By
Amanda Robert
Last spring, a few months before she graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, Katie Walton opened an e-mail that changed her life.
Due to economic constraints, Latham & Watkins, the firm where she worked as a summer associate in 2008, wanted to defer her start as a first-year associate.
Latham & Watkins gave her a choice: Start a few months later in December 2009, or join in October 2010 and receive a $15,000 bar stipend, plus a $60,000 deferral stipend.
Walton chose to spend the next year working as an attorney in the guardian ad litem program at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
"I did some child representation in law school and was really interested in it," she said. "I was thinking that this would be a great opportunity for me to do that for a year. I would be making less money for that year, but to get an experience that I would have loved to get anyway, there was no downside for me."
Walton realized opportunity in the economic downturn, but many other first-year associates struggle to start their law careers. Some accepted offers only to have law firms rescind those offers. Other first-year associates lost their jobs as firms downsized, or closed. Many face competitive hiring and still haven't found their first job.
According to Chicago Lawyer 's 2010 survey of the largest law firms in Illinois - which is based on Jan. 1 statistics - 11 of the 13 Illinois firms with 200 or more lawyers reported employing fewer first-year Illinois associates in 2010 than in the previous year.
The top five law firms drastically downsized their ranks of first-year Illinois associates - from 73 to 51 at Kirkland & Ellis; 52 to 43 at Sidley Austin; 50 to 23 at Mayer Brown; 56 to 31 at Jenner & Block; and 37 to 14 at Winston & Strawn.
Some firms, such as Seyfarth Shaw and DLA Piper, reported employing just one first-year Illinois associate in 2010. In the previous year, Seyfarth and DLA Piper hired 10 and 11, respectively.
The economic downturn forced many law firms to take new approaches to hiring and training first-year associates. Some strategically seek candidates to fill spots in high-demand practice areas and give them greater responsibilities. Others place their new associates in innovative apprenticeship programs or pro bono projects in an effort to promote professional development and legal training.
The economy also compelled young lawyers to approach their work with a new mentality and seek and accept any opportunities and experiences that could bolster their careers.
Fueling the fire
It's like the whole legal world woke up.
That's how Amy McCormack, a legal recruiter with McCormack Schreiber Legal Search Inc., describes the effect of the economic downturn.
McCormack began practicing with a large firm in the late 1980s. During a recession in the early '90s, she moved from corporate law to labor and employment - a move she said law firms can't afford to make in the current recession. Now, she said, law firms lay off even terrific corporate or real estate lawyers if the work isn't there.
"The practice of law has become more and more a business," she said, "culminating with what we've watched in the last year, year and a half - the types of business decisions and a level of layoffs in every size firm that was unheard of in the profession before that time."
Young lawyers, who were in high demand as recently as five years ago, especially face hardship due to the recession. Law firms heavily recruited first-year associates, who continued to see their salaries increase from $125,000 to $135,000, and then to $160,000, she said.
McCormack predicted that firms would ask those young lawyers to leave if they failed to bring in revenue or demonstrate value to their clients.
"I knew it would be a painful story, but none of us could have predicted this level of recession," she said.
Despite fewer jobs, McCormack said, new lawyers who are hired experience more than past first-year associates. They work alongside the firm's partners and take on real cases, instead of completing such entry-level tasks as document review and paralegal work.
Grace Kim, a first-year associate at Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, started at the firm in September. She said the economic downturn humbled her, her friends and even the Class of 2009. Many of her classmates don't have jobs, she said, and through no fault of their own.
"That's what's so scary - the economic climate is so out of our control, so for those of us who are blessed to have jobs, we're so thankful," Kim said. "That's the mentality I have, that I'm going to fight like hell to keep my job."
"We're the ones that are expendable as first-year associates," she added.
Young lawyers who are still looking for jobs have changed their focus. Initially, McCormack said, they turned down contract or volunteer work. But now, more look for legal work in all different settings.
"It's better than sitting in front of your computer, sending out application after application," McCormack said. "That's important, too, but you have to put yourself out there."
Vanessa Beaver graduated from The John Marshall Law School in May 2009.
She planned to practice family law and at first sent resumes only to family law firms, juvenile detention centers and general practice firms.
A few months later, she started sending her resume to clerkships and fellowships.
By the middle of April 2010, Beaver hadn't lined up a single interview.
"It's very, very frustrating to put all of your heart and your soul and your time and your effort into something that you're passionate about and then have no one give you a chance," she said.
Beaver started shadowing Kim Anderson, a partner with Anderson & Boback, in January. She said she appreciates the experience, which already allowed her to sit through an entire trial and network with other attorneys.
Mary Jando also graduated from The John Marshall Law School in May 2009, after receiving a master's degree in business administration.
