Oregon State Bar Bulletin — January 2002
Briefs
WHEN YOU'RE NOT READING THE BULLETIN
Someone developed a psychological profile for readers of various newspapers and circulated it on the web, where it was picked up and published by the Minnesota Law & Politics magazine which suggests, 'See where you fit in.'
- Wall Street Journal is read by people who run the country.
- New York Times is read by people who think they run the country.
- Washington Post is read by people who think they ought to run the country.
- USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't understand the Washington Post.
- Los Angeles Times is read by those who wouldn't mind running the country, if they could spare the time.
- Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country.
- New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country.
- New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country, as long as they do something scandalous.
- Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country.
(Reader suggestions on who reads the OSB Bulletin are welcome and could be printed in the next issue, if appropriate.)
MAJOR LAW FIRMS STILL MOSTLY WHITE MEN
The dearth of women and attorneys of color remains in major law firms across the nation, according to research from the National Association of Law Placement.
Relative to total headcounts, women and non-white men are still quite under-represented among partnership ranks. In 2001 the numbers increased modestly beyond 1993 levels: from 2.55 percent to 3.55 percent for attorneys of color in partnership positions, and from 12.27 to 15.80 percent for women as large law firm partners.
The data reveals that nationally women attorneys hold 41.94 percent of positions as associates, quite closely reflecting their respective representation among recent law school graduates.
Partnerships are a different story. The partnership numbers for Portland, including offices in Lake Oswego, follow the national pattern: Of 413 partners from 13 surveyed firms, 15.50 percent are women, and only 2.66 percent are attorneys of color.
LAW DEPARTMENT EXPENDITURES DROP
Reversing a multi-year trend of increases, the average total internal operating expenses per lawyer in law departments decreased by 1.5 percent, according to Altman Weil's 2002 Law Department Performance Metrics Survey.
The survey shows increases in compensation, benefits and technology spending, while occupancy and overhead costs and contract lawyer expenditures declined.
Hourly rates still 'rule': Despite much debate about the hourly rate, survey participants report that only 20 percent of fees paid to outside counsel are based on alternative fee arrangements. Law departments continue to conserve resources by employing more paralegals; large law departments of 26 or more lawyers now employ 35 paralegals for every 100 lawyers.