How does your small firm salary stack up?

That other (far superior) legal tabloid Above The Law is doing a series on small law firms, and has started publishing the results of its survey of small firm lawyers regarding their salaries. With over 650 respondents, they had a pretty good sample size, and came up with some interesting numbers.

Check it out. If you work for a smaller firm, let us know if the figures look accurate for our market.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

RJ Publishes "Magic Number" List for Public Employees

Oddly veiled as a hit-piece on our brave firefighters, the RJ has published a story accompanied by a HUGE Excel spreadsheet (upper-left corner) listing the salaries of every single Clark County employee.

The list includes the salaries of our local DA's and PD's, and some of their salary/retirement packages put our own Magic Number list to shame. (BTW ... we're still taking tips for our 2009 list of civil firm salary/benefit info)

Becoming a "public servant" is starting to look better by the day.

(LVRJ)

Salary Cut Watch: Fennemore Craig

Attorneys have been worried that salary cuts may be coming to the big firms in the Valley.

Well, according to the gossip boards, they just reportedly arrived for regional law firm Fennemore Craig. (Judged) Word is that FC just reduced attorney salaries by 8% for associates across the board.

[Editor's note: no comment from FC yet. We're looking for confirmation]

Salary Cuts May Be Coming or Have Arrived

Bad news from out east: Ballard Spahr is cutting associate salaries. No word yet on whether the Vegas branch will be receiving cuts, but we assume the salary cut is firm-wide.



News from Above the Law:

More evidence of deflation in the legal market comes from Philadelphia. Last week, Ballard Spahr decided to cut associate salaries. Tipsters report that the average cut is 14%, but each individual salary cut is based on class year and other factors. According to one source:

Ballard Spahr cut associate salaries firmwide between approximately $19,000 and $30,000 per year (senior associates being cut more both on a percentage basis and actual dollar basis than junior associates) effective June 16.

There have been whispers that cuts in associate salaries would eventually arrive in the Vegas Valley. What have you heard readers? Are salaries being cut out here in the desert or just back east?



[thanks to A and C for the tip]

Moving On To Greener Pastures, Or Fleeing A Sinking Ship?

It looks like our own Boyd School of Law will be losing at least three professors this year to other schools. Professors Raquel Aldana, Tuan Samahon, and Michael Higdon have all given Boyd notice of their departure.

More alarming, however, is Samahon's revelation that he knows of an additional six professors who are interviewing elsewhere. Boyd only has approximately 40 faculty members, so losing nearly a quarter of them would not be good news.

One explanation for the departures comes from the current dean of the law school, who incredibly makes more himself than the three departing professors, combined ($339,560.00 vs. $324,823.00). From the LV Sun:

Boyd School of Law Dean John Valery White acknowledged the challenging environment. He said with so many talented young faculty, some turnover is inevitable. He said the law school is committed to attracting and retaining top talent.

“One of the components of my job is to build a strong faculty, but not under the assumption that we wouldn’t have any turnover,” White said.

Another component of Mr. White's job is, apparently, counting his money while cackling and smoking a cigar with his feet on the desk.

So, our question today is for all you Boyd students (or faculty ... we know you're reading): What's going on with your school? Is Boyd just experiencing "inevitable" turnover, or is there something bigger underlying this exodus? Please, enlighten us with your comments.

(LV Sun; Boyd Employee Salaries)

Valley Layoff Watch, Part 4 - The Big Freeze

It looks like local sweatshop Alverson Taylor Mortensen & Sanders has made the prospect of working there even more appealing. As if conditions weren't bad enough for associates, ATMS sent out two emails last week that made things even worse. The first email tried to soften the blow for a couple paragraphs, right before kicking associates in their collective nuts:

From: [Secretary]

Subject: Message From Bruce Alverson

As most of you already know, as a result of our country’s current economic times, virtually all of our clients have refused our requests for hourly rate increases. At least one client has filed bankruptcy and several more are rumored to be on that economic path. In short, our revenues are capped at least for the foreseeable future. Basic math tells us that if revenues are capped, we must make every effort to hold the line on expenses.

Salaries are the single largest expenditure in a law firm. Historically, we have given raises every six months. To our knowledge, we are the only firm in Las Vegas to review salaries and give raises that frequently. In an effort to control costs, we have considered various options that other law firms are using—ranging from layoffs to salary cuts to reduced work hours with a proportional salary reduction.

The partners have decided on a far less drastic measure. We are not giving salary increases at this time. We will re-examine this decision in six months.

