When answers were due to Chicago Lawyer in early January for our annual surveys, everything — especially with associates’ pay scale throughout the firms who reported — looked the same as the past couple of years. Top end pay tapped out at $190,000 per year.
To learn how to become an attorney, in the past junior associates mostly relied on in-person communication to understand how to practice law; it has essentially been an apprenticeship profession. But as the coronavirus sent most of them home to work, the opportunity to learn from their more-senior peers vanished overnight.
Federal courts have developed a protocol governing the preservation, collection and production of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) and, if properly followed, can ensure fairness to all parties without imposing unrealistic burdens on the litigation process.
Before the industrial revolution, tradespeople were paid wages on a paid-per-piece business model. As factories were built and assembly lines began to buzz, workers enjoyed a more reliable paycheck based on time over output, while owners enjoyed the upside of the output. More widgets went out the door thanks to automation, while value remained in workers’ time over productivity. The same could be said of the billable-hour-based legal services economy.
With the Olympics just in our rearview mirror, Americans are asking now, more than ever, why cannabis is still federally illegal. This question was spurred by events such as Sha’Carri Richardson, a promising U.S. Olympic Track star competing in the 100-meter event, testing positive for marijuana. She was disqualified from competing in the Tokyo Olympics.
Salute! Women in Law - June 2021Chicago Lawyer is proud to present the June 2021 Salute! Women in Law special section.
40 Under Forty 2020Congratulations to this year's 40 Under Forty class of attorneys.