 Should on-campus recruiting at law schools be delayed until the spring? That question was a major topic of discussion during a recent roundtable on the future of legal hiring that brought together law firm leaders, law school officials and general counsel in Washington, D.C. Many of the participants agreed that it would make more sense to recruit in the spring rather than in the traditional late summer or early fall. But several law school representatives worried the move would create logistical problems. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431948197&rss=careercenter 1202431948197 Alston & Bird is cutting associate pay by $5,000 across the board for the remainder of the year -- a reduction equal to about 7 percent of annual starting pay. The cuts, effective July 15, follow other cost-saving measures undertaken by the firm since the end of last year, including staff and associate layoffs, early retirement packages for senior staff, a reduction in its summer program and a deferred start date for its new first-year class. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431945418&rss=careercenter 1202431945418 A year ago, Lehman Brothers appeared solvent, Bernard Madoff was a trusted name and the global economic crisis was still called a downturn. Even then, pro bono advocates worried that altruism would be a casualty of hard times at the country's top law firms. Judging by firms' performance last year, those fears may have been unfounded. As a group, the nation's 200 highest-grossing firms devoted more hours to pro bono than ever. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431958081&rss=careercenter 1202431958081 I'm in good standing at a firm that has announced possible layoffs. If they happen, I'd like to take a six-month, unpaid sabbatical. Would I be more likely to be terminated, or would the firm welcome this? http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202431875511&rss=careercenter 1202431875511