So who needs first-years, anyway?

The sudden surge in associate compensation has left junior associates at most big law firms earning far more than they are worth. And that has many managing partners running scared. Having just lopped millions of dollars off the ledger, and terrified that the salary wars aren’t yet over, they’re wondering what to do next. As consultant Thomas Clay of Altman Weil, Inc., puts it: “There’s no magic pixie dust for this one.”