Recent graduates of the University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law have some of the highest earnings in the country, according to a Forbes analysis of data released last week by the U.S. Department of Education. The data show students at these top-tier Chicago law schools have annual median salaries of $170,500 and $171,900, respectively, one year after graduation.  The rest of the top 5 included Columbia Law School, New York University School of Law and University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. 

Early last year I was talking with a friend who ran the derivatives trading desk for a major U.S. broker-dealer. He was fascinated to hear that one of the top law firms in the country was aggressively hiring for their bankruptcy and restructuring practice group. 

Atticus Recruiting congratulates the Diversity Lab on its Mansfield 2.0 Certification and the 64 law firms that are now Mansfield 2.0 certified, including Chicago stalwarts: 

Akerman, Arnold & Porter, Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, Nixon Peabody, Baker McKenzie, Brinks Gilson & Lione, Reed Smith, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, Holland & Knight, Schiff Hardin, Husch Blackwell, Jenner & Block, Seyfarth Shaw, Katten Muchin, Sheppard Mullin, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, Steptoe, Latham & Watkins, Dechert, Littler Mendelson, White & Case, Dentons,  McDermott Will & Emery, DLA Piper, Miller Canfield, Winston & Strawn, Drinker Biddle & Reath, Morgan Lewis and Faegre Baker Daniels. 

Congratulations to an extraordinary law firm on an exceptional hire.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

By Community Contributor RANDALL SAMBORN

CHICAGO – Massey & Gail LLP, a high-powered boutique law firm in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, announced today that Cara A. Hendrickson, formerly chief of the Public Interest Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, has joined the firm as a partner in Chicago. Ms. Hendrickson was the state’s lead attorney in negotiating and securing court approval earlier this year of the consent decree mandating sweeping reforms in the Chicago Police Department.

Q. I am an associate attorney and I’m looking to relocate to Chicago next year. What is the best time of year to begin my job search?

A. There is no time like the present to begin your search. While many large firms fill their first-year associate needs in September/October through their law school campus interviewing and summer associate programs, lateral associate hiring is less cyclical and more reactive. It is true that most law firms put together their annual budgets, which include hiring requests from their most active practices, sometime between the end of the calendar year and the beginning of the new year, and that may spur Quarter 1 and early Quarter 2 hiring. However, most lateral legal hiring occurs on a continual basis throughout the year in reaction to the ebb and flow of law firm business outlooks, economic realities and associate attorney migration. An active IPO calendar, an uptick in M&A activity or a large lawsuit can occur at any time and bring about an urgent need for specific, experienced legal talent. Additionally, as corporate law departments continue to grow, associates, typically in the 3- to 7-year range, are increasingly leaving their law firms for in-house opportunities.

Our employer clients engage our placement services because they are looking to hire extraordinary attorneys. The “extra” always consists of exceptional academic credentials and stellar legal training. Often the “extra” component includes a diversity requirement as well. Fifty-four percent of our placements involve a gender and/or racially diverse candidate.

Michelle was recently interviewed by the Legal Recruiter Directory in an article focused on the role of the recruiter in the legal industry’s quest for more diverse workplaces.

Do you know where your resume is going after you hit send? Many advertised law positions on job boards and employment websites are posted by legal recruiters.  When you respond to a post by sending your resume, are you unwittingly broadcasting your resume to the market?

In the summer of 2014, Sharon Casola was preparing to move to New York City to begin working as an associate at Latham & Watkins.

A recent graduate of University of Virginia School of Law, she had not yet found out whether she’d passed the bar exam, which would ensure her employment at Latham. Still, Casola had to commit to a yearlong lease on an apartment in one of the most expensive cities in the country.

11 Tips For The Biglaw Interview Day By Anonymous Recruitment Director

Ed. note: This is the latest post by Anonymous Recruitment Director, who offers an insider’s perspective on the world of law firm hiring.

I have received numerous emails from law students requesting advice about the Biglaw interview day. I once again solicited the input of other recruitment professionals in order to compile a list of the items that candidates should keep in mind on their interview day.

Associate Salaries Bobble But Remain Essentially Flat

Starting associate salaries at large law firms have remained essentially flat since 2007, despite some erosion of the prevalence of $160,000 as the norm. New research from NALP reveals that first-year associate salaries of $160,000 are still widespread at large law firms of more than 700 lawyers — especially in large markets — and became somewhat more prevalent in 2013 compared with 2012, as a result pushing the median for this group of firms as a whole back up to $160,000 after it had dropped to $145,000 in 2012.