It took a while, but the Cravath ceiling has finally shattered.. On Friday, the firm announced that the incoming class (2009) would be offered a voluntary one year deferral of start date. That's the good news. The bad news is that current summer associates – set to graduate in 2010 - are being told that they won't begin work until Fall, 2011.
This means that any stigma around deferred start dates is now officially gone. Not that much remained. But for better or worse, Cravath is still the gold standard for "how a super-elite firm behaves." This move will give cover to other superelites that would like to defer hiring as well.
Of course, it's also an opportunity for competitors to fight Cravath for the mantle. But that's a tough nut. Cravath is Cravath because it gets elite clients, charges a lot, does great work (while working attorneys to the bone), and is virtually the market leader in compensation. This deferral doesn't put quality at risk. Cravath can easily afford to lose a few of its associates from this summer's class. And it's not like Cravath gets the singularly best associates anyway. Ten or fifteen firms in the U.S. hire comparable quality associates. It will take more than deferred start dates – or even layoffs – to undermine the firm's core quality. Pay cuts are a dicier matter because, if other firms hold out, this could create long term quality challenges for the firm. And it might undermine the high-salary reputation that Cravath has carefully cultured over decades.
The biggest short term impact will be in the area of judicial clerkships. Other firms will surely follow Cravath (and Skadden.) This will create a pool of talented law grads who want a high-status job that perfectly fits a one year deferral. For several weeks, now, I've been predicting a
judicial clerkship application crush. Based on the following quote from the Harvard career office, responding to news of these deferrals, the crush has now arrived. From
ATL:
One option we would like to highlight is a judicial clerkship, which conveniently tends to be for one year, is valued by the full spectrum of legal employers, and is a fantastic job in itself. You can find lots of background information in the clerkships part of the OCS website. Be sure to consider all types of clerkship opportunities, including those at state and specialty courts, because the competition is likely to be fierce this season. It is not too late to jump into the clerkship application process. The first thing you would need to do is arrange any faculty recommendation letters as soon as possible. Even though we had an internal deadline in April for this step, many faculty members will be receptive to later requests.
In this tough environment, clerkship applicants will want any information they can find. And it looks like most that information can now be found at LawClerkAddict.
Image: Pickens County Courthouse, Alabama. Not where most Cravath summer associates will be clerking in 2010-11. But this one is haunted!
November 25, 2009
Subject: TONYA WYCHE, The Evil Grinch who stole away the Justice from me…!!
To: Every citizen who is seeking justice from the courts.
The very essence of liberty certainly consists in the right of every individual to claim protection of laws and seek redress from the courts. When the courts become corrupted, the road to tyranny becomes more accessible. There are many examples of cases in which the court clerks have demonstrated a pattern of proclivity and kowtowing towards the prosecutors.
In my case, the evil Grinch in the Third Circuit Court of appeals sits as a case manager by the name of Tonya Wyche. Ms. Wyche refuses to docket and file my pleadings and motions to my cases. I sent a motion for dismissal of the indictment based on an congressional amendment of the federal law, which proves that the conduct charged in my indictment was never considered as a crime by the congress. I sent repeated requests to her for her explanation as to why my motion is not filed, but my inquiries were never responded. I tried to call her on numerous occasions, but she refused to take my calls. When I tried to file my motion electronically, Ms. Wyche conveniently cancelled my registration as an Electronic Document filer to the courts. Ms. Wyche also refuses to issue an scheduling order in my criminal appeals despite the appellate case file in her office since past TWO YEARS!!.
Ms. Wyche has hermetically closed the court doors for me and is preventing me to seek justice from the Court of Appeals.
Her actions and conduct is not because of incompetence, but rather because malice aforethought. This curtailment of right to access the courts makes it more difficult to seek redress and easier to prolong oppressive incarceration of innocent persons. In so far as the court clerks violate the rights recognized by the founding fathers codified in the constitution, their conduct is illegitimate. May be that these clerks have their own customized version of the constitution. But, when court clerks scorn their oath to uphold the constitution, they transform themselves into predator class, and justice is lost leading to arcane, arbitrary and secretive procedures with flagrant erosion of justice.
These type of clerks scorn their own mandatory duty by deciding the case and showing actual bias against the defendants for personal careerist reasons – promotion, retirement, post-retirement opportunity. Their power have given them a hubris, arrogance, and sense of invulnerability that has eroded the effective administration of the judiciary system. Rouge clerks do not have horns or tails; if they did, they would be easier to identify. The complaint proceedings against these corrupt clerks are a farce as no action is taken against these dissolute and venal clerks.
I am not writing this with slightest expectations of ending this autocratic behavior. These clerks cannot be stopped because their behavior is simply a function of the way they are and how they think, their dispositions, and the way they deal with the criminal defendants. However, they can be understood, exposed, and watched, and there is a compelling reason to do so. While their misconduct may be considered harmless in the scheme of things, their larger undertaking is of great concern. These clerks, who carry out their vendetta against citizens almost never have to pay to either the government's or citizen's legal bills, and their only incentive is to stretch their power as far as possible.
Clerks like Ms. Tonya Wyche cannot be trusted to exercise the powers given to them. Examples of this nature, if not restrained by national control, would be multiplied and extended till they become serious sources of arbitrary and disparate treatment. To prevent future bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the judicial system, these clerks have to be de-fanged and their arbitrary powers be excised. And without governmental involvement – without active monitoring of the actions of the court clerks and without vigorous resistance to their misconduct – people will have few means to safeguard their lives and property.
'WOE UNTO YOU SCRIBES … [YOU] TIE UP HEAVY BURDENS, HARD TO BEAR, AND LAY THEM ON THE SHOULDERS OF OTHERS; BUT [YOU] ARE UNWILLING TO LIFT A FINGER TO MOVE THEM …
BLIND GUIDES ! YOU STRAIN OUT A GNAT BUT SWALLOW A CAMEL … [YOU] HAVE NEGLECTED THE WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE LAW AND JUSTICE….' JESUS (Matthew 23:4-24).
Submitted by,
Dr. AKHIL BANSAL
Email :- perfectinjustice.bansal@gmail.com
Blog: drakhilbansal.blogspot.com
Nice post!
I think that the most affected area will be the judicial clerkship, so I totally agree with you. This is very important and I have to thank you for this post. This is very valuable information. I'll bookmark you and follow you. Thank you.
hehe that sounds fun…*