She clerked with Skaletsky & Associates while in law school and started as an attorney with the firm last November.
She was laid off when the firm closed in March and has since applied for other positions. She said one firm told her that she was one of several hundred applicants coming in for a first interview.
"They can afford to be picky," Jando said, "when they have so many people looking for jobs."
She now volunteers as an associate attorney for Ramsen Isaac Law Offices, handling real estate litigation cases. She previously worked in civil defense litigation.
"You have to do something just to keep yourself in the loop," Jando said. "I was ranked at the top of my class, but if you don't have experience, you're not going to get the job."
Ben Price graduated from Boston University School of Law in May 2009 and moved to Chicago to find a job in bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosure. He said he expected a better job market in Chicago, since bankruptcy filings doubled those in Boston.
But Price wasn't sworn in until early May 2010, which, he said, hampered his efforts to secure a first-year associate position.
"A lot of places that have 5,000 applications, they toss me out on the ground," he said. "I feel like I'll find a job eventually, but I might have to prove myself before I get offered a job that I would feel happy with in the long term."
Price worked in a research position and for a legal company that processed bad debt loans after law school and plans to find volunteer legal or contract work to gain more experience.
In hindsight, he said he should have spent more time building contacts or working with the career development office in law school.
"I felt like I had enough on my plate," Price said. "I took the opportunistic route and expected that things would work out, and they didn't."
Safety in numbers
According to Chicago Lawyer 's 2010 survey, 11 of the 13 Illinois firms with 200 or more lawyers reported employing fewer total Illinois associates in 2010 than in the previous year.
From 2009 to 2010, top firms Kirkland & Ellis reported cutting its Illinois associates from 391 to 344; Sidley Austin reported cutting that group from 312 to 281; Mayer Brown, from 271 to 212; and Winston & Strawn, from 216 to 179.
Jenner & Block reported employing 196 Illinois associates in 2010, compared with 187 in 2009. Hinshaw & Culbertson also reported an increase in Illinois associates, from 67 in 2009 to 76 in 2010.
Stephen Ritchie, a partner at Kirkland, called hiring in summer 2009 a challenge. Like most, he said, the firm adjusted its hiring to meet its needs. But, he added, Kirkland's operations remain unchanged despite hiring a smaller class of first-year associates. They enter a free-market environment, where they contact partners when they want assignments.
"It appeals to people who are self-starters and who have a lot of initiative and drive," he said.
Ritchie called first-year associates "the lifeblood of the firm," and said Kirkland plans to continue recruiting lawyers who can provide high-quality service to clients.
Hinshaw & Culbertson didn't largely alter its number of first-year Illinois associate hires - the firm went from six in 2009 to five in2010 - but made other program changes.
Kelly Gofron, the firm's legal recruitment and development manager, said Hinshaw shortened its summer associate program from 12 to eight weeks and moved its first-year associates' start date from late August to October.
The firm plans to return its summer program to 10 weeks, but still start its next first-year class in the fall.
Gofron said she noticed a change in first-year associates' demeanor. They're often tense, she said, and hesitant to step on anyone's toes.
"Last year they put in more hours than in previous years, to show that they really wanted to be there," she said.
Denise Devine, a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman, said the firm paired hiring fewer first-year associates with refinements in its hiring process. Katten, which had 15 first-year Illinois associates in 2009, recruited only four in 2010.
The firm also deferred some of its first-year associates for six months to a year.
Katten used to hire a larger pool of first-year candidates and groom the best to move up in the firm, but now, Devine said, the firm hires only candidates that match Katten's culture. The firm looks for lawyers with entrepreneurial spirit, Devine said.
"That really is Katten's culture, and we're looking for those kinds of people that can mesh with our clients," she said.
First-year associates in smaller starting classes experience a steeper learning curve. Five years ago, Devine said, they exuded an air of entitlement - now they work to prove themselves.
"Back then, associates would have a lot more cushion, a lot more people to rely on," she said. "Flash-forward five years and there's a lot more of an expectation on the associates."
They receive more opportunities, participating in mock-trial events and other training exercises, and work alongside partners on real deals and cases.
Chaos sparks creativity
Drinker Biddle & Reath took an industry-leading position in September by introducing a six-month training and professional development program for new associates.
The mandatory program included core curriculum coursework, practice group training and a 12-week apprenticeship and also removed the billable-hour requirement for participating associates.
Thirty-seven first-year associates joined the program at five firm offices. Chicago hired nine, up from seven in 2009.
Kate Levering, a partner at Drinker Biddle's Philadelphia office who created the first-year associate development program, said the firm introduced the initiative as clients across the industry began to question the value of entry-level associates.
