Biglaw, Bonuses, Boring Stuff, Money

Associate Bonus Watch: The Fat Lady Is Losing Her Voice

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The latest news is that Morrison & Foerster’s New York office has matched the market bonuses. We’ve checked with our MoFo sources, and this is accurate.
So consider it CONFIRMED. Specific numbers, after the jump.
Earlier today, a reader made this comment:

“Why don’t you just call up all the firms now, instead of waiting for the rumors to appear one by one, so we can get this over with?”

Not a bad idea, given the “Chinese water torture” aspect to tracking bonuses. The only rub is that not all firms have necessarily decided on what they’ll be paying — at least in theory. Rumor is that the Cravath memo wasn’t issued until after the Cravath partnership met. So it’s (theoretically) possible that some firm might pay out above-market bonuses.
But as a practical matter, yes, it’s true: Everybody is probably just going to match market.
In light of all the parallel conduct, maybe there’s an antitrust issue here. But whether you can even get discovery on it depends upon the ruling in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, currently pending in the Supreme Court.
Is “Associate Bonus Watch” less suspenseful than a Hitchcock film? Yes. Is the bonus-tracking game effectively over? Pretty much.
But ABW has been great for our traffic. And who knows, maybe there will be a surprise or two. So we’ll keep following the “news,” even if it consists of every other firm falling into line, until all the top Biglaw shops have announced.


MORRISON & FOERSTER BONUS ANNOUNCEMENT MEMO
2006 $30,000 (pro-rated)
2005 $35,000
2004 $40,000
2003 $45,000
2002 $50,000
2001 $55,000
2000 $60,000
1999 and above: $65,000
MoFo NY Matches [Infirmation / Greedy NY]

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