Crains New York - December 24, 2012 - (Page 16)

This chart was first published Oct. 29, 2012 PROFESSIONS NY Area’s Largest Law Firms Ranked by number of area lawyers WHEN IT COMES TO CAMPAIGN DONATIONS $585,365 2012 Election Obama Romney As of Oct. 1. Contributions are self-reported. Source: Center for Responsive Politics Median starting salaries at leading firms First-year associates are faring better in NYC than in the rest of the country. U.S. $130,000 $104,000 -35% $85,000 2011 2009 2010 NYC 0% $160,000 $160,000 $160,000 2009 2010 2011 Source: National Association for Legal Career Professionals from the city’s top law firms, President Barack Obama has a slight edge over his Republican rival, Mitt Romney. For the current campaign, Mr. Obama has raked in $773,480 from the city’s top 25 law firms, while Mr. Romney has collected $585,365, according to an analysis of campaign finance records by Crain’s. But Mr. Obama’s support among top-tier law firms has waned since his 2008 bid. In that race, employees of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, a top firm, gave Mr. Obama’s campaign $493,735. This cycle, they’ve contributed about half that amount, $249,546. Mr. Romney, who has strong support in the city’s financial sector, has leached some of the lawfirm donors who previously contributed to Mr. Obama, said Kenneth Gross, an election attorney with Skadden. “Romney has done a little bit better [than GOP nominee John McCain in 2008],” Mr. Gross said, “though it’s not surprising the numbers favor Obama.” Law firms often host fundraisers and candidate meet-and-greets but rarely try to steer their employees to give to one candidate over the other. And while their Wall Street and corporate clients tend to support Mr. Romney, lawyers for the city’s top firms often cut checks for Mr. Obama. “The lawyers themselves tend to tack in a different direction,” Mr. Gross said. Arguably, the city’s biggest firms have fared better under Mr. Obama’s presidency than they would have with a Republican in the White House. Democratic administrations tend to pass more rules and regulations (think Obamacare or Dodd-Frank), which can generate more work for the city’s white-shoe firms. But some say lawyers are less transactional in their donations to federal campaigns than professionals in some other industries.“Lawyers give money for all the same reasons lots of other people give money,” said Mark Peters, a partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer and former Democratic candidate for district attorney in Brooklyn. “They care about the direction of the country.” Not everyone shares that view of attorneys. Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, an organization that advocates for limiting jury awards, said he wasn’t surprised by the rate of political giving from the city’s top firms.“Seeing the law firms spreading their money to both sides shows they have strong interest in influencing the agendas of both the right and the left,” he said. —ANDREW J. HAWKINS 2012 lawyer breakdown, by practice area 2 2012 lawyer breakdown2 NY area lawyers 20122/ 20113 s er 4 Rank Firm/senior partner(s) in New York1 Pa rtn As s ia oc tes 2 Of c ou ns el 5 Ba nk ing o /c e mm n rce up tcy Co rp ora s te/ e r cu iti es e inm nt e c. co . mp ts efi en /b Ba kr En ta ter Ex He alt e ar hc . ell Int ew ./n rop p La dia me or /e lo mp ym en t le sta te x Ta Tru sts s /e ta tes Ot h er b Lit iga n tio Re a Firmwide lawyers NY area 20122/ personnel6/ 3 2011 paralegals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| Crain’s New York Business | book of lists 2013 bloomberg news I THE SCOOP: DEWEY’S FALLOUT n days past, lawyers rarely switched firms. In today’s world, attorneys are more likely to make lateral moves. The overall number of lawyers at the New York area’s 25 largest law firms was up just 1.1%, to 10,834, from Dec. 31, 2011, to Sept. 1, 2012. However, 11 of the firms on Crain’s list reported growth at the partner level, while 16 saw increases at the “of counsel” level, according to Crain’s research, echoing the national trend. Just seven firms reported growth at the associate level, which includes first-year lawyers. One reason for an increase in lateral hiring is the collapse of big firms such as Dewey & LeBoeuf, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. Many of the firm’s 1,000-plus lawyers were forced to find placement elsewhere. About 30 of them ended up at Proskauer, including those from Dewey & LeBoeuf ’s bankruptcy and securities litigation groups. “They had some of the finest lawyers in New York, and we were most interested in having them join us,” said Joseph Leccese, chairman of Proskauer, which ranked No. 10 on Crain’s list. One of the biggest jumps was at Kirkland & Ellis, home to 374 local attorneys, which ranked No. 13 on Crain’s list. The firm’s total lawyer head count grew by about 11%, thanks primarily to more work in litigation, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity. Firms like Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton are hiring more because their heavy workloads require assistance. Growth at Cleary Gottlieb, which ranked No. 7 on the list with 583 New York lawyers, up 3.2% from a year ago, is being driven primarily through work on restructuring and bankruptcy, said Steve Wilner, the head of the firm’s business development committee. Employment for recent grads, however, has fallen to an 18year low of 85.6%, according to the National Association for Law Placement. “Law firms have trimmed the size of their summer class and first-year class,” said James Leipold, executive director at NALP. “They don’t want to pay for the services of —emily laermer junior attorneys that aren’t trained yet.” BIG BUCKS Campaign contributions made by NY employees at the top 25 firms SPOTLIGHT OBAMA COMES OUT AHEAD IN LAW-FIRM DONATIONS $773,480 http://www.skadden.com http://www.paulweiss.com http://www.davispolk.com http://www.simpsonthacher.com http://www.sullcrom.com http://www.weil.com http://www.clearygottlieb.com http://www.debevoise.com http://www.cravath.com http://www.proskauer.com http://www.whitecase.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - December 24, 2012

Crains New York - December 24, 2012
Privately Held Companies
Publicly Held Companies
Accounting Firms
Law Firms
Commercial Banks
Thrifts
Health Insurers
Hospitals
Fortunate 100 CEOs
Commercial Property Managers
Construction Companies
Real Estate Investment Trusts
Airlines
Alphabetical Company Listing

Crains New York - December 24, 2012