xby Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Great paying jobs right out college are hard to come by. Most occur within professional sports where early-round draft picks ink multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts with hefty signing bonuses.
First year attorneys don’t make that kind of money right out of school, but the starting pay these days for first-year associates is in excess of three times the median income in Jacksonville. Holland & Knight recently announced that it is raising the salaries of first-year associates in Jacksonville to $100,000 with a signing bonus of $5,000, something the firm calls a “study stipend.”
Adolfo Jimenez, the firm’s professional development and recruiting partner as well as partners in the firm’s Miami office, said the decision to increase first-year salaries by $10,000 was based on Holland & Knight’s commitment to be able to attract the best young lawyers in the country.
“This is both a firmwide and Jacksonville decision,” said Jimenez. “We did a national review of salaries in different markets and we realized we needed to make adjustments to make sure we stayed competitive.
“It’s a phenomenon that started at the beginning of the year. We saw that all over the country, especially in California, law firms had increased the salaries of their associates. It raised the issue: what should we do?”
Jimenez said one of the driving factors was the simplest of economic factors — supply and demand. Jimenez explained that for several years there was a dearth of new lawyers. Today, that isn’t the case and with so many good, new lawyers looking for jobs, law firms don’t want salaries to be the deciding factor.
“It’s our desire to keep and recruit the best,” he said. “From a recruiting standpoint, we wanted to make sure that salary was an issue.”
Two from Holland & Knight that could benefit from the change are summer associate Rob Riva and first-year associate Tobi Butenski. Both were hesitant to comment on the salary issue, but both are pleased with the decisions they’ve made so far.
“I want to get as much experience as I can,” said Riva, who went to Penn State for his undergraduate degree and is entering his final year at Florida Coastal School of Law. Riva will spend the summer working in all the firm’s departments in an effort to get a feel for where he may fit best in a year. “I have liked them all equally for different reasons. It’s hard work and it’s intense, but the caliber of work and the issues I am tackling are worth the hard work.”
Butenski is a graduate of the University of Florida and got out of the Levin College of Law in December. She’s working in commercial litigation, but is leaving at the end of July to clerk for Federal Magistrate Judge Gary Jones in Ocala for a couple of years. Her clerkship is a common practice for Holland & Knight associates and is highly encouraged by the firm.
“I think it will be an incredible experience and it will help my career,” said Butenski, who intends to return to the firm. “I have an offer to come back in August of 2008. I am really excited to get back to the firm because it’s one of the top firms in Jacksonville and it has been incredible to work here.”
While Rogers Towers declined to comment for this story, Ed Baxa of Foley & Lardner said his firm made the decision to raise its associate salaries a few months ago. Foley & Lardner also pays its first-year associates $100,000 a year and Baxa said his firm also wants to stay attractive to recent law school graduates.
“Retention is a huge issue for us. We want to make sure we are competitive,” said Baxa, who has been with Foley & Lardner for 16 years and is a managing partner in the Orlando office. “Some surveys we have seen say compensation is essential to retaining attorneys. We also stress training, flexibility issues and we address the work/life issue. We want our lawyers to have a good balance.
Butenski said she chose Holland & Knight for several reasons. She’s from Jacksonville and went to Stanton High and has family here. Holland & Knight presented Butenski with the opportunity to spend last summer working in a variety of departments in an effort to decide where she fits best in the firm. After spending time in the commercial litigation, real estate and employment divisions, Butenski will focus on commercial litigation when she rejoins the firm after her federal clerkship.
“I was comfortable in the commercial litigation department,” she said. “I liked all the attorneys and the fast-paced energy of the field.”
Riva said it’s too early in his summer associateship to decide what area of law he’ll eventually focus on. And, he still has a year of law school left.
“I have liked them all equally for different reasons,” said Riva, who hopes to get a job offer before the summer ends. “I am excited to be here but I am not taking anything for granted. This is a great opportunity.”