Law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore has offered incoming associates $80,000 to defer their start date by a year—and not to work for a year. Plus, Cravath will pay up to $1,000/month in student loans and health insurance. Bloomberg News, which calls Cravath one of the country's most profitable law firms but notes its revenue is down 55% so far (vs. same period last year), adds, "Cravath, whose clients include Citigroup Inc., Time Warner Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., is also requiring its current summer associates who are offered full-time jobs to accept $65,000 to defer their start date from October 2010 for a year." Above the Law notes how Harvard Law School immediately sent out a note to its rising third-year students, with suggestions on what to do (hello, judicial clerkship). Earlier this year, Skadden Arps offered associates $80,000 for a year of paid leave. more ›

The NY Times article about Skadden Arps' program allowing associates to take a year off—no strings attached (just a suggestion to do good works, but no requirement) and their jobs in tact when they get back— is attracting envy from others (perhaps those who didn't put in the hours to become an associate, whose base pay is closer to $240,000, at the competitive law firm). Skadden's strategy is to save money in these tough times—here's the memo outlining the "Sidebar" program—and Above the Law gives an assessment: "In a normal economy, mid-level and senior associates who aren't likely to make partner would be leaving the firm for less intense pastures. But because of the market meltdown, those people have been desperately trying to hang onto their jobs... Instead of forced attrition, Skadden's program starts to look like a mercy killing. Skadden is giving people who want to get out an opportunity to leave in spite of the terrible economy." more ›

Aha! We were right when we suggested that August 8, 2008 might be another coveted wedding date to consider, now that July 7, 2007 has passed. The date 08/08/08 is considered very auspicious by Asian cultures (in fact, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing will start on that day), and some weddings planners who specialized in Chinese weddings are seeing a big rush. One told LJWorld, "We like to do three weddings max a day, but we might end up doing four to five because of this hot date." more ›

There's news about Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer's transition team (which includes El Diario publisher Rosanna Rosado and Time Warner Chairman and CEO Richard Parsons), but you can also visit the spiffy transition website. TransitionNY.org has some bios for Spitzer, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, the transition team, and links to the state's various agencies. Okay, it's sort of thin on information now, as it's most notably an open call for people to apply for state jobs, but it's a nice idea - let's hope it's a usable resource. more ›

Pity the poor editors at Conde Nast, as well as the high-powered lawyers at Skadden Arps. The east-facing views from their offices at 4 Times Square are quickly being blocked by a new Bank of America building going up down the block. Only the last six stories of the building will be spared. While we're trying to sympathize, it's hard not to feel a little schadenfreude when reading quotes like this one in the New York Times: more ›