Bruce

So, they have considered "reduced work hours with a proportional salary reduction?" How exactly would that work under an hourly system?

We realize that pay freezes aren't on the same level as layoffs, but ATMS associates have it pretty rough already. Up until now, ATMS has given "guaranteed" raises of $6000 every 6 months to associates, a fact often cited by ATMS associates when they are asked about working at one of the lowest-paying firms in town and used by ATMS recruiters when bringing in "fresh meat."

According to our tipsters, because ATMS raises their base salary each year for incoming associates, if things stay the way they are, first-year associates who start after the July bar (if they start at all) will be making more than the second year associates who just had their April raises eliminated. This is because ATMS raises are given twice a year, in October and April, and new associates don't get the benefit of the October raise because bar results come out in mid October, thus they aren't attorneys yet (another classy move). ATMS second-years must be feeling awesome about that.

But the fun didn't end there for ATMS associates. A second email was sent days after the first, only there was no "softening the blow" this time:

From: [Same Secretary]

Subject: MESSAGE FROM BRUCE ALVERSON

Effective 30 days from today, ATM&S is suspending the matching fund provision in our 401k plan. That is, the firm will not match future contributions. The 401k plan remains in effect–you can make personal contributions, but the firm will not contribute a matching amount. If you wish to stop contributing, contact [redacted] immediately and she will explain the process.

We will reconsider this issue in six months.

Bruce

Losing your raise and your 401K matching all in the same week ... ouch! We're pretty sure that ATMS is running out of "benefits" to cut. Perhaps they are just doing this so associates will leave on their own and ATMS can avoid using the "L" word.

By the way, what's with Bruce Alverson having his secretary send these emails? We guess he can't be bothered to address his associates directly ... must be too busy scanning the parking lot for pennies to pick up.

(Thanks tipsters)

Boyd $chool of Law

It appears that our own Boyd School of Law may be hit pretty hard if Gov. Jim Gibbons proposed budget is passed. From Law.com:

While some schools are just starting to deal with the ramifications of smaller budgets, others have been in cutting mode for some time.

The William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has seen its state funding shrink by 9% through two cuts since December 2007, said Dean John Valery White. The housing crisis hit Nevada earlier than many other states, prompting legislators to cut higher education spending sooner.

"You have to cut a little bit of everything in order to get up to a pretty big number," White said. The law school has left some positions empty, cancelled some staff training and faculty travel, decreased its library staff, reduced the number of course sections and switched to more electronic publications to reduce library costs, he said.

The law school also is using some donation money to cover a portion of operational costs, such as staff salaries. In better times, that donation money would go to things such as capital projects or student travel.

"It's really just a stop-gap," White said.

The Governor's move even sparked a rally at UNLV (don't be too impressed, you can get thousands of college students to show up and rally against democracy if you hand out enough flyers). Thomas Mitchell put the "rally" in perspective calling it: "as persuasive as a temper tantrum." Students showed both their intelligence level and seriousness concerning the matter by holding up signs that read: "Kiss My Butt, Budget Cuts," "Please wear 2 condoms when U screw our education," and "We Are Your Future." There's a scary thought.

We were feeling pretty bad for the law school (which we hoped was not involved in the rally shenanigans) ... until we came across this website that lists Boyd faculty salaries and realized they are making more than most actual lawyers in this town.

For instance, the aforementioned dean, John Valery White, is currently pulling in $339,560.00. The dean's "Executive Assistant" (read: secretary) is making $100,848.00. The next four highest paid law professors are making $184,203.00, $183,755.00, $182,413.00, and $180,733.00, respectively. Any of you associates out there pull in $180 G's last year? We didn't think so.

We're no socialists, and we have no problem with people making money (even in these "troubling times"). However, it seems to us that before higher education starts pointing the finger at the Governor, they need to look in the mirror ... and remove some of that "bling" they see.

(Law.com, RJ)

Bonus Round

Now that a New Year is upon us, it is time to (once again) prod all of you for information regarding firm bonuses. Hopefully you have all received yours by now, so here are our questions: What firm do you work for? How does your firm calculate bonuses? Did you get one this year? How much was it? Did your firm cut bonuses due to "economic concerns?"

Let us know in the comments!

Back by popular request: Salary info

Hi all, we've gotten a few requests to update our chart of salaries in Nevada (and the magic number of salary amount per billable hour).

