At present is September 3. Labor Day has come and gone. It’s been almost a full month since Milbank introduced that it might be handing out special bonuses to associates ($6,000 to $25,000, primarily based on class yr). Different midsize and boutique corporations have already stepped in to award summer time bonuses to their associates — corporations like Vartabedian Hester & Haynes ($5,000); Otterbourg ($15,000); Bell Nunnally (as much as $15,000); and Hueston Hennigan ($10,000 to $30,000, primarily based on hours). Enterprise is booming, however Biglaw has roughly ignored the agency’s announcement.
Why? What’s occurring?
If Biglaw corporations are planning to match these bonuses by yr’s finish, why not simply notify your attorneys now? You don’t want to attend for Cravath’s blessing. Everyone knows that Cravath goes to match, simply in addition to everyone knows that no agency desires to be left behind within the ultra-competitive affiliate compensation race. We’ve mentioned it as soon as, and we’re more than pleased to say it once more: cease delaying the inevitable. All it’s good to do is let your hardworking associates and counsel know that your agency will match these bonuses — and no matter different bonuses that will later come alongside — sooner moderately than later.
The primary day of Fall is September 22. Biglaw corporations have only a few extra weeks to announce their summer time bonuses. In case your agency proclaims, please tell us ASAP, so we will unfold the information and hopefully make the market do one thing.
Bear in mind everybody, we rely in your tricks to keep on high of these items. So when your agency matches, please textual content us (646-820-8477) or email us (topic line: “[Firm Name] Summer season Bonuses”). Please embody the memo if obtainable. You’ll be able to take a photograph of the memo and ship it by way of textual content or e mail should you don’t wish to ahead the unique PDF or Phrase file.
And should you’d like to join ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert listing we’ll additionally use for wage bulletins), please scroll down and enter your e mail tackle within the field beneath this put up. Should you beforehand signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t have to do something. You’ll obtain an e mail notification inside minutes of every bonus announcement that we publish.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Regulation, the place she’s labored since 2011. She’d love to listen to from you, so please be happy to email her with any ideas, questions, feedback, or critiques. You’ll be able to comply with her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or join along with her on LinkedIn.
