Skaddenfreude: Evening Open Comment Thread
We’re signing off for the night. It’s almost time for the State of the Union (9PM Eastern time). We won’t be back online until tomorrow morning.
Feel free to offer your thoughts on Biglaw compensation matters in the comments to this post. For ease of reference, here are the associate pay raise announcements that we’ve collected so far:
— Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
— Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
— Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy
— Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
— Sullivan & Cromwell
And, of course, the first mover who deserves credit for this largesse:
Enjoy the State of the Union, everyone. See you tomorrow.
(The Wonkette crew is liveblogging the SOTU. And don’t miss their SOTU Drinking Game, which will make President Bush’s speech twice as fun.)
Update (8:50 PM): A shout-out to the lawyers: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is the Cabinet official who has been designated NOT to attend the State of the Union, to ensure the continuity of government in the event that disaster strikes on Capitol Hill tonight.
Earlier: Previous announcements of law firm associate salary increases (scroll down through “Skaddenfreude” archives)
(83) Comments
Comments
Weil will announce tommorow? Is this rumour true?
Where would a rumor come from? My guess is that as soon as whatever committee makes the decision at any firm actually makes the decision, someone sends a firm wide email (firms know they are losing money as associates discuss/visit ATL to see how the Joneses are doing). But until that point, you cant honestly say that an announcement is coming, since a decision has been made. The only heads up that could really exist is if a partner tells an associate that the committee is meeting at a certain time to discuss.
Come on. Give credit for the original web-based SOTU drinking game (http://www.drinkinggame.us/) where it's due: to our BigLaw associate friend who came up with it five years ago while still an undergrad.
Alberto Gonzales? Lord help us...
Justices in the house: JGR, AMK, SGB, SAA.
How the heck do all these firms match so quickly? Even if lives depended on it, at my firm you couldn't get all of our executive committee members together for a meeting with anything less than two weeks advance notice...
Looks like Weil (assuming they match recent salary increase) is no longer shamefully underpaying senior associates. Is this correct?
Considering that starting associate salary was stuck at $125K from, like, 1999-2006, this shit was FAR TOO LONG IN COMING.
What was the deal with Weil holiday bonuses? Did they do basically what everyone else did? (I recall that they announced in Dec. that they would pay AT LEAST as much as market.)
Weil followed other NY firms with bonuses.
Could someone explain to me why the firms offer relatively uniform raises across classes? If the point is to retain mid-levels, wouldn't it have made more sense to offer a modest bump for first years, say, to $150k, while offering a dramatic raise to third and fourth years (say, bumping up base comp by 40k or so?) That, presumably, would incentivize sticking around.
John Roberts should ask Congress to tie judges' salaries to Simpson Thacher's 5th-year associate salaries.
11:52 Anon, I think you are characterizing the purposes animating the bump too narrowly. I think another goal is to protect the NY market by making it more expensive for firms HQ'd elsewhere to do business in NYC.
You should have linked to this drinking game - http://www.drinkinggame.us
11:58 has it right. The raises last year and this year are a shot targeted at non-NY headquartered firms and less-profitable NY firms. It's a competition to see who is profitable enough to afford the costs competing for big-ticket legal work. The raise is nice but it will definitely lead to two things across the board at every firm: (i) "underperforming" associates are going to be shown the door much more quickly and not be permitted to hang on, and (ii) firms are going to try to squeeze even more hours and productivity out of the associates that they keep.
Anon 12:16 A.M. raises a dismal spectacle: could the new salary bumps initiate a wave of down-sizing at Biglaw? As it now stands, the average is about 1900 billable hours in the AMLaw 100. With the new salaries, firms will increase rates, which may shrink the pool of billable hours. And at the firms, the cost of overhead just went up dramatically. Moreover, having been at this a few years now, it's always been my impression that big law firms were overstaffing matters to begin with. I think the results will be the following: (1) slight drop in head count at the AMLaw 100 firms; (2) increase in yearly billable averages among AMLaw 100 associates; (3) fewer summer associate offers at some firms; (4) smaller summer classes moving forward. This happens in Fortune 500 all the time: spread the same amount of work among fewer people to increase the bottom line.
what are thoughts on whether ny-based big boys with lots of domestic offices will raise to ny-scale in all domestic offices? skadden, weil, etc ...
Looks like Weil (assuming they match recent salary increase) is no longer shamefully underpaying senior associates. Is this correct?
New day. New matches. Let's see them!
Has anyone done an analysis at how much profits per partner have gone up each year since the last time associate salaries were increased? Similarly, for lockstep partnerships, how much have draws for first-year partners increased?
C'mon folks. It's 10am -- do you know where your raises are?
I heard last night from a Greenberg Traurig associate that they matched yesterday. That would precipitate wholesale readjustment of the market (i.e. not just the 2 million + PPP places).
any firms raise yet today? There was indications that smith and reed was going to raise.
Where's that WG&M bump???
Where's that WG&M bump???
Anyone else confirm the Greenberg rumor? Also, would that be in all of Greeberg's offices, including smaller ones like Princeton?
We'll Get Ya and Mangel Ya better step up soon!
