JOB SITE NAMED ‘BEST OF BEST’

CareerXroads, a leading guide to the job, resume and career management websites, has named the Legal Career Center Network (powered by Legalstaff.com) as one of the 'Best of the Best for 2003.' Legal Career Center Network, which appears in the Career Center of the OSB’s website (www.osbar.org), is the first legal job portal to make this list.

In addition to being named one of the 'best of the best,' Legal Career Center Network will be featured in an upcoming CareerXroads newsletter review and in a syndicated column on careers.

The network, found also at www.thelccn.com, includes partners ranging from the District of Columbia Bar Association (72,000 members) to the OSB (14,000 members), as well as legal content portals and legal support associations for paralegals and legal secretaries. Nearly 100 associations have partnered with Legalstaff.com to date. +

REMINDER

Readers of this page will recall that the Bulletin is seeking photographs of 'messy desks' (Briefs, November 2002 and October 2002). Don’t worry: We won’t embarrass anyone without his or her permission.

Send photographs to Editor, OSB Bulletin, 5200 S.W. Meadows Road, Lake Oswego, Ore. 97035, or
editor@osbar.org. +

MEMES MAKES THEIR MARK

TechnoLawyer will launch a new weekly e-mail newsletter called 'IP Memes,' which will focus on technology-related intellectual property memes — IP issues that have just begun to surface and that have not yet made their way into court opinions or statutes.

'We designed IP Memes to serve corporate counsel and intellectual property lawyers, but everyone interested in learning about technology-related IP issues at their earliest stages is welcome to subscribe,' says Neil J. Squillante, manager of TechnoLawyer and president of PeerViews Inc., its parent company.

The IP Memes newsletter is free. Those who wish to subscribe can do so by visiting the TechnoLawyer home page at www.technolawyer. com. +

LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Web-based message boards are a good way to share information and learn from others. Martindale- Hubbell sponsors an active website designed to help you do just that. More than 100 message boards are found at the site, ranging from personal or business concerns, specific areas of law and general guidance, as well. (Even if you’re a bit uncomfortable posting a message, visitors are encouraged to drop by anyway.)

More than 68,000 persons have registered to be users, according to Martindale- Hubbell. In addition to the message boards, live chats are held. Recent chat topics included immigration law, bankruptcy and debt, workers’ compensation, civil rights and civil liberties, discrimination and the topic 'Do I have to hire a lawyer?'

To check it out, go to www.lawyers.com and click on Community. +

in-house pay is down

A new survey shows decreases in salaries, significant increases in bonuses and slight increases in total cash compensation for in-house attorneys in 2002. Moreover, stock options added substantially to compensation packages for some in-house attorneys, according to the report.

The findings appear in the 2003 Altman Weil Law Department Compensation Benchmarking Survey of U.S. corporate law departments. The survey was published in partnership with the American Corporate Counsel Association (ACCA). +

'In 2002 we’re seeing a return to a more traditional buyer’s market for legal services,' remarks Altman Weil principal Jim Wilber. 'With the economy slumping and the dot-com bubble burst, in-house departments are no longer competing for talent the way they were just a few years ago.'

With the exception of chief legal officer (CLO) salaries, which remained virtually unchanged, salaries for in-house counsel were down across the board in 2002. The survey reports salaries for deputy CLOs down 3.7 percent, for division CLOs down 1.4 percent, and for managing attorneys down 4.6 percent. Young attorneys were hit hardest, with staff attorney salaries down 10.5 percent and recent grads earning 9 percent less than the previous year.

The survey reports national average salary for chief legal officers in 2002 at $267,500. The mid-level managing attorney position drew an average $151,800, while a staff attorney (entry level with at least one year of experience) earned $63,000 on average nationally.

In contrast to dipping salaries, cash bonuses were up significantly. Chief legal officers received an average $160,700 in bonus cash nationally, up 8.9 percent from 2001. Deputy CLOs saw an average 19.2 percent increase to $110,400; and division CLOs earned 12.7 percent more in bonus dollars, collecting an average $84,400 in 2002.

'Over the past few years, many corporations have revamped their pay strategies,' comments Wilber, 'putting more compensation in the bonus or ‘at-risk’ category.'

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Black attorneys reported the lowest level of on-the-job satisfaction when compared to Asian, Hispanic and white associates at law firms nationwide, a new survey says.

These findings are in the Vault Top 100 Law Firms Corporate Research Report, which examines how specific demographic groups (organized by gender, ethnicity, marital status, location, practice area, sexual orientation) score law firm quality-of-life issues (e.g., compensation, associate-partner relations, diversity, training, hours, retention), as well as perceptions of specific law firms. The report surveyed 9,500 attorneys at more than 100 law firms across the United States in Spring 2002.

Based on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 means unsatisfactory and 10 means entirely fulfilling), the average score for overall on-the-job satisfaction for black associates was 6.758; Hispanic associates, 7.311; Asian associates, 7.360; and white associates, 7.516. Black attorneys also reported the lowest levels of satisfaction with regard to associate/partner relations, compensation, and with diversity at their law firms.

The report can be ordered through Vault’s online bookstore at www.vault.com (click on guidebooks).