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After Nixon Peabody announced on Tuesday that it would re-defer two-thirds of first-year associates already deferred until January 2010, The Am Law Daily decided to check in with 42 other firms slated to start new lawyers in a few weeks to see if they'd made any last-minute scheduling changes.
We heard back from roughly half of the firms we contacted, and most of those say they're still on track to open their doors to first-year classes next month. Several firms said they've actually had some of their new associates start earlier than January as needs arose in certain practice areas.
A Bingham McCutchen spokeswoman, for instance, confirmed that 10 associates -- six in financial services, and two each in the firm's litigation and corporate groups -- started in October due to an uptick in work in those areas. The remaining 56 lawyers in the firm's incoming class will start on Jan. 28.
King & Spalding told us that 18 of 44 deferred first-year associates started earlier this year as a result of "increased business needs." The rest of the firm's incoming class will start on Jan. 19. First-years at Vinson & Elkins that didn't start in November are slated to begin work next month, says a firm spokesman.
At Goodwin Procter, four associates started at the firm in October. Another 62 first-years -- roughly half the firm's incoming class -- will start in January, with the remaining new lawyers slated to start in October 2010.
Incoming classes at Andrews Kurth, Bryan Cave, Cooley Godward Kronish, Davis Wright Tremaine, Dewey & LeBoeuf, DLA Piper, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, K&L Gates, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, Ropes & Gray, Schiff Hardin, and Venable are all on track to begin working at their respective firms in January, those firms told us. Katten Muchin Rosenman is starting its incoming class on Feb. 1, the first day of the firm's fiscal year. (The numbers do not include those 3L's that chose to take a one-year deferral to pursue public interest work, travel the globe or catch up on episodes of "Jersey Shore.")
Mayer Brown is asking 18 of its 119 first-years scheduled to start in January to consider a voluntary extension to October 2010 with a $5,000-per-month stipend. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe newcomers are still slated to begin at their firm in January and March. (Like many other firms, both are also offering first-years the option of yearlong deferrals.)
A spokeswoman for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman told us the firm also remains on track to start 32 incoming associates next month with another 22 being deferred until January 2011.
But Nixon Peabody is not the only firm pushing back its deferred start dates. As previously reported by Above the Law, some incoming associates at Winston & Strawn scheduled to start in January were told last month that they'll be involuntarily assigned new start dates in April and October.
A firm spokesman was checking into the matter at the time of this post.
This article first appeared on The Am Law Daily blog on AmericanLawyer.com.
