Strange days have found us...

Strange the amount of perspective just a few months can bring. Equally bizarre is the fact that the corporate left-for-dead can be surprisingly active. According to the Wall Street Journal, one of the "hottest jobs on Wall Street" can now be found at (wait for it) Lehman Brothers. Yes, that Lehman Brothers, of the spectacular September meltdown. In recent weeks, the company -- headed now by Bryan Marsal, the principal of the restructuring firm charged with disposing of Lehman's assets -- has added 200 former staffers to the 130 it had retained; it's looking for more workers to help with the analysis and sell off of Lehman's considerable $7 billion in holdings. Those employees get a salary and a small "retention bonus" to keep them from defecting to a "healthy" firm (even as the definition of "healthy" changes by the minute). The new Lehman-ites also don't have to worry about layoffs -- the timetable to wipe out and sell off Lehman Brother's assets is set for 18 to 24 months (though most insiders say a longer period is more likely).

So welcome to the new economic landscape, where a dying firm is a bastion of (at least temporary) job stability.

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault Staff Writer