Wake Up Call: Kirkland Tops Revenue Ranking for Fourth Year

In today’s column, the New York-based Human Rights Watch booted its longtime general counsel after she used the “N-word” in a Zoom lecture on the subject of hate speech; the pandemic hit entry-level jobs for new law school graduates in 2020; Reed Smith and Allen & Overy associates found out they’re getting market-scale special bonuses.

• Leading off, Kirkland & Ellis stayed No. 1 in American Lawyer’s rankings of the top 100 U.S. law firms by gross revenues, with $4.8 billion, followed by Latham & Watkins and DLA Piper. The top 10 firms stayed the same, although White & Case moved up to No. 8 and Hogan Lovells slipped to No. 9; Wachtell stayed No. 1 for profits per equity partner, at $7.5 million. Davis, Polk & Wardwell surged from No. 6 to No. 2, at $6.35 million PEP, and Kirkland was No. 3 at $6.194 million; Gross revenues rose 6.6% across the top 100 U.S. law firms in 2020 to a record $111 billion, despite Covid-19, and average profits per equity partner surged 13.4%, to $2.23 million, helped by pandemic-related cost cutting, according to American Lawyer’s 2021 Am Law Report. (American Lawyer)
• In 2009, Latham & Watkins responded to the global financial crisis by laying off 12% of its associates and 250 staff, and it got heavily criticized for those moves. In 2020’s economic crisis caused by Covid-19, the firm avoided austerity cuts. Its revenue soared 15% to $4.3 billion, second only to Kirkland, and its PEP jumped almost 20%. (American Lawyer)
• Reed Smith told associates in a call they’ll get the Davis Polk standard for special associate bonuses, which is is up to $64,000, based on year of seniority and is paid in two chunks. They’ll have to bill at least 1,950 hours to get the full amount, Above the Law reported; London-based Allen & Overy is the latest U.K. elite firm, after Freshfields, to announce it will pay associates the Davis Polk scale; associates at Husch Blackwell haven’t gotten bonuses this year, but they did receive boxes with chocolate, sun glasses, and a can of coffee, among other items. (Above the Law)
• New York court system officials are going too fast in ordering all court staff to report for in-person work on May 24, the system’s biggest employee union said. (New York Law Journal)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Minneapolis-based family law attorney Eric C. Nelson, who has the same name as Derek Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, has been getting hate mail, threats, and advice for how he should be defending the ex-cop, who was convicted yesterday of murdering George Floyd. (TMZ)
• Lawyers for hundreds of patients of former UCLA gynecologist Dr. James M. Heaps on Tuesday urged other former patients to opt out of a $73-million class-action settlement before a deadline next month. (L.A. Times)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Human Rights Watch general counsel Dinah PoKempner lost her job after repeatedly using the “N-word” in an April 1 Zoom lecture at Columbia University, according to reports. PoKempner’s LinkedIn profile indicates she was HRW’s top lawyer for 30 years, but left it last September. (Corporate Counsel) (New York Post) Mastercard promoted executive vice president for global public policy and regulatory affairs Richard Verma to general counsel and head of global public policy. (Mastercard.com)
• Winston & Strawn added intellectual property and corporate partner Stephen Kong as a partner in Los Angeles. Kong, who arrives from Troutman Pepper, has spent the majority of his career in Silicon Valley; Seyfarth Shaw recruited McDermott Will & Emery cybersecurity and securities law partner Paul Ferrillo as a partner in New York in its litigation department, global privacy & cybersecurity team, and securities & fiduciary duty litigation group. (Seyfarth Shaw)
• Buchalter got Holland & Knight litigation partner David Elkanich in Portland, Or., to head its new professional responsibility practice group. Kobre & Kim recruited former acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin as a lawyer in its disputes and investigations practice in Washington; Goodwin Procter’s Paris office got Dechert life sciences and tech lawyer Anne-Charlotte Rivière as a partner. (GoodwinLaw.com)

Legal Education

• The percentage of law school graduates who found full-time, long-term jobs that require bar passage or for which a J.D. is essential 10 months after graduation slipped to 77% in 2020, from 81% the previous year, according to new ABA statistics. (Law.com)