A helpful commenter pointed us towards an "interesting" article in Las Vegas Business Press about our friends over at ATMS. In the article, ATMS explains how the firm has been able to increase its hiring while "other firms" are forced to do layoffs. The article gave us quite a chuckle, here are a couple of our favorite excerpts (with a bit of commentary):The staffing increase is part of Alverson Taylor Mortensen & Sanders' business strategy. In boom times, many prominent Las Vegas law offices tended to hire experienced attorneys with a large portfolio of business under their belts. This firm, however, likes to hire recent law school graduates.
"We like to hire people right out of law school and train them properly, and we can train them right," Taylor said. "We believe we are better at training new attorneys than anyone else."
Plus, people right out of law school don't laugh quite as hard when ATMS tells them they will be paid by the hour and not reimbursed for parking.
Partner J. Bruce Alverson said his firm hasn't been hammered by the economy the way some other law offices were.Right. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that those "other firms" don't have a constant flow of attorneys heading out the back door. That would be silly. Oh, and Bruce means "absorbed" literally ... the partners ate the slow associates.
"We didn't do any layoffs, like the other law firms," Alverson said. "We only had four transactional attorneys, and their work slowed. But we absorbed them in other areas."
Check out the article for more "ATMS Presents: How to Build a Successful Firm on the Backs of Inexperienced Law Students."
(LVBP)
It is interesting how ATMS can hire 8-9 associates a year, never conduct layoffs, and never grow. That is an obscenely high level of attrition - or a good business model?
ReplyDeleteTrain their associates right? Maybe back in the day when ATMS was known as a sweatshop where you learned how to work, but nowadays it's just a place where you learn how to review medical records.
ReplyDeleteIt has worked for Bruce for many many years and he's made a ton of money with the "model". I am a partner at a much smaller litigation shop, work harder than Alverson, and don't make as much money as he does. The ATMS "model" is certainly not my cup of tea - I like to take a little pride in my work product and (gasp) give my clients some value. But if the "model" works for Bruce, who are any of us to criticize? ATMS has lots of clients who are not complaining.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that a lot of graduating boyd students would be very happy to get an offer from ATMS. ATMS is a good first step to a better firm. The best part is that ATMS is used to being a springboard and they won't hold it against associates who leave, unlike other places that take offense if you leave the firm for a better opportunity. Any Boyd grad with too much pride to work at ATMS (unless they have another better offer) is a fool.
ReplyDeleteUntil you are making more money than Bruce, don't knock his system. Honestly, being an attorney is all about money anyway because nobody really does this shit for fun (besides the really old guys who have already made their money).
Here we go again. Nothing decent to write about so we'll go back to bashing ATMS. Look, if nothing else, you learn how to bill like a champ while you're there. Think of it as a class in billing, except you are also getting paid.
ReplyDeleteA high percentage of lawyers in the valley have passed through the halls of the pink palace during their careers. It's a stepping stone - as well as a graduate seminar in billing.
ReplyDeleteATMS does teach you how to bill, that's for sure. At my old firm we had an ATMS lateral who billed 10 hours a day, including the days he took the afternoon off to hit the gym or play golf or boff some gal.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it turns out you can bill 10 hours a day in just under 5 hours, if you know how. ATMS graduates know how. Quite the skill.
The same magazine contains a list of law firms ranked by the number of litigation attorneys (page 34). ATMS is rated number 1.
ReplyDeleteApparently they are able to keep enough clients happy to maintain the largest litigation practice in the city, at least according to the LV Business Press.
This blog has an unnatural negative bias against ATMS. Did one of the bloggers have a bad experience there?
ReplyDeleteHere's the truth: law firms exist for the benefit of their shareholders. It is the shareholders that invest, take financial risk, find clients, and work to build the firms. Associates are a little more valuable in a law firm than machinery is in a factory. At least at some level associates have an opportunity to prosper and become an owner. Associates who invest, take financial risk, find clients, and work to build the firm will soon find themselves owners.
I have a tough time feeling sorry for so-called abused associates. These are not helpless factory laborers or migrant farm workers; these are educated professionals who should know something about risk and reward. If you don't like the way a firm treats you, adapt or seek a situation which better suits you.
Did somebody really expect the Las Vegas Business Press to publish something that's NOT a fluff piece about a law firm? This isn't journalism, it's advertising.