As usual, we'll need some tips to make sure we've got accurate information.  So please send in information about the first year salaries and billable requirements for firms in Nevada.  You can leave the information as a comment on this post or email it to nevadalegal@gmail.com.

Results will be up next week. 

Payscale/Bonus Survey--[light results]

Not much response on the lockstep/payscale/bonus survey. Either our readers don't know or aren't interested in sharing. But here's the [sad] results so far. If you have any information to add, please share by posting a comment or emailing at nevadalegal@gmail.com.

Alverson Taylor
Bonus
$40 hr for every billable hour over 2000
(1 1/2 x the hourly billable rate under the new hourly pay system)
Payscale
$12k annual standard ($6k every 6 months)

Holland & Hart
Bonus
bonus acts as lockstep acts to keep associates' pay in lockstep with increase in new associates' starting salaries--i.e. raise in starting salary=annual bonus
Payscale (annual raises)
$2k raise through 4th yr, $4k raise in 5th yr, $10k raise in 6th yr through 10th yr

Lewis Brisbois
Bonus
$4k for first 50 hours over 1950 (2000 total) and then $4k for each additional 100 hours (e.g., $8,000 bonus for 2,100 hours)
Payscale (annual raises)
$4-6k raise annually

Survey--Bonuses and Payscale

Okay, a number of attorneys have written in requesting information on the bonus and payscale structures at Vegas firms.

So we're hosting another survey. Please post a comment to this article or write us at nevadalegal@gmail.com and let us know:

• what the payscale is at your firm (i.e. the set annual pay increase to attorney salary during the 2nd yr, 3rd yr, 4th yr, etc.)
• the range of bonuses offered
• what the bonuses are based on (e.g. rainmaking, performance, hours billed, etc.)

Does your firm have a vast spectrum of bonuses and a flexible payscale? We want to know that too. Please write in. Results will be posted in a few weeks.

Magic Number Update 2008

Update: Now with updated 2008 Hale Lane, Payne & Fears, Snell & Wilmer (for 1st yrs and after), KKBRF, Alverson Taylor, Hutchinson & Steffen, Boies Schiller, DLA Piper, Downey Brand, Duane Morris, McCormick Barstow numbers.

2008 salary and billable number updates noted with a *. [disclaimer: these numbers are the most recent available from tips and websites]

[If you don't know about the magic number, learn more here.]

So, here, ranked in order by highest (or best) magical number are the Vegas firms (did I miss something or someone, let me know at nevadalegal@gmail.com):

Name $ per billable (Salary/Min Billable)
Watt, Tieder 73 ($145,000/2000 billables)
DLA Piper 72.5 ($145,000/2000 billables)
Duane Morris 69 ($135,000/1950 billables)
Ballard Spahr 68 ($133,000/1950 billables)
Fox Rothschild 68 ($125,000/1850 billables)*
Snell & Wilmer [1] 67 ($120,000/1800 billables)* -- [only 1800 billables for 1st yr]
Fennemore Craig 65 ($125,000/1925 billables)
Payne & Fears 64 ($125,000/1950 billables)*
Lewis & Roca 63 ($120,000/1900 billables)*
Hale Lane 63 ($120,000/1900 billables)* -- [incl. 100 required pro bono hrs--67 if excl. pro bono]
Lionel Sawyer 61 ($110,000/1800 billables)
Snell & Wilmer [2] 60 ($120,000/2000 billables)* -- [2000 billables after 1st yr]

Greenberg Traurig 59 ($112,000/1900 billables)*
Jennings, Strouss 58 ($110,000/1900 billables)
Bullivant Hauser 57 ($105,000/1850 billables)*
Downey Brand 57 ($100,000/1750 billables)
Brownstein Hyatt 56 ($110,000/1950 billables)
Jones Vargas 55 ($102,000/1850 billables)*
Fisher & Phillips 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
McDonald Carano Wilson 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
Santoro, Driggs 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)*
Gordon & Silver 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)
Kummer Kaempfer 53 ($100,000/1900 billables)*
Morris Pickering 51 ($95,000/1850 billables)
Marquis & Aurbach 50 ($100,000/2000 billables)
McCormick Barstow 46 ($80,000/1750)
Hutchison & Steffen 45 ($86,000/1900 billables)
Lewis Brisbois 43 ($84,000/1950 billables)
Alverson, Taylor 43 ($78,800/1840 billables)*
Thorndal, Armstrong 31 ($68,000/2160 billables)

Other--not enough info for magic number (any tips would be appreciated so we can clear this up)

Boies Schiller ($168,000/???? billables)
Jolley Urga 50 ($92,000/ avg of 1850 billables--no minimum listed)
Gordon & Rees ($????/1850 billables)

Hale Lane Hours Update and Hale Lane Reno office lockstep raise

Good news for the Reno residents who double as Hale Lane attorneys: Hale Lane is bringing Reno starting salaries up to $120k. The increase brings the Reno office in lockstep with the Vegas office's starting salary.

