Drinker cuts starting pay
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May 12, 2009 -- (Crain’s) -- New lawyers at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP are going to get a greater dose of in-house training, including study of client business operations, as part of the law firm’s response to the recession. And the tuition won’t be free.
Philadelphia-based Drinker, which has 156 lawyers in Chicago as a result of its 2006 merger with Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP, will cut starting salaries to $105,000 from $160,000 in Chicago and other big cities during the minimum six-month training period.
“Any client work they perform will be billed at a significant rate reduction to ensure that, if new lawyers perform work for clients, the value is clear,” the firm’s top partners wrote in a memo to lawyers.
The good news for the 34 attorneys (nine of them in Chicago) expected to join Drinker in September: Starting dates will not be delayed, as they have been at other law firms also confronting a slump in demand for legal services.
The memo also said Drinker would “probably be entering into a greater number of alternative fee arrangements over the next few years,” relying less on billing by the hour.
“Our clients are now telling us — in no uncertain terms — that they question whether the value provided to them is properly measured in this way,” the memo said.
Accordingly, the firm said, lawyer bonuses will be based on “merit and quality of service,” not just the number of billable hours. |
