Welcome to Inside Track. My name is Rebekah Mintzer and I’m the in-house editor at Law.com. I’ll be taking over the briefing from my former colleague Stephanie Forshee, who’s moving into a new job.I’m thrilled to be stepping in to bring you some of the most significant news and insights from the in-house world. (Speaking of *huge* in-house news, I am loving the latest cheeky trademark video from Velcro .)More seriously, I’d love to hear from you, dear readers, about what’s new with in-house practice. What have been your biggest recent successes? And what keeps you awake at night? I also welcome your suggestions on what you’d like to see included in this briefing—reach me at [email protected] or on Twitter at @rmintzer . ➤➤ Want to receive Inside Track as an email? Sign up here. Now let’s get rolling…
What’s Happening –
This week, my colleague Christine Simmons reported that global law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy is giving its associates big raises . First-year associates at the firm will now make a healthy $190,000 per year (a $10,000 jump from their previous salary). By year eight, associates will be raking in $330,000 . Milbank’s chairman Scott Edelman says this a move to let these lawyers “know how much they’re valued.” But are corporate clients, who at the end of the day, bankroll outside counsel pay, thrilled about the Milbank announcement and its possible “cascading” effects as major firms including Winston & Strawn, Proskauer Rose and Simpson Thacher rush to match the new pay scale?Hardly! One legal team executive from a major company, who prefers to remain anonymous, wrote reporter Caroline Spiezio with a strong opinion on the matter: This sort of change is a continued example of the compounding costs of the traditional law firm model. I can readily source through alternative legal service providers equally competent lawyers who have excellent credentials, 10+ years of experience, and will work better, faster and with more know-how and practicality than any junior associate for less than the cost of an associate at these salary rates. Read more: The $190K Question: Will Clients Balk at Rising Associate Salaries? —➤ What’s your perspective on the latest Big Law associate salary raises and where they’re headed? Email me. 
