News Scrapbook 1989

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Business Journal (Cir. w. 7,500) JAN 2 1989 Lq{I.,,, '• p C B / ' I

Los Angeles, %'\ (Los Angeles o limes l (San Diego o\ti (Cir. D 50. \Car . s 55,S73l 1 98 r, C 8

1888

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ip'22 WEEK OF JANUARY 2, 1989 / Law firms offer second path for non-partners A new);>reed of lawyers doesn't sweat blood for the firm, but are likely to be doomed as second-class citizens ;;z_qqg>Y JANE HALSEMA about a long-term career m law. "It's an much preferred extra hours for training Non-partners usually make very decent Young lawyer traditionally started option for people who only want to prac- over the prospec1s of making partner. salarie by 1he standards of other mdus- their careers by enduring 90-hour work 11ce law for a few years to get out from Women lawyers planning to raise child- tries and enjo} the comparative luxury of weeks for as long as JO years. Those who under !heir students loans, but I don't ren also may prefer the reduced ~ours and working regular hours. They are liberated passed the test became equity shareholders think 1ha1 career option is why 1hey go to stress of staff attorney positiom, he says. from the insidious pressure 10 produce for life in their firm's profits and fortunes. law school," Nonh says. "Nowaday, young people wi1h talent more billable hour;, and because they Those who didn't got a not-so-subtle die- Leaving the firm and taking a lower- tend to have muhifaceted Jives. Someone don't share in the fortunes of the firm, tum: Seek greener pastures somewhere paid government job Mill is better for the wi1h a family may not want 10 put in 1he they aren't held respomible when the law else. career-minded than accep1ing a s11nt a a kind of hours it takes 10 make partner. firm is sued. But over the past three years, private contrac1 attorney, she imists. Law school The decisions sometime; are made "There is only a limited pool of gradu- law firms across the country have begun graduates entering on a partnership track mu1ually. Often very good lawyers choo;e ares of {good) law ,chools," says Jack imita1ing account mg firms and other cor- can expec1 starting ;a!aries be1ween to have more of a staff role." Walker at Latham & Watkin in Los porate heavies by offering two-track $45,000 and $65,000 she says, compared For the legal firms, economic ,onsidera- Angeles. "You have law firms growing, a employment opportunities. A new breed 10 abou1 $30,000 for a contract employee. tions are often behind the two-track struc- stable labor pool and a growing demand. of lawyers, called non-equity partners, And 1hough some firms include bcnefi1s in lure. "Some of the really large firms are Firms are beginning to think, why not their contract packages, others, North looking at II a a way to keep down labor keep the;e resources who we have trained? SPECJAL REPORT LEGAL ISSUES _____________

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Many Struggled Through '88, but NewYe~r Offers Hope ',_ ~-- - - •' ' I USD SllC rea. ons to applaud the y,g,- ver · O· ' 1. The ratther wu on a roll. YEAR Co~llnued from Pafe 13B · ·· · 200 000 miles ham. has logged over , thletic

'They get in there and find out they're making half of what others doing comparable work are making, and they're not getting invited to the attorney Christmas parties and things like that which just wreck I ,, mora e. - Linda North eoniract attorneys, staff anorneys, "of counsel" and 01her variants on the theme, are being hired with the understanding they will never make partner. Paid a salary, they are not expec1ed to sweat blood for the firm. But ine\itabl} they become "also-ran , " the second- clas cnizens of 1he corpora1e law cuhure. Pioneers m the concept of non-equity partners include Kirkland & Ellis, a profit• able Chicago firm, and ew York's vener- able, Cravath, Swain & loore 801h firms have cutthroat reputa1ions for emphasizing bo11om-line profits o, er Job a1isfaction. Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue of Cle\e- land was one of the firs1 national firms to make non-equit} panners, or staff anor- neys, an established option in recruiting. Its puch to new recruus: Forgo the pros- pect of making panner for a job "ith a prestigious firm. Law firms in California have been ,io"er 10 adop1 the business prac1ices of !heir Eas1 Coas1 and .Midwestern coun1er- parts, perhaps because the legal profes- sion is more prosperous here or because the West Coast is lagging behind the times evertheless, the non-equity issue alread} has affected the job- hunting strategies of recent California law school graduates. Last year Alfred F. Deleo, the hiring partner at Pircher, Nichols, & Meeks in Los Angeles, put Southern California law schools on notice that the firm would begin hiring staff attorneys for one-year contracts to perform due diligence work on real estate transactions. The salary quoted for law school graduates was $35,000, plus a year-end meri1 bonus and the same benefi1s accorded 1he firm's non- legal taff. Staff attorneys there are not considered to be on a partnership track. "Students and graduates no longer will go into an interview assuming it's for a partnership position," says Linda North, director of placement at California West- ern School of Law in San Diego. "They are more aware of it now and they're either not applying at those firms or not interested in those positions." North does not consider non-equity partnership an op1ion for anyone serious

