Max Sparber has a set of historic stereographs of New Orleans.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2006.
Big Texas law firms are quickly falling in line with the latest round of salary increases for associates. See Round 1 and Round 2.
Yesterday, Bracewell & Guiliani announced that it will raises salaries for first and second year associates to “market level.” Third years and up will get a chart of new ranges, and each person within the class will be compensated–including salary and bonus–somewhere within that range. Bonuses will apparently not be hours based, and the raise will be retroactive to March 1, 2006. Thompson & Knight also announced yesterday that they would be matching salaries, with first year associates starting at $135k with a $5k bonus. Partnership track, which had been a little shorter at T&K than some of the other big firms, was lengthened by two years. No word yet on retroactivity. Also raising salaries yesterday was Akin Gump, with a new compensation structure apparently identical to Vinson & Elkins, retroactive to March 1, 2006. Finally, King & Spaulding is rumored to have informed associates this morning that it would be increasing salaries to match Baker Botts. Details forthcoming.
No word yet from Fulbright & Jaworski, although the partners were rumored to be meeting this morning…
Live video feed of a bald eagle nest on Hornby Island in Vancouver, British Columbia. Direct link to video.
A young Gene Hackman apparently starred in Community Shelter Planning, a 22 minutes U.S. government Civil Defense instructional film. Weird.
Although Frank Bruni of the NYT bestowed a favorable three-star review upon Mario Batali’s new restaurant Del Posto, other critics having taken a dimmer view. Maybe Bruni unwittingly hit on the problem when he called Del Posto “the anti-Babbo, the un-Lupa.”
Ed Fink has several panoramic before-and-after photos of damage from Hurricane Katrina.
When workers on an oil rig in Lake Peigneur drilled into the top of a salt mine, they created a swirling vortex of doom.
As I noted two weeks ago, Vinson & Elkins led the charge to raise associate salaries at Texas law firms, with Andrews & Kurth and Baker Botts following close behind. In the last couple of weeks some, but not all, of the other big firms in Texas have also raised salaries. Locke, Liddell & Sapp has matched Baker Botts new compensation scale, with bonus structure to be announced. LLS’s raises are reported to be retroactive only to March 1, 2006, however. Jenkens & Gilchrist is also reported to have matched BB despite their ongoing woes. Maybe they’re compensating for their recruiting technique? J&G’s raises are apparently not retroactive, and will be effective April 1, 2006.
Porter & Hedges has also raised salaries, but will not be matching either BB or V&E dollar for dollar. Base pay drops off for senior associates compared to the other firms to have raised, and P&H has instituted a new compensation model for senior associates. From a memo to associates:
We are also announcing a new Senior Associate program applicable to all associates in the Class of 1999 and beyond. Senior Associates will no longer be grouped by law school class years for salary and bonus administration purposes, but will instead be assigned to one of four groups ranging from Group IV at the lower end to Group I at the upper end. Initial assignment to a particular Group and subsequent changes among Groups will be based upon effort expended to date, quality of work, profitability, and perceived progress toward partnership.
P&H’s raises are retroactive to January 1, 2006. I’d hate to be a senior associate put into Group IV.
Several big Texas firms have yet to announce raises, although some have reportedly assured their associates that they will be competitive. Firms yet to announce raises include: Fulbright & Jaworski, Bracewell & Guiliani, and Akin Gump, as well as a slew of mid-sized firms.
Adopted in China, Seeking Identity in America. Adopted Chinese children struggle to come to terms with the realities of race and culture.
Port, Portamento. A brief introduction to that sweet, fortified wine known as port.