Fading of the Light - With No Milbank Matches/Toppers Associates Become Bitter, Could Trigger PR Nightmare

"They’re saying Cravath is washed up. That K&E are—and this is a quote—a bunch of 'broke bitches.' DPW is rumored to be run by 'penny pinching pussies.' Despite the heroic leadership of Brad Karp, the people tell me that even Paul, Weiss is awash in cowardice and avarice." - Reddit Big Law, August 22, 2024

That's an excerpt from a Reddit introductory post, in this time of severe disappointment that large law firms haven't matched or topped the Milbank summer bonus. The mood has mutated from euphoric fantasies about how to spend the loot to shock, then bitterness. 

Among the responses, they have been getting granular about Paul, Weiss, alleging strained finances:

"At Paul, Weiss, the coffers bare ..."

Actually I find that accusation about Paul, Weiss puzzling. The retainer the firm had put me on for communications assignments was generous. However, the fit was very wrong, my health quicky went downhill and I hightailed it out there after two months. At the time - 2022 - there did not seem to be any signs of fiscal austerity. 

But, who knows. That was before the amping up of the talents wars in which Paul, Weiss has aggressively poached and continues to poach Kirkland & Ellis. That takes mega money. So, could that law firm be struggling, like Dewey & LeBoeuf wound up doing, ponying up the funds to keep all the moving parts operating as it pays premium compensation to lure and hold stars?  Or is this the kind of destructive gossip which occurs among those feeling they are getting a raw deal? From my corporate days I know this: The C-Suite often fears the internal grapevine more than the media.

With the bitterness emerging among associates, a public relations nightmare could be in the making. Junior lawyers, for example, read Abovethelaw which quotes Law.com articles. Most associates can't afford the pricey subscription to Law.com, so they turn to ATL for tracking developments. 

Today in ATL is the chilling analyis of the alleged institutional exploitation by partners of associates, served up by industry consultant Tim Corcoran:

"If the partners want associates to be in the office four days a week, or wear funny hats, or bill 2,400 hours three years in a row until they burn out and leave, that’s their prerogative." 

Corcoran adds that there is no shortage of a new round of the ambitious to fill the slots after the burnt-out or disgruntled associates leave.

Piled on to the issue of No-Match, at least so far, is this development: Latham, which Corcorn has in mind, has announced the four-day-a-week RTO, kicking in for January. So far, other firms haven't interpreted this as "permission" to also increase the number of days in the office but they could be wise and figure to wait this out a bit, then announce their own RTO modified policies.

Obviously this is the season of discontent. There is a fading of the light.

It is not impossible that the barbarians could show up at the gate. That is despite all the acceptance of the reality that associate turnover, even the massive kind, will quickly be filled by not only the hell-bent on money and prestige but also those in six-figure debt from student loans.

 Last May, Financial News reported that junior bankers are rebelling against 100-hour weeks. 

Last year Wells Fargo workers in New Mexico unionized.

Law.com documents an amping up in the number of lawsuits by employees and nonequity partners (who, they are realizing are actually still employees and my article on that went viral on LinkedIn) against their law-firm employers. 

Had potential class action gender discrimination lawsuit "Tolton, et al. v Jones Day" gotten to trial the standard black-box management in large law firms could have been blown open. The current litigation can still accomplish that. The media would run with it. The plaintiffs could contract with their own public relations firm to get their story out. If they are brave, they won't cave to a settlement. That could put in play reform of how those who aren't partners are treated in large law firms. 

Full Disclosure: Before I left for Harvard Law School in my early 40s, a therapist and hard-nosed lawyers in my 12-step support group warned me that I was trading in a good career in communications for brutal exploitation. A few months into 1L I finally "heard" what they had been saying and returned to the Fortune 50 in communications. As that sector became glutted, I retrofitted my boutique for other specializations. 

My intuitive coaching focuses on what a particular human being can handle. Some assume they can handle anything for the prestige/compensation. My mission is to walk them through the realities. 

In business and life you usually have only one shot at whatever. Up the odds of success with Jane Genova. I am an intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)