Once the ego question is out of the way, (a non-cquny partnership) may be a very comfortable way 10 live a life." San Francisco-based Cooley, Godward, Castro, Huddleson & Tatum, which began usmg both staff and con1ract attorneys on a regular basis only lwo yea, ago, takes great pains 10 antici pa1e and avoid morale "We've been very clear about the staff a11orney posi1ions. Al 1he same lime, we have created a work environment where staff anorneys are 1rca1ed with the same perks and privilege ," says Paul " Mike" Li1tle insists that economics had noth- ing 10 do with the firm's decision to crea1e staff auorney positions. "Our decision has revolved around a serendipitous com- ing togc1hcr of particular people coming 10 us at a time w en we ha very special- • • h d a staff attorney program, but we arc find. ing it s an idea t at makes a ot of sense for certain focused areas of pecialt y,'' Li11le says. "h's done very much on an individual basis. Our policy here has been to no1 have a rigid policy." , h 1 cisco, Palo Alto and Newport Beach, has abou1 120 lawyers, 40 of wh1ch arc pan. ners and 80 are associates. Two of the problems. Liule, a partner with oole}, Godward. "A a consequence, morale has been very good." • h ILed needs," e says. Id b h h "It wou c wrong to say t at we ave Th f' h' h h f · as o ftccs 111 s t e irm, w 1c an ·ran- es1ate_ issues, one on pro a_1e_an. es1a1e planning and the fourth specializes m pub- If lhe future of non-equ11y partnerships a_1 California law firms is indeed f~nc- 110n of marketplace economics, md1ca- 11ons are that il's still a buyer_'s market for legal Jobs. For the 11me bemg, 1he new crop_of California lawyers will be the ones Four .~ears ago, st ,dent s were hurtmg says \,fary Ann Salaber, direc- tor of career planning and placement for 1he Umvermy of San Diego Law. School. "Now welilhe Cttlployen-t:alling saying why aren't there more applicants?" for Job , lie company clients. . . m?.vmg the labor market. f. • f ff k 1 1rm s. our sta a11orncys wor on rca b d

costs," says Charles L. Hellerich, manag- mg partner a1 Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, San Diego's second-larges! law firm. "The more partners you have, rhe smaller your percentage ownership, 0 you'd need a bigger pie." Hellerich says his firm has no non- equity partners and that everyone up for partnership m the past nine }Cars has made it. Those who didn't in the pasr left. Luce Forward doe, have five senior pan- Higg,, Fletcher & Mack, San Diego's th i rd _largeSI firm in number of lawyers, is one of the only firms 1n town to systemati- cally hire staff auorneys on a two.track ba is, according 10 Cai-Western '5 North. Bu1 Dan E. Hedin, managing partner of 1he firm, declined to comment for 1his Some lawyers feel the multitrack employment 1rend at law firms i unavoid- able given escalating li1igation costs, exor- bitan1 salary demands from incoming associa1es, and declining revenues due 10 a new generation of corporate clien1s more It makes economic sense for larger firms to lry to keep on qualified a\Sociates as non-equiry partners after inveMing the rime and expense in training them, says Daniel C. Minteer, managing partner at Lillick• McHose & Charles in San Diego. For second-string lawyers faced wah lcav- ing, the non-equity alternative, he feels, "You'd only do it if you have th e need 10 do it," Minteer says. "Either because you have associates you want to keep who arcn'I quite ready to be made panners or because you 're rrying to cxie nd th : {asso- ciaie's) term before becoming a full pan- :;m~:~ause you need longer to evaluate from an associate\ perspectl\C, Min- teer says, the m11ial reacuon to non-cquit} partnerships 1s negati\c. "But if )OU like lhe place and you think you have a future Ihere, you stay," Minteer says. Lawyers are quick to underscore other posi11ves of the non-equity relationship. ner, on a contract basis. article. likely 10 question their bills. can be posi11ve,

says, don't e, en pay monthly parking

fees.

