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Improving Compensation Decisions in a Mixed Economy
This year's annual ritual of dividing income is over now for most law firms. This round of decisions affects 2009 income and 2010 base or positioning in a prospective program. A year ago, the profession was quite anxious about the economy (legal and otherwise) and their personal financial futures. It was analogous to being boxed in with pressure being asserted on all six sides simultaneously ' a severely depressed economy, ultra tight credit markets, skittish partners reluctant or unable to contribute capital, price-sensitive clients under their own cost reduction imperatives, intractable landlords and facility leases, and competitive approaches by firms less severely affected by the downturn. The profession responded with serial layoffs, furloughs, reduced hours, wage freezes and reductions. Non-wage expenditures were scrutinized like never before. The medicine, while bitter, largely worked, although aided by an economy that finally found its bottom. Yet the recovery is not complete as the effective unemployment rate remains frustratingly high.
However, again like the economy, not all is right in the legal profession. Law firms struggle with competing interests of survival versus preservation of long-held values. One long-held value beginning to fall is the lock-step compensation arrangement for associates. Rightly or wrongly, it is giving way to “merit” based approaches where pay is tied to skills, competencies, and contributions. Another mainstay at risk is the role of recent law school graduates in law firms. Client push back on paying for first and second year associates has brought about renewed interest in apprenticeships. This is a worthy, albeit expensive, proposition for firms and associates alike. Firms continue their evaluation of partners ' equity and non-equity alike ' striving to maintain the key players for what they expect (some might say hope) to be the dominant post-recession practices.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.