Additionally, we received an update on the Hale Lane billable hours requirement since the merger: the billable requirement is actually 1800, but there is an additional 100 hour civic service/Pro Bono requirement.

I guess it depends on your view of pro bono for whether you count that as 1800 minimum billables or 1900 minimum billables.

If you're counting (and we are), that make Hale Lane's magic numbers:
63 with pro bono hours included in minimum billables requirement
67 with pro bono hours excluded from minimum billables requirement

[hat tip to Anonymous]

Magic Number Note--10 or more attorneys

Now includes the Snell & Wilmer billables explanation (confirmed by someone in office).

Ok. So there have been a number of comments about how many of the top magic number firms only have 2-3 attorneys in Vegas and shouldn't be on the list. The magic number list is to give the readers a collection of any and all salary/billable information out there about Vegas firms.

So, here is an abbreviated list of magic numbers (known by the blog) for the firms with more than 10 attorneys:
Ballard Spahr 68 ($133,000/1950 billables)
Holland & Hart 67 ($120,000/1800 billables)
Snell & Wilmer [1] 67 ($120,000/1800 billables)* -- [only 1800 billables for 1st yr]
Fennemore Craig 65 ($125,000/1925 billables)
Payne & Fears 64 ($125,000/1950 billables)*
Lewis & Roca 63 ($120,000/1900 billables)*
Lionel Sawyer 61 ($110,000/1800 billables)
Snell & Wilmer [2] 60 ($120,000/2000 billables)* -- [billables required after 1st yr]
Hale Lane Peek 57 ($105,000/1850 billables)*
Brownstein Hyatt 56 ($110,000/1950 billables)
Jones Vargas 55 ($102,000/1850 billables)*
McDonald Carano Wilson 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
Gordon & Silver 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)
Santoro, Driggs 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)*
Kummer Kaempfer 53 ($100,000/1900 billables)*
Morris Pickering 51 ($95,000/1850 billables)
Marquis & Aurbach 50 ($100,000/2000 billables)
McCormick Barstow 46 ($80,000/1750)
Lewis Brisbois 43 ($84,000/1950 billables)
Alverson, Taylor 42 ($78,000/1840 billables)*
Thorndal, Armstrong 31 ($68,000/2160 billables)
Greenberg Traurig ($112,000/ ???? billables)
Jolley Urga ($92,000/ avg of 1850 billables--no minimum listed)

The Hutchison & Steffen debate continues

Conflicting tips over the Hutchinson & Steffen starting salary:

At least one tipster says the starting salary can't be calculated because H&S doesn't hire new attorneys, only ones that have been out practicing for years. Another wrote that during an H&S interview, they were told the minimum billables required was 1900, not 1950 as I was previously informed and starting salary was $86,000 (giving them a magic number of 45 [$86,000/1900]).

Any thoughts readers? Anyone out there able to set the record straight? Post away or email at nevadalegal@gmail.com.

Call for salary/billable (magic number) tips

WWL has received some feedback, complaining that the magic number posts do not have enough information about smaller local firms (as opposed to mega national firms with only 4 attorneys in town).

So, in an attempt to provide more information to the readers, and satisfy the critic's concerns, WWL is calling for readers to submit any and all information they have about the billable requirements and starting salaries of law offices in Vegas. Please post the information here as a comment or send an email to nevadalegal@gmail.com.

[Thanks. The whole purpose of the magic number posts is to make sure salary/billable information is available to everyone and not something to ask about during the 3rd interview.]

Salary Answers--M&A and H&S

Final salary answer. After taking tips from several anonymous tippers and a few emails from within the two firms, the final answers are very interesting:

Marquis Aurbach
pays $100k to start and requires 2000 minimum billables (Magic number of 50). Not bad at all M&A.

Hutchinson & Steffen
"do[es] not routinely hire new attorneys (associates that have no experience) straight out of law school. So, there really is no such thing as a starting salary. As far as I know, we have hired two new (no experience) attorneys in the last 6 years. Everyone else has at least one year. "

[thanks to GM, VD and Anonymous(es) for the tips]

How to Choose a Firm (The Magic Number)

Update: from reader comments, I added Marquis & Aurbach to the board with a magic number of 50.