"They ge1 in there and find out they're making half of what mhers doing compa- rable work are making, and they're not gemng invited to the attorney Christmas parties and things like that which JUSI wreck morale," North says. The threat of demoralizing new asso- cia1es is a major reason why many firms decide agains1 the two-I rack sy tern, despite the economic advantages of a "lf J was one of 1hose non-equity asso- ciates, I w.ould be very upse1 unless l felt I didn't ha,e what i1 rakes," ,ays Robert J. Berton, a partner at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch in San Diego. "It's obviously a kmd of class discrimination." Mos1 law firms in California deny hav- mg non-equity partners. Pressed on the issue, the} admit to using contract lawyers for special cases and hiring staff attorneys or part-lime people. But 1he issue of hiring non-equity partner or sponsoring a two- 1rack hiring policy seems 10 be s1ill too sensime m California for open debate, and the excepuon rather than the rule. "We don't have any non-equi1y part- ners, and for the time being we aren't planning to ha,e any," says Charles W. Bender, managing panner at O'Meiveny & \,fyers, the second-largest law firm in Los Angeles. "II would be counter 10 our \\. irh abou1 400 la"yers narional!y, including 135 partners, Bender says 0'\1elvem & Mvers has hired some senior attorneys ·ur sp~cial staff on an ad hoc basis who receive salaries plus a bonus or limned profi1-sharing. Bui he notes tha1 "I don'1 ·now if the trend (toward non- cquitv panners) will gel a head of s1eam or not,'; says Bender. "II gets talked abom a Jot in the legal journals, but I really don't knO\\ if rhere are a lot of firms domg ii .. With more than 200 associates and JOO partners in its three Los Angeles area offices alone Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Los Angeles,' largest J~w firm says 11 ha~ considered the staff attorne~ and non- equity options, but doesn't believe they can work on the West Coast. "I think it's a function of what city you're in and how compe1i11ve ii is," says Norman B. Barker, managing par:ner a1 Gibson, Dunn. "On the West Coast there have always been more than ample oppor- 1uni1ies (for lawyers). Less demanding positions, however, are exactly what some California attorneys are looking for. "Firms that have a multi- tier struc1ure have no trouble finding law- yers," says George Berger, a partner with Jennings, Engstrand & Henrikson in San Diego. "It's becoming a question of the mmual-choice factor and a life-choice fac- tor," Berger says. He cited one young lawyer at his firm whose first love was triathlons. The lawyer lower-cost labor pool. culture." 1hese usuall} are la1eral hires.

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ti g Toreros to a he is known. is events. But J .Cr'' ashis 25 years of _.,..., . famous or· mvr~ th USO baseball coach. ~e;iie: ho:OTed at a banquKanet . . • h Wathan With Jl{nuary; Jo n ' d USO R als manager an a sas City oy the key-note speak· Q(m1;tng:~reros won their last 7 1988, th d 9 of 10 to finish 28-28, games an . ham a 5 77.565-13 gmng Cunmng record. de super. 6. Torero Stadluili1:':.vashingt.on .-Jfi late Janu~d for the Denver Redskins prtiSD But before they ::n3i°: t~ and ·1ockerr~~ ~e::i~ • d to be Bermuda the field and carpeting pamt for the lockerroo:rJooREN -JIMLI transpor n

Playing m all 56 games, Dave !tolls, a senior catcher. set chool records with 18 home runs, 70 runs batted m and 57 walks. In 179 at-bats. he hit .374 with 67 hits, 15 doubles. 2 triples, 51 runs and 9 stolen bases. Rolls was chosen co-player of the year in the West Coast Athletic Conference a~d earned second-team Academic All-America honors. 2. 5.4 football team tlose to 9-0. Limiting opponents to 72 7 rush- mg yards per game (a i:chool record), USD'6 football team fm• ished the season 5-4 (with a fode1L victory over Menlo). USO lo t five games by an average of three points. Twice, the Toreros gave up wmmng touchdowns late m the fourth quarter and three times they failed to score on their fmal drive when they appeared to be heading to victory. Defenders Bryan Day and John Gomez were named Aca- demic All- Americans. Day was named Lo the first team for the second consecuuve year, Gomez to the second team. 3.,Basketball team 11pset1 • • • A young 1987-88 team upset Pepperdme, 76-74, after losing to the waves by 25 earlier in t~e season. USO upset St. Marys, 66-61, after iosmg to the Gaels by one three nights before. After losmg by 40 to Loyola Marymount the first time around, USO scored IZ6 points m the last game of the regular season, but lost to the Lions who had HI. Those were topped by an even younger 1988-89 squad in the second game this season. USO upset New MeXJco, then ranked 24th. 64-53, after falling behind, 13-0, after 41/2 min- utes m Albuquerque. 4. La,man ttplares priest. . On Sept. J, Tom Iannacone offi- cially replaced the Rev. Patrick Cahill as athletic director. Cahill resigned the position he held f~r 9 years to to accept an associate pastorship in Las Vegas. Ianna- cone, 47, bnngs to USD a wealth of football, track and management experience accumulated on the East Coast. 5. Sliver 1 ea90n for USD' • Ralph Kramden. As a bus driver, John Cunping• Please • ee YEAR, Paf~13C

