Welcome to Boomtown?

Summer associate programs shrinking….venerable firms disappearing…associate layoffs increasing…and yet, according to the L.A. Times, “It’s Boom Times for Lawyers.”  (And not as in ‘lower the boom.’)

According to the LAT piece, these are the ‘boom’ area of the law:

• Representation of homeowners who didn’t read were misled about their mortgages
• Counselling companies on how best to handle layoffs rightsizing without getting sued
• Fraud lawsuits against banks and investment firms
• Advising banks seeking a piece of the $700-billion government bailout of the financial system

In fact the bailout package is depicted as essentially a ‘make-work’ program for lawyers. The banks and other entities seeking a piece of the pie will need to comply with a new and byzantine set of regulations, including restrictions on executive compensation. Or, as Scott Sinder, head of Steptoe’s government affairs group, puts it, “We're going to have to marry program restraints with contractual obligations of companies.” Translation: lots of billables.

-posted by brian