For some new associates/law students, the magic number in evaluating firms is the calculation of salary per required billable hour. The formula takes the starting salary and divides the amount by the firm's minimum requirement of billable hours, to come up with a value paid to the associate for each [required] billable hour.

This magic number may be the best approximation of the value of working for a particular firm with the caveat that it does not take into consideration which firms require associates to work many more billable hours than the stated minimum requirement.

So, here, ranked in order by highest (or best) magical number are the Vegas firms ( did I miss something or someone? let me know at nevadalegal@gmail.com ):

Name $ per billable (Salary/Min Billable)
Watt, Tieder 73 ($145,000/2000 billables)
Ballard Spahr 68 ($133,000/1950 billables)
Holland & Hart 67 ($120,000/1800 billables)
Fennemore Craig 65 ($125,000/1925 billables)
Lionel Sawyer 61 ($110,000/1800 billables)

Lewis & Roca 61 ($115,000/1900 billables)

Jennings, Strouss 58 ($110,000/1900 billables)
Brownstein Hyatt 56 ($110,000/1950 billables)
Payne & Fears 56 ($110,000/1950 billables)
Bullivant Hauser 55 ($102,000/1850 billables)
Snell & Wilmer 55 ($110,000/2000 billables)
Fisher & Phillips 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
Hale Lane Peek 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
McDonald Carano Wilson 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
Gordon & Silver 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)
Morris Pickering 51 ($95,000/1850 billables)
Jolley Urga 51 ($92,000/1800 billables)
Kummer Kaempfer 50 ($95,000/1900 billables)
Marquis & Aurbach 50 ($100,000/2000 billables)

Santoro, Driggs 50 ($90,000/1800 billables)
Lewis Brisbois 43 ($84,000/1950 billables)
Alverson, Taylor 37 ($74,400/2000 billables)
Thorndal, Armstrong 31 ($68,000/2160 billables)

Congrads to the associates at Watt, Tieder for scoring the highest with $73 per billable hour. And while the attorneys at Alverson have yet another indication they are toiling in a sweatshop, they can be comforted that at least they don't work at Thorndal Armstrong. $31 a billable hour, yikes!
Thorndal attorneys, be comforted that all that toil for little pay is helping to lease cars for the partners at your firm. You can feel proud about that, right?

Reader question

UPDATE: WWL readers have confirmed that Marquis Aurbach pays $100k to start and requires 2000 minimum billables (Magic number of 50). Not bad at all M&A.

Still no word about Hutchinson Steffen. Anyone know what they start at?

From a WWL reader:

"Anyone have any insight on these Summerlin firms: Marquis Aurbach or Hutchinson Steffen?"

I'd help him/her out, but I still haven't been able to get information on starting salary at either of those firms. Any readers out there in the know? Please post a comment or email me at nevadalegal@gmail.com and I will share the info.

[thanks to VD and Annoymous(es) for the tips]

More Alverson Taylor fun

UPDATE:
My original tip of the number of associates who have left Alverson Taylor was low. Apparently, 8 associates have left since the firm changed its compensation policy. That's 8 associates out of a firm of around 40 attorneys. So 20% of their staff have left the firm over the new pay-by-billable hour policy. That might give another firm pause, but I guess Alverson Taylor is so used to associates leaving the sweatshop that they have prepared to lose 20% of their attorneys.

Original Post:
Why does Alverson Taylor get so much attention? Because they provide the most fodder for blog posts. First, 5 of the 40 (or so) attorneys at the firm bailed as a result of Alverson Taylor's change in compensation method to hourly payment by hours billed. Meaning that approximately 1/8 of the associates have quit the firm due to the removal of traditional salary compensation for a by-the-billable-hour method.

If that wasn't enough news, apparently Alverson Taylor represents the "one person who can save this county". In a You Tube post, a woman named Honey Siegel dictates a video letter to the firm demanding that they revive a corporation named "People Against Corruption". Then, once the video letter to Alverson Taylor is complete, Ms. Siegel then turns her address to President Bush and states that she now controls AT&T and Country Wide Home Loans and will do good for the country. Indeed, her You Tube home page indicates she is "the one person who can save our country."

Uh. . . I'm pretty sure posting communications with your attorney publicly online may destroy any claims of attorney-client privilege.

Video of Ms. Siegel embedded in the post below.