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Los Angel es, CA (Los Angeles Co.) Los Angeles Daily Journal (Cir . 5 x W. 21 ,287 ) JAN 2 1989

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'1 Eo 1888 Discipline Reforms P. C. B

No. 7 on the list is one of the rare top-10 legal stories, one that probablywouldn't be found on a general-interest list. But itis of vital concern to those who practice law in California, and it is aimed at improving the quality and image of , the profession. - After years of criticism, and battles with the Legislature, two bills were signed into law in September that are intended to make major reforms in the State Bar's lawyer discipline system. One measure contained the largest dues In- crease in .the bar's history. It will boost the total dues paid by most lawyers from $275 to $417 starting in 1989. Included in this bfil ls a three-year $110 surcharge to finance reforms in the discipline SY$tem. . These reforms will include replacmg the 450 volunteer lawyers and laypeople who now rule on discipline cases with nine administrative law j udges. rThis second m easure also In• creases the bar's authority to suspend miscre- ant lawyers from practice and provides other . sanctions short of disbarment, which still re- quire approval by the Supreme Court. · Addressing one of the chief complaints lev- eled at the di • cip1lne system, the new legisla- t tion includes procedural changes ·destgned1o bring attorney misconduct -to the.attention of bar ~cials more quickly,'1 •:ifr 'J"V . i, i ; It is estimated that it will take 18 months to implement these changes. Discipline Monitor Robert Fellmeth has said that once the system Is m place, Ute thne ·_ cq,iired to process most discipline complaints should drop from thrt:e y ears to 18 months. 'Turning the Comer' Santa Clara's Uelmen called the changes a very significant event. "It's a turning-the-cor- ner kind of thing for the bar in California. We have gone farther than any other state in this kind of a ction." However, the hefty dues increase and the discipline-system changes have increased talk of chaIIenging the bar's mandatory member- ship status. Only 32 bars nationwide still re- quire a ttorneys in their jurisdiction to be membel"S. However, the Chicago-based 7th Circuit affirmed their legitimacy in a decision on Dec. 8. Some local bar associations have suggested that the State Bar get out of the discipline business altogether. Peter G. Keane, the presi- dent of the Bar Association of San Francisco, recently predicted that the State Bar's discf. pline function would soon be transferred to a public agency·to administer. '' .. r ..

San Diego , CA (San Diego Cq.) San D ,eg_o Union (Cir . D 217 ,089 ) (Cir S . 341 ,840) JAN 2 1989

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LOCAL BRIEFS

Utah, winner of 4 in row, hosts .........._ Toreros tonight The tistflmen s ketball team, College football

Torrey Pmes High graduate Tom Underwood, a freshman starter at wide receiver and punt returner for Illino1S State this season, y; di transfer to San Diego State Underwood will not be eligible for the 1989-90 season but will walk on the next season said his father, Dan, an SDSU assJStant coach ... Northern Anzona tight end Shawn Collins has been selected to play in the Semor Bowl Jan 21 m Mobile, Ala Collins, a 1985 Kearn H h grad and two-time unanimous All-Big Sky Conference tight end AU ca- reer records for rerept ons 1201), re- ception yardage (2,764) nd touch- downs (25) San D1eg n Bryan Wallbank fm1 bed m 15 mmutes, 27 seconds to Win the Feelm' Fit 5K at DeAnza Cove V10cent Lostetter was second in 15:28 Jeanne Lasee-J hnson, also of San Diego won the worn n's division in 16:52, '30 sec nds ahead of Alpme's Mindy Ireland. / Running

which ended 1ti lo·mg streak at three Friday with a 2 56 victory over VIS· ilmg Manst p y tomght at tah at 6 30 Thursday Utah 8-6, won its fourth straight game, 7 68 agamst Alaska- Anchorage m th champ1onsh1p of the Utah Htlton-Se1ko Cla tc Ala - ka-Anchorage wa commg off an up et of second ranked Mich gan Semor forward Mitch Srn:th leads l 1.cih m scoring and r boundmg (14 6 10) He had 22 points and 14 r bounds agamst Alaska•Anchorage Team- mate Jimmy Madison, a emor for• ward had 17 pomts and seven re bounds off the bench t:SD (5 5) got career-best scoring efforts from fre hmen Gylan Dottm (23 pomts) and Kelvm V.oods (12) USD beat Utah, 60 57, two sea ons ago m the schools only other meet mg But then the Toreros had 7- footer Scott Th mpson who scored 30 USO will m t We tern Kentucky (8 2) for the first t1m ever, Thursday m Kentucky - Tom Kra • ovic

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