"We decided to use this as an opportunity to focus on what was needed in the industry," Levering said.
"It didn't make sense to defer their start date, because it wouldn't have accomplished what we wanted to accomplish through our program, which was to develop better lawyers more quickly."
Law school teaches students to reason logically and understand the law, Levering said, but it doesn't always train them how to solve problems on behalf of clients - a skill that's essential to private practice.
"It's fine to sit in a structured classroom and try to absorb what other people are telling you, but especially for adults, that's not always the best way," she said. "You own something better if you get your hands dirty."
During the first six weeks, in the core curriculum coursework phase, the firm's new associates completed exercises in writing, ethics, negotiation, presentation skills, problem- solving, teamwork and collaboration.
For the next six to eight weeks, associates joined one of the firm's 13 practice groups for customized training.
Associates became apprentices in the final phase of the training period, shadowing partners and experienced lawyers in their practice group.
Levering said the firm also removed the billable-hour requirement during the program to provide new first-year associates with a positive learning environment and appease clients who didn't want to pay for their training.
Dan Werly, a Chicago associate in the commercial litigation practice group, joined the firm in September 2009 after graduating from Georgetown Law. He felt relieved when he heard that he would start on time in a new training program.
"I can't think of any of my friends from law school that started that early," he said. "I was excited about [the program] because law school, in my opinion, makes you think like a lawyer but doesn't give you the practical knowledge to be a practicing attorney."
Werly said the program brought him up to speed on everything he needs to know as an associate in commercial litigation. He explored the different parts of a case during practice group training and sat in on meetings, including a client meeting in Michigan, during his apprenticeship.
"I feel like I'm light-years ahead of people, especially those who were deferred at this point and haven't worked at all," Werly said. "We're exposed to all of the different things that would come up working the first few years in a law firm."
Aruna Subramanian, another associate in Drinker Biddle's commercial litigation practice group, also joined the firm in September 2009 after graduating from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Like Werly, she felt relieved to hear that she would not only start on time, but would also learn more about the firm, her practice group and its day-to-day operations.
"You don't usually get the opportunity to focus on what you're going to be doing when you start," Subramanian said. "That was comforting, especially when you're starting during a time when things are shaky."
She said she benefited most from the program's hands-on training in opposing and defending depositions.
It also helped to work on writing skills and receive evaluations from more experienced attorneys, she said.
Levering said the firm made a long-term investment by placing its associates in the program, with the hope that it would produce client-focused lawyers who are able to think, act and solve problems more quickly.
"I do think that firms that are looking to the future and really investing in their associates in terms of making better lawyers more quickly should embrace this concept," Levering said. "We'll start to see a pivot in the industry - firms are going to invest more in training and development."
Other firms like Reed Smith and Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney have also answered the call to create greater development opportunities for young lawyers.
Mike LoVallo, managing partner of Reed Smith's Chicago office, said the firm focused on supporting and facilitating associate development even before the economic downturn. Reed Smith reported employing 43 Illinois associates in 2009 and 2010.
Through Reed Smith University, a firmwide initiative that provides education and skill development, first-year associates attend programs that focus on such areas as general litigation, transactions and health care.
Last fall, the firm also launched CareeRS, a competency-based career development program that teaches associates other skills like ethics and integrity and communication.
The firm's new first-year associates, who started in January, were the first group to participate in the associate academy as part of CareeRS.
Reed Smith increased its first-year Illinois associate hires from three in 2009 to seven in 2010.
The firm hired more new lawyers, LoVallo said, to fill spots in several high-demand areas such as bankruptcy and commercial restructuring and insurance recovery. One first-year associate who speaks fluent Mandarin started in corporate and securities to help the firm's expanding China practice.
"We did delay the start date until January of this year, but we also placed [first-year associates] in areas that had work and needed the help," LoVallo said.
"We're growing despite the economy, because we conservatively hire and work with our associates."
Robert McLaughlin, a shareholder at Segal McCambridge, also points to conservative hiring as a factor in his firm's economic success.
"We don't like our associates to have that feeling that they're on the chopping block, and that they better do good work or they're going to be gone," he said.
"Even during the roughest period, when firms were laying off 20 to 30 associates at a time, we were not laying off associates."
Segal McCambridge has actually grown in the past year, McLaughlin said.
All of its first-year associates work with a partner for one-on-one mentoring.
They also participate in a six-month trial advocacy program that allows them to experience a real case, extending from written discovery to depositions to expert discovery.
They conclude the program with a mock trial.
"If you want your firm to continue to grow, you need associates to come up through the ranks, to make partner and to really be the future of the law firm," McLaughlin said. "When we hire associates, we hire associates that we expect one day will be candidates for partner."