Snell & Wilmer, the Phoenix-based mega-firm with a large Las Vegas presence, is starting to feel the pinch of these tough economic times and it is now overflowing into the Vegas Office. In May, Snell laid off 30 to 40 staffers, supposedly all from Phoenix.It has been confirmed that attorneys at Snell are taking a 10% paycut. According to NALP, the Las Vegas associates were starting at $105,000, as of February 2009. Could those salaries have been saved if the Los Angeles office wasn't opened in January of this year?
Does anyone know if this impacts only associates or partners too? Have any other firms lowered salaries? Any new salary freezes?
LE & JL, please welcome Elle to WWL for us all.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for the increased fashion contribution. But keep that dog away from me.
So, are we outraged at management or concerned for employees? Tough times, I say.
ReplyDeleteThis is a "dog bites man" story. They ain't the only one folks...
ReplyDeleteI'm more interested to hear of big firms with offices in Vegas who haven't cut salaries. And before you chime in to brag about your office, you might want to wait until the year is out.
@ 1:53 - Which other big firms that you know of have cut salaries? I have heard from friends who work at larger local firms that salaries were frozen, but not that they had done full fledged cuts.
ReplyDeleteDon't talk about salary cuts people!! You'll only encourage firms worried about their "rep" to go ahead and do it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, wasn't Snell at 120K, like, a few months ago, on the NALP form!? Something is very fishy here. Maybe my math is faulty but I thought 10% of 120K was 12K. If they cut to 105K, and then took 10% off of that, then that is total bs
Ballard cut salaries as well. Interesting that neither Ballard nor Snell cut their billable requirement...105K for 2000 billables? Snell is now on par with the lowly local firms.
ReplyDeleteSnell lowered the starting salary to 105K. This happened a few months ago. Today they cut the salaries of all other attorneys by 10%. They've also offered a deferred start date/public interest package to 2009 associates.
ReplyDeleteI once paid a Thai hooker 50 bucks to Snell my Wilmer.*
ReplyDelete*I didn't make that up, but it sure is funny.
Snell & Wilmer a "mega-firm"? Get real.
ReplyDeletePer the "Magic Number" post this time last year, Snell was at $120K.
ReplyDeletehttp://wildwildlaw.blogspot.com/2008/04/magic-number-update-2008.html
You guys are REALLY struggling with the reality of the recession. The fact is that you are in a "partnership" of sorts with your employer. Many of you were paid WAY MORE than you were and likely are worth because of the demand for attorneys in Las Vegas. Three things changed that: (1) Boyd; (2) National Firms being allowed in NV; & (3) the recession.
ReplyDeleteYour employers are responding to clients refusing to pay us or by cutting bills for excessive billing by lazy associates that don't know how to practice law yet. Thus, when you are asked to "take one for the team" by a salary reduction, you should be thankful they are not closing up shop.
There are many major clients out there that are holding 100's of 1000's of dollars of A/R and millions from the big firms. If something does not change for the better, you all will be looking at a lot worse than pay cuts. You should be MORE CONCERNED about what your employer isn't telling you, right now, than what he is telling you.
Your safe haven, in this economy, will likely be the small firms. Why? Seems counter-intuitive. However, your work has a direct impact on a small firm. They will be less likely to cut you, more likely to lean on you heavier and will send staff down the road before the send the billers down the road. A big firm has to trim, trim, trim. You will ALWAYS be expendable when there are so many partners and senior attorneys. They are the first ones that are asked to take less and bill more. So, if you youngbloods are having to work more for less money, you should be REALLY scared and WORK YOUR ASS OFF.
At this point, if you are employed, you should be jumping for JOY when your employer asks you to pitch in and take less pay, work more hours and "dig a little deeper" for the sake of the firm that pays all of your bills and gives your sorry ass the chance to learn what real live lawyers do. It's is times like these, that we learn who the REAL workers are...
It will have hit the fan when people are fleeing to Alverson Taylor.
ReplyDeleteLegally UnBound is 100% on the money.
ReplyDeleteLU - thanks for the welcome! I'm sure we will be BFFs in no time!
ReplyDeleteThis could be wishful thinking (because I don't work at S&W) but could their pain be worse because of the Southwest Exchange debacle?
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy, but if I'm pulling in $35,000 in collectables (not billables), my firm shouldn't try to either freeze or cut my salary. I don't work for a top 10 law firm, just a boutique firm with a variety of books.
ReplyDeleteAs for $105k being a lowly salary, are we forgetting that the national average is $40k? Let's get real here people; the money is still good.
1:33: I don't think anyone said $105 is low. They just it is lower than $120. I am curious what source says the national average is $40k.
ReplyDeleteAccording to wolframalpha.com (search "lawyer"), the median wage (as of 2007) for lawyers was $106,100.
ReplyDeleteThe 50% range was $72,060 to $143,600.
I'm sure that today's numbers would be lower, but I doubt the median has dropped to $40K.
@1:33 PM
ReplyDeleteIf you can bill $35,000/mo "collectible", I hope you are making a lot more than $106K, since you are at a small firm. Most of you STRUGGLE to bill $20,000 "collectible", especially in this economy.
The average household income for a US household is approximately $50,000 (http://askville.amazon.com/average-yearly-household-income-2008/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=9950248).
ReplyDeleteAs a professional, I'm happy that my salary exceeds the national average, but I try not to forget that I make over three times what my secretary does (and how essential she is to helping me do my job).
@3:48 - My secretary sucks and I wish she would quit. Perhaps you could say where you work so that I can poach... I have no idea how much my firm pays her, but it is too much.
ReplyDelete6:09 as a legal assistant the reason why your secretary might suck is due to lack of direction from you! Remember-she might be saying the same thing as you, "he sucks as an attorney."
ReplyDelete@6:57
ReplyDeleteThat is EXACTLY TRUE.
Unfortunately for you young attorneys us Partners will keep a good secretary over an awesome attorney any day. ACCOUNTABILITY. Look it up. It means that the buck stops with the Attorney, which usually means the associate, NOT your secretary. Too many try to blame the staff. More often than not I've found that my staff's failings 9/10 are a result of my failings in communication. You young attorneys are usually horrible at both, especially in treatment of the staff. Take a note as to what 6:57 said. It was scripture!!
LU: I work at a large firm in town. I take everything given to me and stay as late as it takes to get things done. Still, there's just not enough work to go around right now. Luckily I've survived thus far. What's your guidance?
ReplyDeleteThis is a response to Anonymous @ 10:13 AM (Click http://www.legallyunbound.com/2009/06/how-does-associates-keep-their-job-in.html ).
ReplyDelete“NO”, I didn’t respond on this thread. I'm already beat down for being too verbose over here, so I didn’t want to take up 10 more pages on this thread. I’m not trying to get more traffic over at my site. So DON"T CLICK ABOVE, unless you really want the advice. Sorry for linking WWL, but I didn't want to pollute the thread. If you want the answer feel free to have it for your site and put it where you like.
Perhaps i am rude in saying this, but who the fuck cares about the soul-less cocksucking fuckers at Snell "death star" Wilmer? To lament the fate of any of its minions of evil is to lament the advance of decency or goodness.
ReplyDeleteAn unemployed Snell Wilmer or Alverson Turnover associate, is a good one, for he or she is at least doing slightly less evil.