ReplyDelete10:15 - Hello Mr. 10-15 year established partner who came up in a much different legal economy (and billing requirement) than exists now. I'm sure that you spent every waking hour at the office, grinding out litigation memoranda and getting abused by partners, all the while making a decent salary with manageable student loans. Eventually you landed a client, built up a relationship, and was made partner after a reasonable amount of time.
ReplyDeleteThe current market has changed. Each year, the billing requirement seems to grow, as does the time it takes to make partner - equity partner, not that bs partner every firm attaches to senior associates now so they can bill ridiculouos fees for them all the while keeping the lion's share for themselves, while the salary and benny's seem to decrease in inverse proportion. All the while, the exhorbitant student loans are kicking in, so the actual take home pay shrinks even further.
Have some sympathy and STFU when it comes to the struggles you had coming up. It's different, and it sure as hell isn't easier.
Re 10:15, "much different legal community ... exists now" and "market has changed." I have been practicing here for a lot longer than 15 years and the only thing that has changed is the attitude and work ethic of the new associates. Complaining and self-entitlement have replaced hard work. Step up and accept responsibility for your own situation and stop trying to blame the system
ReplyDelete11:41 - AMEN TO THAT. These new associates right out of law school have this attitude of entitlement. Yes, being the low man sucks, but we've all been there. Boo-Hoo the economy sucks and I have student loans. Well, those of us who have been out longer still have student loans, probably bought a house 5 years ago that has depreciated by 50%, plus we have families to feed. Quit feeling so sorry for yourself.
ReplyDeleteCry me a river, 11:22 AM. You should have done some career planning BEFORE you borrowed $125k to go to Cal Western. Seemed like a good idea at the time, didn't it? Figured you'd impress your college friends, right? You, know, the ones who took their undergrad degrees and went to work doing something they like. Maybe they can't tell people at cocktail parties that they're big lawyers; but I'd bet they sleep better at night knowing that while you were borrowing more money and not working while you were in law school, they were working, advancing their careers, and NOT having the interest capitalize on their undergrad deb.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like your work, do something else. Young attorneys do make partner these days, all the time. They just aren't you. Grow up and quit acting like someone owes you something.
11:41 and 12:42 - Amen to that. So many of the associates who have recently graduated think that everything is beneath them. They believe they should be first chair at trial six months into their career when they can't draft a coherent letter or ask a cogent question at deposition. Shut up and put your time in like those before you have.
ReplyDeleteI know that salaried attorneys are the norm. Our firm pays a middle-of-the road salary with all benefits and then a pretty generous bonus depending on firm performance. No billable hour requirement, but we expect 9-10 hour work days and occasional weekends. I think that my business model stinks. I can't help but think how much more motivated some of our attorneys would be if they were paid by the hour and then got a piece of the collectibles as motivation. If they want to slack, then their compensation would reflect that. I just can't bring myself to pay an hourly rate to an attorney but I think it makes more sense. I don't fault ATMS. I have heard the griping on this board. In a perfect world with perfect associates, a perfect salary and perfect benefits would be great. But let's face it, there are alot of imperfect attorneys out there. I'm with those on this board that say let the associates go find work somewhere else if they don't like it. And more power to them. Go get that money.
ReplyDeleteWhy would any law school graduate feel entitled if their diploma only spells Boyd?
ReplyDeleteOh wait, sorry, didn't meant to say that out-lout in Boyd-town . . .
Unfortunately, it's a fact that there are simply the "known" firms that always have a high turn around rate due to parters (non-equity)who are completely expendable and try to throw young associates under the bus to save themselves. Associates just get tired of dealing with an egotistic partner who has no sense of decency.
ReplyDeleteWhen a firm claims they want young associates to supposedly mold into great attorneys, the truth is that there is a high turn over rate and nobody wants to stay. Unfortunately, in this economy, a newbie attorney is lucky to get any kind of job so, they just have to suck it up and grab what they can and garner some experience to later say goodbye. It's just a cycle.
Gor blimey---never a shortage of confrontational weenies commenting on this blog. Hate on, haters.
ReplyDeleteHate on Boyd as much as you want (probably only one poster who went to Cal Western or some other school that dropped the bottom third of the class), but law school only cost me $7,000 per year. Consider that everytime you make your student loan payment, especially since we both have jobs (probably) in the same range of compensation.
