Pennsylvania Pulse


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    BigLaw's Special Bonuses Are A Hedge Against Uncertainty

    When Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP matched Milbank's 2024 bonuses with its own, the storied New York firm did not hand associates a single lump sum with the total amount, but instead chose to separate out year-end bonuses from special bonuses.

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    Dechert Associates Bridge Business Acumen Gap At Wharton

    Dechert LLP associates from the United States and Europe recently took part in an intensive, three-day program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Here, Law360 Pulse speaks to Dechert’s co-chair and a firm associate on how the program helped bridge the gap between legal expertise and business acumen.

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    2024 Associate Bonus and 2025 Salary Tracker

    UPDATED November 27, 2024 | As the year draws to a close, an increasing number of large and other elite law firms are falling in line with a bonus scale set by market leader Milbank LLP, which in many cases puts more money in the pockets of law firm associates than ever before.

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    Bonus Season Heats Up As More Firms Match Milbank's Scale

    The 2024 associate bonus season is heating up, with more law firms matching Milbank LLP's year-end and special bonuses and U.K. firms extending the same offering to their U.S.-based attorneys, according to firm memos shared with Law360 Pulse and media reports.

  • Legal Services Corp. Awards $5.9M In Tech Grants In 22 States

    Continuing a program first launched in 2000, the Legal Services Corp. is awarding $5.9 million in Technology Initiative Grants to organizations using tech to help deliver legal services across 22 states, the group announced Tuesday.

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    BigLaw's Rate Hike Strategy Continues To Pay Off

    A few years ago, when large law firm billing rates started to rise at an unprecedented pace, I remember many commentators said it couldn't last for long and that it was only a matter of time before client pushback would begin to swing the pendulum back in the other direction.

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    Law Firm Leasing Surpasses Pre-COVID Rate So Far In 2024

    The rate at which U.S. law firms are signing major office leases — those at or above 20,000 square feet — has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to new data released by Savills on Monday, showing that while activity is up, firms are divided on whether to expand, downsize or maintain their square footage.

  • Atty Sanctioned Over Depo Misconduct In Blank Rome Suit

    An attorney's alleged personal attacks against opposing counsel, refusal to answer questions and wrongful invoking of attorney-client privilege for certain documents led a Philadelphia federal court to order sanctions against her in an order published Monday.

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    Akin Announces Associate Bonuses, 2025 Salary Scale

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP told Law360 Pulse on Monday it will pay associates and counsel year-end bonuses of between $15,000 and $115,000 and special bonuses of between $6,000 and $25,000, based on seniority, in February.

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    Pierson Ferdinand Adds Philly Litigator From Gordon Rees

    Pierson Ferdinand LLP expanded its litigation team in Philadelphia with the addition of an attorney having expertise in representing nursing home and assisted living facilities, the firm announced Monday.

  • Senior Dem Asks Schumer For Votes On Circuit Court Picks

    Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Friday pushed back against a deal Democrats and Republicans cut earlier this week that obligates Democrats to forgo votes on four appellate picks.

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    Law Faculties Growing More Diverse And More Credentialed

    Law school faculties are becoming more racially diverse and include a greater share of women, who make up a majority of faculty members entering the profession in the past 20 years, according to a report out this week from the Association of American Law Schools.

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    Marketer Asks Judge To Rethink OK'ing Text Solicitation Ban

    Pennsylvania's statewide ban on the use of text messages to solicit potential legal clients would cause irreparable harm to a company that specializes in digital marketing technology by preventing it from raising revenue while fighting the rule, according to a recent motion filed in Pittsburgh federal court.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP, King & Spalding LLP, Holland & Knight LLP and Barnes & Thornburg LLP lead this week's list of Law360 legal lions for beating a Pennsylvania state court lawsuit brought against Bayer AG unit Monsanto by a woman who said she got cancer by using the weed killer Roundup.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another busy week as President-elect Donald Trump sought to dismiss his hush money trial and BigLaw firms elevated attorneys amid soaring billing rates. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Top Firms Big And Small Join In On Milbank Bonuses

    The latest law firms to follow Milbank LLP on 2024 associate bonuses late Thursday and into Friday run the gamut from global giant to boutique, according to firm memos shared with Law360 Pulse and media reports.

  • Pa. Enviro Hearing Board Can Sanction Atty, Court Affirms

    Pennsylvania's Environmental Hearing Board was within its power to issue its first-ever sanctions against an attorney for trying to delay an appeal with false claims that the state Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were looking to talk to Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. over her case, a state appellate court ruled Thursday.

  • Senate Deal Halts 4 Circuit Court Nominations

    Democrats and Republicans cut a deal Wednesday night to advance district court nominees before the year ends, while dropping four circuit court picks from confirmation efforts, Law360 has confirmed.

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    BigLaw Trio Join In On Matching Milbank Bonuses

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP are the latest BigLaw firms to go big on associate performance rewards, announcing they will match Milbank LLP in both year-end and special bonuses.

  • Ex-Congressman And Other Judicial Nominees Advance

    Judicial nominees for U.S. district courts in New York, New Mexico, Georgia and Pennsylvania were sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, all along party lines.

