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Just got the email to vote for Vault rankings. Can someone remind me which firms screwed over associates last year with comp so we can all vote them down?

Milbank #1 DPW #2…I don’t bother with anyone else.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:28 pm

Milbank #1 DPW #2…I don’t bother with anyone else.

+Cooley #3 re Musk

Milbank #1, DPW #2, Cooley #3, Skadden #4 (6-figure retention bonuses), Goodwin #5 (guaranteed + paid-for vacations) and then don't bother with anyone else

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:31 pm

Milbank #1, DPW #2, Cooley #3, Skadden #4 (6-figure retention bonuses), Goodwin #5 (guaranteed + paid-for vacations) and then don't bother with anyone else

Paid vacays is way more important than Musk and imho more important than retention bonuses that didn't go market -- Goodwin #3.

DPW is playing obvious games and stringing associates everywhere along. They have not earned a vote yet. And if they don't raise after doing this, it's questionable they deserve a boost at all.

I genuinely do not understand the people who actually take the time to fill this dumb survey out. Even if you thoughtlessly run through it (which I imagine 95% of respondents do) it still takes well over 3 minutes, which is roughly the maximum of what I'm willing to allot to it.

Yeah I'm not ready to bump up DPW until they actually come through. Milbank #1, Cravath way the heck down just on principle.

Sheppard Mullin for giving assocs billable "recharge" time

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/12/top-50- ... -eligible/

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:47 pm

Sheppard Mullin for giving assocs billable "recharge" time

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/12/top-50- ... -eligible/

What exactly do these policies mean tho? Just lower your billable requirements or don't have one. If you're slammed with work I'm not sure how putting get out of jail free card hours in the system will make that work magically go away.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:50 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:47 pm

Sheppard Mullin for giving assocs billable "recharge" time

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/12/top-50- ... -eligible/

What exactly do these policies mean tho? Just lower your billable requirements or don't have one. If you're slammed with work I'm not sure how putting get out of jail free card hours in the system will make that work magically go away.

If it’s billable, it’s a big signal by the firm that you are actually intended to take it, but agreed it’s not a perfect system.

Orrick also moved to giving associates 40 hrs billable credit for vacation time.

DPW
Milbank
Cooley
Willkie

....have all made comp moves in the last couple years.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:47 pm

Sheppard Mullin for giving assocs billable "recharge" time

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/12/top-50- ... -eligible/

How does this work in practice? Can I tell a partner Im turning down work because I have 40 hours of recharge time? I feel like this is something most people will record on Saturday and just take 40 hours off the bonus minimum.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 5:23 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:47 pm

Sheppard Mullin for giving assocs billable "recharge" time

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/12/top-50- ... -eligible/

How does this work in practice? Can I tell a partner Im turning down work because I have 40 hours of recharge time? I feel like this is something most people will record on Saturday and just take 40 hours off the bonus minimum.

Also never understood these policies, they seem useless to me. I've never come in at less than 2300 hours - who cares if that 2300 gets bumped up to 2340? If the work is there, it needs to get done, regardless of whether or not my vacation is counted as billable

Until it is definitively shown that Goodwin only counseled out associates for performance reasons in March 20, it will continue to get a 1 from me.

2013 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:11 pm

Until it is definitively shown that Goodwin only counseled out associates for performance reasons in March 20, it will continue to get a 1 from me.

Good point. And heck even if it was performance, shitty thing to do at the beginning of a pandemic. Somehow other firms didn't overly scrutinize performance then.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:18 pm

2013 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:11 pm

Until it is definitively shown that Goodwin only counseled out associates for performance reasons in March 20, it will continue to get a 1 from me.

Good point. And heck even if it was performance, shitty thing to do at the beginning of a pandemic. Somehow other firms didn't overly scrutinize performance then.

Yeah, still quite surprising how quickly this was swept under the rug.