Crains New York - October 29, 2012 - (Page 15)

REPORT BUSINESS OF LAW INSIDE Which candidate got the most cash from NY’s biggest law firms, Obama or Romney? PAGE 19 The List The New York area’s largest law firms PAGE 19 So you’ve got a J.D. Now what? Amid hiring slump, schools offer grads new paths to work as an attorney BY STEPHEN KLEEGE Sara Yood is doubly fortunate. With the legal industry in a long hiring slump, she’s not only landed a job, but she’s also found a way around the entry-level lawfirm drudgery that law grads have traditionally had to endure. “I got to skip the law-firm part,” said Ms. Yood, who in January landed an assistant general counsel position at a nonprofit trade group.“I was put on incredibly important projects immediately.” Ms. Yood had more than luck going for her. She used a fellowship program at Fordham University School of Law to land her position, with the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, a nonprofit trade group. Fordham is one of many law schools trying to improve their students’ job-hunting odds through new programs that provide real-world experience and contact with potential employers. Most law schools have offered clinical programs and externships for many years. But New York’s schools report that they’ve expanded those programs and added new ones in the past year or two. Columbia Law School, for instance, has added a Washington, D.C., externship program. See JOB PATHS on Page 18 buck ennis CHANGE AGENT: Robert Bodian, a managing member of Mintz Levin, said his firm provides clients with a menu of services and their costs. Billable hour’s time is up Traditional pay model fading fast as more clients demand discounts, flexibility BY STEPHEN KLEEGE Charles Dickens, a onetime law clerk whose 200th birthday was celebrated this year, once described the legal industry as a place “where writs are issued, judgments signed, declarations filed, and numerous other ingenious machines put in motion for the DROP in the torture and torment of His Majesty’s liege average revenue per lawyer at top subjects, and the comfort and emolument of 100 firms in 2009 the practitioners of the law.” A prime example, the billable hour, has persisted into the 21st century. Now, driven by falling demand and cost-cutting corporate clients, more firms are being forced to adopt alternative—and potentially less lucrative—pricing arrangements. They range from flat or capped fees to bonuses for beating deadlines and 2% achieving favorable results. Some firms are using data analysis to show clients that their prices are better than industry averages for the same services, while others try to win more business by helping customers with research or by offering freebies like pro bono training to clients’ inhouse counsel. Firms ramped up their response to cost-conscious customers following a drop in per-partner revenue four years ago. The average revenue per lawyer at the top 100 firms fell about 1% in 2008 and 2% percent in 2009, ending years of 6% to 8% growth, according to The American Lawyer. “People are looking to spend less and get more value,” said Patrick Vaccaro, firmwide managing partner at Jackson Lewis, a White Plains-based firm specializing in workplace law. “They’re shopping around, no question about it.” Many law firms are creating executive positions to tackle the issue. In April,Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, which has offices in Manhattan, hired Toby Brown as its first director of strategic pricing and analytics. Further evidence of the trend: An industry group Mr. Brown formed last year jumped to more than 90 professionals from a dozen between May and September 2012. Its members, who represent about 60 firms, are tasked with responding to a demand for discounts that started to appear before the financial crisis and accelerated during the recession. Mr. Brown’s job involves finding ways to charge clients less while still making a good profit. One of Akin Gump’s recent innovations allows the law firm and a client to agree in See BILLABLE on Page 16 GRADUATES GET DOWNGRADED Percentage in private practice at a firm with 100 or more lawyers one year after graduation 41% 27% Class of 2008 Class of 2011 Source: National Association for Law Placement October 29, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 15

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - October 29, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: BUSINESS OF LAW
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
SMALL BUSINESS
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - October 29, 2012