Implicit in all the stories about layoffs or hourly versus value billing, the fundamental question is whether the severity of the economic downturn will permanently change what law firms look like and how they operate. Can they ever again support the notorious salary structures and leverage strategies of the past?

Features

Now that the legal industry is reeling from losses, layoffs and downsizings, lateral hires are being run through an even more stringent gauntlet. Many firms now want to see business plans from all lateral partner candidates.

Senior associates ' who, by definition, are reaching higher levels of profitability for the firm and have developed practice expertise ' are often left behind when it comes to targeted professional development. But ignoring this population creates problems for a firm ...

Features

When drafting a contract for a client, a lawyer knows to anticipate and address many issues that may arise under the binding agreement. Such attention avoids problems that may result from a breach or termination of the contract. However, in many cases, lawyers do not anticipate or address these concerns in their own agreements.

Recent statutory and regulatory enactments have been widely debated and publicized. Equally important, but without any of the public comment and debate, have been four U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued since June 2006, which have significantly expanded the scope of the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and 42 U.S.C. ' 1981

In <i>14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett</i>, the Supreme Court clearly stated that a union-negotiated arbitration agreement can bind individual employees to arbitrate statutory discrimination claims. Accordingly, employers and unions should consider taking advantage of the benefits of arbitration ...

Employment lawyers across the San Francisco Bay Area are in awe of the ferocity of the economic slide, which for many has already translated into more work. Many Bay Area partners at firms big and small say their employment work really surged in the fourth quarter of 2008, and many expect the increase to continue.

The last decade has marked a dramatic rise in the number of executives, supervisors and managers who are being sued in their personal capacity for their work-related actions. This rise is largely the result of the expansion of many state discrimination laws to allow for lawsuits against not only the corporate employer, but also individual supervisors.