The Yearly Gasp 

$158,000 for a Pacific Standard Time first year associate if s/he hits the 2,000 hour billable requirement?  (New York is $160K, but that's New York). 

And the likelihood of these brilliant and heavily indebted young people staying at any BigLawFirm, Inc. job for more than two or three years is, what?  One in ten?

Has all of BigLaw decided that they'll simply train  one another's associates -- that if Heller can't keep them, MoFo or O'Melveny will pick them up?  That no one at the top will laterally hire associates not trained by Cravath, Latham, Gibson, etc.? 

It's a one for all and all for one sort of thing?  I never knew there could be so much happy collaboration and reciprocity among the BigLaw competitors.  

Or is somebody playing chicken?

I refer you once again to my thoughts on the matter at "Outsourcing First Year Associate Jobs."

But seriously folks.  What's up?

p.s. will Chicago follow?