ReplyDeleteSlightly off topic, but in my opinion, ATMS's only redeeming quality was that they had some hot female associates. My friend who works there said all 3 left at the same time this year. Now I am left with nothing good to say about Alverson. Horrible litigation firm.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe all of the blanket comments that associates are lazy and stupid. Granted newbies are inexperienced, but hey, isn't mentoring what good partners do? Not all associates feel entitled. Most of the associates I work with are dedicated and hard working. That leads me to wonder - If all the haters are so smart, how did these lazy associates fool you into giving them a job?
ReplyDeletere 7:54 "horrible litigation firm" I bet the last time you dealt with ATMS lawyers, they really rubbed your nose in it, and you are still smarting. They did not achieve the ranking of the largest litigation firm in the city by losing to goofs like you who simply judge a firm by the looks of its women lawyers
ReplyDelete@9:23,
ReplyDeleteOr he took ATMS's client for a cool $13 mill.
http://wildwildlaw.blogspot.com/2010/03/big-plaintiffs-victory-in-delaney-trial.html
So you think that 7:54 is Dennis Prince. Interesting
ReplyDelete@10:19,
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who 7:54 is. Just pointing out 13 million reasons why someone might call them a "horrible litigation firm" other than for the reasons 9:23 described.
-9:34.
7:54 PM - good point. Always sad to see unhappy female litigators who could be very happy housewives doing the right thing. What a shame. I don't know why women choose unhappiness over happiness in life and career. Men, tell your daughters that joy will not come from being a big shot attorney - the joy will come from marrying one.
ReplyDelete@11:09,
ReplyDeleteWomen who are unhappy litigators would likely be unhappy housewives. Men who are unhappy litigators are more than likely already unhappy husbands/bf/whatever.
Happiness doesn't come from a job, or a title, or boinking a high-priced attorney of any gender.
It comes from kicking ass and taking names, no matter what you're actually doing. Want to be happy as a litigator? Be an excellent litigator. It's the search for, and achievement of excellence that gives you that serenity of knowing there's nothing you could have left undone.
Want to be an unhappy litigator? Half-ass it, and hope to heaven noone exposes you.
Want to be an unhappy father/mother/spouse? Half-ass it.
If nothing else, you can tell your daughter that if she half-asses it, she got her ass half from you, the whole enchilada.
Gloria Navarro confirmed.
ReplyDelete@7:54 - I know the ladies you are talking about, and from what I understand, they are all still happy litigators. I was a reference for one, and she is smart and tough in addition to her appearance!
ReplyDelete9:30am in Court, 7:00pm changing a diaper - I am the same happy person. That's right. I am as happy as your stay-at-home housewife (except I make 6 figures).
ReplyDelete11:09 a.m - Screw you and your sexist bullshit. Your wife is probably boinking every guy in the neighborhood while cashing your checks. Look at little closer at the last 2 of your 7 kids - they look nothing like you.
ReplyDeleteFebruary bar results come out tomorrow...the waiting makes me want to puke. Why do they take so f%#*ing long to grade?
ReplyDelete@3:01,
ReplyDeleteIt's all the Cal-Western grads. The graders get headaches from reading so many essays that lack a coherent thought, so the graders have developed a coping mechanism.
Every time they read a sentence which totally contradicts Nevada law, the grader takes a shot of liquor. Sentences that make no sense result in a sip of beer. (Note: this can be combined with the aforementioned shot.) If the grader is toasted before the end of the exam, you fail. This means, of course, that the grader is limited in the number of exams per day that he/she can complete.
@ 3:39 - Don't bother trying to get Cal Western grads upset; they don't seem to care. Stick with Boyd grads, they get all upset and defensive.
ReplyDeleteverdict in endoscopy: appx $5MM+ total for H & W PLUS punitives to be determined.
ReplyDeleteI remember someone saying there was "no liability" becuase of some dumb law-school thing they learned.
ReplyDeleteI was willing to return to eat my words if I was wrong, but I wasn't, so I'm returning to gloat about being right.
It was a 3L from Boyd. Lawl!
ReplyDelete11:09 AM - Troll of the Day winner.
ReplyDeleteCan we just create a "boydsucks" blog so we can get over it already? After that, we'll start a "alllawschools.outofthetop25.sucktoo" blog in response.
ReplyDelete