New BigLaw Job: Lend-an-Associate

• Posted by Geoffrey G. Gussis on December 4th, 2007


• Filed in Law Department Management

Anyone have one of these attorneys skulking around the law department? Are they welcome members of the team?

An innovative perk being offered to favored clients by a small but growing number of law firms can also provide big benefits to associates.So-called secondments—essentially, a loan of an associate to work onsite for a client for a period that often lasts for months—are growing in popularity with major U.S. law firms. Such arrangements have long been customary among their U.K. counterparts seeking to cement client loyalty, reports the National Law Journal in an article reprinted by New York Lawyer (reg. req.).

A secondment allows the client company to get the benefit of the associate’s work, at significantly less cost than what would be paid to the firm at ordinary billable-hour rates, the legal newspaper explains. “Generally, the law firm continues to pay the associate, with the client sometimes providing housing or a set stipend to cover expenses.”

New BigLaw Job: Lend-an-Associate | ABA Journal - Law News Now