Do Weil Gotshal associates do any work, or do they spend all day reading this site? What's with all of the comments re: WGM?
I agree, Weil had better step up soon....any word/rumor on the status of that?
Has anyone heard about Shearman & Sterling as of yet?
How about Gibson Dunn?
Anyone know what time the Paul, Weiss notice went out yesterday? I wanna know how fast they matched.
It showed up here at 2:45 yesterday.
Has Morgan Lewis in NYC matched?
Greenberg matched the $160K for first years and indicated all class years through "1999 and beyond" would get raises, but they didn't specify what those raises would be.
Greenberg matched the $160K for first years and indicated all class years through "1999 and beyond" would get raises, but they didn't specify what those raises would be yet.
Greenberg matched the $160K for first years and indicated all class years through "1999 and beyond" would get raises, but they didn't specify what those raises would be yet.
Let's gooooooooooo.
From which office(s) are the GT matching rumors coming?
did greenberg match in ALL offices, namely, did they match in Phoenix (seems unlikely) . . . ?
Shearman just announced that it matched the raises.
did greenberg match in ALL offices, namely, did they match in Phoenix (seems unlikely) . . . ?
Any word on whether Fried Frank is going to match?
did greenberg match in ALL offices, namely, did they match in Phoenix (seems unlikely) . . . ?
Shearman just announced!!
Shearman just announced!!
Shearman just announced!!
MLB NY has not said anything.
Skadden raised to $170,000.
Greenberg only matched in NY.
Shearman is confirmed. We have the memo. Unfortunately, we're having server and Movable Type problems again. We'll post the Shearman memo as soon as possible.
Is David dead? Why isn't he posting anything? Hangover from SOTU drinking games perhaps?
anyone want to post the Greenberg email/memo? It would help other firms, like mine, that are on the fence.
Thanks
No, I'm alive. Was away for part of the morning getting a physical (and I'm healthy). But the reason for the recent radio silence is computer troubles...
I'm sitting in a Skadden NY office -- no word here about the alleged $170k Skadden raise
why don't you get a server that doesn't suck?
I'm sitting in a Skadden NY office -- no word here about the alleged $170k Skadden raise
Let's get those memos up to put some pressure on reluctant exec partners at other firms!
when will a firm balls up and pay 200k to first years?
Greenberg's is only for NY.
Willkie matched.
We are pleased to announce that the annual base salaries for associates in NY and DC have been increased, retroactive to January 1, 2007, as follows:
Class of 2006 - $160,000
Class of 2005 - $170,000
Class of 2004 - $185,000
Class of 2003 - $210,000
Class of 2002 - $230,000
Class of 2001 - $250,000
Class of 2000 - $265,000
Class of 1999 - $280,000
Class of 1998 - $290,000
Adjustments will be reflected in your January 31st paycheck. Adjustments for more senior associates and Special Counsel will be determined on an individual basis.
We continue to be extremely appreciative of our associates' contributions to the Firm which were instrumental in making 2006 another record year for the Firm.
When will firms realize that 1st years are OVERPAID and start throwing more money at the hardworking midlevels? They should be paid at least twice what first years earn since they do at least 4x the work.
May 17, 2023.
When will firms realize that 1st years are OVERPAID and start throwing more money at the hardworking midlevels? They should be paid at least twice what first years earn since they do at least 4x the work.
Jacoby & Meyers matched - but only for fifth years.
Let's get those memos up to put some pressure on reluctant exec partners at other firms!
Did anyone ante up and buy that Jack Welch book yet?
Let's get those memos up to put some pressure on reluctant exec partners at other firms!
Jacoby & Meyers matched - but only for fifth years.
Any news from LeBoeuf?
Is Skadden still unconfirmed? What's the word on summers salaries, are we assuming that they will also be bumped across firms, or only at places like S+C that specifically mentioned it?
We will Get Ya and Mangel Ya
As for GT matching, is it possible they're announcing firm by firm - or are they really going to not match in the D.C. and Los Angeles markets?
Any word on Mayer Brown Rowe Maw?
Do the math... 3% inflation on 125,000 salary (2000-2005) would be 145,000. 2006-2007 would be around $155,000.
Wages are keeping pace with inflation...wow, shocking!
Parner profits grew at far, far higher during the same period (2000-2007) and billing rates certainly grew at higher rate for same period.
I'm still waiting for Mayer Brown, NY
Mayer Brown needs to step up and match all US Offices
If Quinn matches in LA as some people are reporting, it's inevitable before Gibson, Latham, and O'Melveny follow suit. They can't leave their associates at $135,000 when Quinn is at $160,000.
Mayer is Chicago based, they're going to have to match 4 of their 7 US offices anyway, they need to include Chicago and do to the NY based firms what the NY based firms just did to them.
Besdies, how can they justify paying more in Los Angeles and New York than at their home and probably largest domestic office/market
Where's that WG&M bump???
curious as to the effect this will have on AMLaw 100 firms ranking at the bottom of the PEP #s. firms based in smaller cities but with growing NYC offices - such as Holland & Knight, Jones Day, McGuire Woods, Troutman Sanders, etc.
Weil, where are you??
Weil, where are you??