More on Morgan

We here at LawShucks were the first to report on Morgan Lewis’ cancellation of its 2010 Summer Associate program and its elimination of lock step.

Here are some snippets from a letter from Morgan Lewis addressed to law schools:

“As you know, as a result of economic conditions, Morgan Lewis decided in March 2009 to defer the start dates for our entering associates from October 2009 until October 2010. We simultaneously decided that any offers extended to our 2009 Summer Associates would be for start dates during 2011.

All of our deferred associates have elected to participate in the Morgan Lewis Fellowship Program, under which they will receive stipends of up to $60,000 while working in government and public interest positions. The response to the Fellowship Program from our deferred students, our clients and the public interest community has been overwhelmingly positive.

However, like other firms, we continue to experience reduced demand for services in some areas of practice and lower levels of associate attrition than in past years. We, therefore, unfortunately are presented with a situation in which any hiring that we do this fall for a 2010 Summer Associate Program would reduce the number of offers we would be able to extend to our 2009 Summer Associates.

Given the unique circumstances of the current year, Morgan Lewis has decided that we will not conduct any on-campus interviewing during the fall of 2009 and that we will not have a 2010 Summer Associate Program. We continue to be committed to law school recruiting and entry level hiring. However, our highest priority is to provide opportunities for our existing associates and 2009 Summer Associates.”

In a firm wide meeting held today at Morgan Lewis, associates were informed that it would eliminate lock step and a new compensation structure will be implemented, though the details of such structure have yet to be ironed out.

We have also received tips that Morgan Lewis has been conducting stealth lay offs recently, meaning the cutting of the summer associate program doesn’t really indicate that the associates are safe.

If you have any tips, please leave a comment or contact us at tips@lawshucks.com or laidoffdiary@lawshucks.com.

Related posts:

1. BREAKING NEWS: MLB Cancels 2010 Summer Program and Eliminates Lockstep
2. Morgan Lewis Possibly Rolling Back Salaries
3. More MSM Coverage of BigLaw Layoffs
4. Morgan Stanley Shakes Up GC Office
5. We Call BS on Stipend Repayment