Blank Rome slashing salaries - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Effective July 17, entry-level associates in Philadelphiaand Princeton, will have their salaries downgraded from $145,000p to $130,000 while other salaries will be reduced between 2 percent and 10 percent. “The legalo industry continues to evolvde in the midst of challengingeconomi conditions,” the firm said. Blank Rome called the salaryh reductionsa “market adjustment” and said the firm remainss in strong financial health, and is on budgeft for this year.
Earlier this week, cut its associate salaries by $10,000 across the board while partners have agreeed to take a 5 percent cut in compensationn and administrative staff with salarieswexceeding $60,000 a year will see theird income fall between 2 percent and 5 Firms such as Ballardc Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, Reed Smithb and Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney have cut associate salaries whilse firms such as Drinker Biddle & Reathu and Montgomery McCracken Walker Rhoads have lowered first-year salaries.
There have been no publiclh announced salary cuts from other large Philadelphia law firmes suchas Dechert, Morgajn Lewis & Bockius, Pepperd Hamilton and Duane Morris— all of which have paid the top-of-the-marker $145,000 to entry-level lawyers. The 500-lawyer Blankm Rome has laid off 47 lawyerx and 92 support staffthis year, the largestf number proportionally to its size of any firm in Like its chief competitors, Blank Rome reduced the length of its summef intern program and delayed the start date for its first-yeat associates from this fall to “at least” January 2010.
But while most firms reduced their summer program from 10 toeightt weeks, Blank Rome’s program will only be six weeks. Blank Rome has the fifth-largesy local lawyer count in the PhiladelphiasBusiness Journal’s most recent Book of Busineses Lists, with 278. It also reported having 401 locaolsupport staff. Both of those numbers were collected beforefirmwidew layoffs.