Wake Up Call: The Big Money Fight for Legal Talent Since Barshay’s Cravath Exit

• Did M&A star Scott Barshay’s surprising exit from Cravath, Swaine & Moore for more money at rival firm Paul Weiss in 2016 herald a “dawn of the superstar lawyer”? Cravath shrugged off Barshay’s exit as a one-off event it could absorb, but the prestigious firm soon lost two more partners, both younger than Barshay, who left for higher pay at rival firm Kirkland & Ellis. The exits reflect frustrations of younger, big-performing partners, at Cravath and other firms withrigid lockstep compensation systems that pay partners according to longevity and seniority rather than output. ( Financial Times )

• O’Melveny & Myers and elite U.K. ...