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    Hangley Aronchick Adds Parental Rights Advocate In Pa.

    Rebecca Levin Nayak, who recently moved to Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, became an attorney to protect the rights of parents, especially those of the LGBTQ+ community, she told Law360 Pulse Thursday. 

  • 3rd Circ. Reins In Novel Use Of Atty-Client Privilege Exception

    While attorney-client privilege typically falls away for communications about a client's intentions in making their will after they have died, the Third Circuit on Wednesday declined to expand that exception to include communications from third parties about the deceased.

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    Penn State Gets ABA Approval To Combine Law Schools

    The American Bar Association has approved the Pennsylvania State University's applications to reunite its two law schools approximately two years after the university's president proposed the idea.

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    Real Estate Atty Stays Local With Move To Buchanan Ingersoll

    A commercial real estate attorney's plan to expand his regional reach has led him to join Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC's Philadelphia office after practicing for more than two years at Armstrong Teasdale LLP.

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    Philly Atty, 'Danger To The Public,' Earns 5-Year Suspension

    Office mismanagement, blatant disregard for clients' needs and a lack of remorse for the consequences of his self-described "pragmatic" approach to the law compelled the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to slap a five-year suspension on a Philadelphia attorney who is described by the court's Disciplinary Board as a "danger to the public and to the integrity of the legal profession."

Expert Analysis

  • Tips For Persuasive Briefs Beyond The Argument Section Author Photo

    When crafting an appellate brief, the focus for most lawyers is the argument section, but other sections also offer strategic opportunities to shape the court's perception of the case and favorably frame the issues, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

  • Ask A Mentor: Is Secondment A Good Career Move? Author Photo

    Kate Driscoll at Morrison Foerster suggests six questions to help candidates evaluate whether a secondment will benefit their career.

  • 3 Trends Reshaping Chief Marketing Officer Appointments Author Photo

    Recent approaches to hiring chief marketing officers demonstrate how firms are reimagining their marketing and business development frameworks to stay competitive and responsive to evolving client needs, says Murray Coffey at M Coffey.

  • Talking Mental Health: Working As A Mom Of An Autistic Son Author Photo

    Sarah Kovit Hanna at Assurant discusses how she balances the demands of her in-house role and the support needs of her son, who was diagnosed with autism, as a single mom, and reflects on how the legal industry can better support caretakers of family members who have special needs.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Can I Maximize My Pro Bono Impact? Author Photo

    Debbie Berman at Jenner & Block offers advice on how attorneys can make a meaningful impact on their communities through pro bono work while enhancing their professional development through strengthened client-facing skills, hands-on experience and more.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code Author Photo

    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • Series

    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Law Firm Marketer Author Photo

    Liz Bard Lindley at Jaffe PR shares how she went from a family law associate who helped write industry articles to a savvy legal public relations and marketing professional, and offers takeaways for any attorney who might not feel at home in their law practice and is considering alternative career paths.

  • The Case For Keeping The Gas On Deputy GC Compensation Author Photo

    In recent years, the deputy general counsel role has expanded and become increasingly vital in organizations across the globe, and companies should consider a few ways to retain this top talent, including by offering competitive compensation that reflects projected increases, says Heather Fine at Major Lindsey.

  • Talking Mental Health: The View From Life After BigLaw Author Photo

    Life coach and author Wendy Tamis Robbins discusses why she left a career in BigLaw to work in the professional well-being space after finding freedom from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorders, and highlights two changes the legal industry should implement to address attorneys' mental health.

  • 6 Essential Skills For Summer Associates To Land An Offer
    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    With full-time offer rates at the lowest point since 2012, summer associates must do all they can to distinguish themselves, starting with a few fundamentals — from the importance of asking clarifying questions to being honest about mistakes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Making Legal Cents: How Law Firms Can Innovate Faster Author Photo

    To meet the demands of an evolving legal market and changing client expectations, law firms must not only embrace innovation, but also find ways to accelerate adoption and mitigate risks in an industry historically resistant to change, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Should Departing Partners Approach Pay? Author Photo

    Sabina Lippman at CenterPeak discusses steps BigLaw partners can take when considering a move or announcing their departure to help navigate tricky compensation issues and remain on good terms with their current partners.

  • How 2 Litigators Decided Dad Would Stay Home With The Kids Author Photo

    Jennifer Hoekstra at Aylstock Witkin shares the tough conversations about timing, goals, logistics and values involved in her family's decision that she would build her career as a litigator and law firm partner while her husband stepped back from his own litigation role to stay home with their children.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Legal Commentary Ghostwriter Author Photo

    Wayne Pollock at Copo Strategies shares how he went from overworked Am Law 50 associate to owner of a legal thought leadership ghostwriting service, and provides four lessons for anyone who might be considering launching a business within the legal industry.

  • Ask A Mentor: As Trials Grow Rarer, How Do I Hone My Skills? Author Photo

    Gary Parsons at Brooks Pierce offers advice for young lawyers seeking trial experience in an environment where fewer cases make it to trial, including how to build their reputations, set their expectations and pick the right firm.

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