Lavely & Singer - Human Resource­s Developm­ent - MOR 471 – Managing and Developi­ng People

MOR 471

October 8, 2014

Lavely & Singer

Lavely and Singer Professional Corporation is one of the world's foremost talent-side entertainment litigation firms. The firm's activities incorporates entertainment and business litigation in State and Federal Courts, including intellectual property, copyright and trademark litigation, media law, right of publicity and privacy law, defamation, contract disputes, business torts, Internet-domain name law, and in matters before specialized trials. Lavely & Singer was founded in 1980 and embodies an enormous assortment of clients including a lion's share of Hollywood's most famous, celebrated and prominent actors, producers, directors, writers, recording artists and other individuals and individuals in and associated with the entertainment business.

Ms. Susan Such describes the work environment as “faster paced than a typical firm.” Their clients often call with an immediate need for an injunction, or their offices will receive a fax from a tabloid planning to go to press with a defamatory story in a few hours. Often the facts and law need to be researched, and packaged into effective pleadings and declarations, that same day. Lavely & Singer is unique as they are Hollywood's top litigators and are recognized as such throughout the industry. They are often called upon to respond immediately to unfolding events. Their associates write cutting-edge motions and follow the progress of their cases in the news.

Lavely & Singer is often looking for hard-working experienced litigation secretaries and/or paralegals with superior litigation skills. Great law school recruiting has been key to their growth. They have found that a firm that only does litigation draws the best law students in the country who want to try lawsuits. They appeal the students who excelled in moot court, mock trials and clinical programs; people who went to law school because they wanted the challenge and enjoyment of trial—not because they wanted to keep their options open.

They seek candidates with the highest levels of academic qualifications, writing ability and maturity. Those talents, they believe, are best characterized by a GPA that falls in the top 10% of the law school class (or the equivalent for schools with no rankings). Candidates should be looking for early accountability and want to be trial lawyers. Ms. Susan Such explained that the demand for their representation continues to increase. They expect to continue to grow. However, they do not need to grow, and they will only grow with quality lawyers. They are one of the few law firms that does not have annual hiring targets. They make offers to people they think will be great lawyers.

Diversity means a lot of different things to many people. To Lavely and Singer it means more than recruiting and maintaining lawyers of every race, sex and national origin. It also means having many types of people -- different educational and occupational backgrounds; different perspectives; and different personalities, including some who might not fit in elsewhere. Their firm was built on supporting one another. It is commonplace for partners and associates to brainstorm, ask for prototypes and suggestions, hand briefs to a fresh pair of eyes for comment, and help out in mock trials. One measure of their commitment is their eagerness to stay late voluntarily to help others. They do so because others have stayed to help them. “Here”, Susan explained, “You won’t find possessive attitudes toward clients, cases, briefs, associates, staff or other firm resources”. When they win, they recognize the victory belongs to more than the team in court. They announce the victory on the intercom. The members of the trial team send e-mails to the entire firm acknowledging by name everyone who contributed, including staff. Taking individual credit for a win is not what they’re about.

Lavely and Singer have built a reputation for quality work. They have no bureaucracy or predetermined opinions about trainee periods. Trainees don’t have to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office or be a 45-year-old partner to try a case. They don’t have to be a sixth-year associate to speak to the general counsel of a client, take a deposition, pitch a new client, or appear in court. They don’t have to put in years as a research drone writing memos to file. They don’t have to occupy a designated slot in a bureaucracy for nine years to be considered for partnership.

With a prominence on quality, not quantity, they staff leanly. As a result, they encourage even new associates to foster client relationships and bring in new business, participate in making critical decisions, and gain experience quickly in oral advocacy. Lavely and Singer also cultivate a strong sense of companionship that promotes the free exchange of ideas and helps make them the top business litigation firm. A reputation for legal excellence, a roster of well-known clients and an environment that rewards entrepreneurship make Lavely and Singer the clear choice for talented lawyers looking to excel early in their careers.

Their associates go to court, take depositions, examine witnesses, and argue motions. When associates write, they prepare complaints, summary judgment motions and client communications — not just research memoranda. Their associates are in constant contact with clients, often serving as the primary conduit between the client and the firm. Because their associates play such an fundamental role in their cases, Lavely and Singer devote an extraordinary amount of time and effort to identifying and recruiting top talent. They believe they have attracted the finest group of young lawyers at any firm in the United States. Associates come to Lavely and Singer because they like the work and the people they work with. And they come because Lavely and Singer judge their lawyers by their ability, not by the year they graduated from law school.

As a firm that prides itself on trial practice, they believe it is crucial that their associates have opportunities for trial training and experience beginning as soon as they arrive at the firm. Accordingly, Lavely and Singer have developed an extraordinary program of educational and experiential opportunities to learn trial skills. It is the firm's goal that every associate shall have participated in a trial by the end of their second year.

The firm offers associates three trial advocacy-training programs taught by the trial advocacy instructors, including many partners in the firm who have taught trial advocacy as adjunct professors of law in programs such as the Attorney General's Advocacy Institute. First, associates participate in the firm's Basic Trial Advocacy program. Using materials and mock case files, the associates work through a 50-hour program of demonstrations, lectures and practice exercises, including extensive use of video review. The basic program finishes in a full-day mock trial using real jurors hired by the firm, in which the participants try a case. After completing the Basic Trial Advocacy course, associates participate in the firm's Deposition Skills program, which focuses on developing deposition testimony that can be effectively used at trial, and the firm's Advanced Trial Advocacy program, in which they improve their skills in a 40-hour program that includes a mock bench trial. The advanced program emphasizes expert testimony, trial strategy in more complex cases and the persuasive use of graphics and other demonstratives.

Two trial advocacy programs are offered each year: the Basic and Advanced programs are offered in alternate years, in the Fall, and the Deposition Skills program is offered each Spring. Associates from all of the firm's offices participate. The firm's trial advocacy programs provide their associates with the opportunity to develop their skills as trial advocates, and to think about all of their cases with trial in mind, so they can do what we do best for our clients--win.

Lavely and Singer have an effective approach to their recruiting of associates. They are effective, as they believe that the best way to master the art of being a trial lawyer is by trying real cases. Therefore, the firm has arranges with various clients, community groups and government organizations for Lavely and Singers associates to run and try a variety of small cases. These opportunities allow their associates to be in the drivers’ seat, with partners taking the supporting roles.

A lot can be said about the person to whom so much of Lavely and Singer’s success is attributable: their recruiting associates. The chances are good that he or she graduated from a East Coast law school, such as Harvard, Yale or Columbia, but three times as likely that he or she came from an West Coast law school, such as Stanford, USC, Boalt or UCLA. The associate might also have attended a Midwestern law school, such as Michigan or Chicago. There is well over an eighty percent chance that he or she graduated with honors

Annual base compensation for entry level associates in 2013 stands at $160,000 plus a $7,500 interest free loan and year-end bonus. In addition, the firm reimburses associates for reasonable moving expenses, bar application, examination fees and one bar study course. Federal judicial clerks are eligible for a $50,000 clerkship bonus. The firm offers both an HMO and Open Access Plus/Out of Network Plan.  The firm pays 100% of the employee premium and 50% of dependent coverage. Employees are eligible to participate in firm 401(k) plan after 6 months employment, have their life insurance and long term disability covered, and the full time associates & partners are invited on an annual firm hike that is subsidized by the firm.