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Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Kirkland & Ellis and Sheppard Mullin

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Some more good news on the associate pay raise front:

1. Kirkland & Ellis: “The Firm Committee has approved increases to our associate base salaries in our California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. offices, retroactive to May 1, 2007.”

So K&E is now on the $160K scale — not just in California and D.C., which was inevitable, but also in Chicago. Expect the other Chicago shops to follow suit

2. Sheppard Mullin: The firm has raised to the $160K scale in California and Washington. Not super-exciting; but it’s always nice to welcome a new member to the club.

Associate pay raise memos from Sheppard Mullin and Kirkland & Ellis, verified by multiple sources at both firms, appear after the jump.


KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP ASSOCIATE PAY RAISE MEMO
KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
M E M O R A N D U M
CONFIDENTIAL
TO: Firmwide Attorneys
FROM: Thomas D. Yannucci, P.C.
Chair, Firm Committee
RE: Associate and Non-Share Partner Compensation
The Firm remains committed to paying our associates and non-share partners compensation at the top of each market in which we practice. In light of recent moves by some firms with regard to base salary for associates, the Firm Committee has approved increases to our associate base salaries in our California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. offices, retroactive to May 1, 2007, as set forth below:
Class Year New Base Salary
2006 $160,000
2005 $170,000
2004 $185,000
2003 $210,000
2002 $230,000
2001 $250,000
These increases will be reflected in the June 15 payroll and will be paid to all associates in good standing with the Firm as of such date.
Appropriate adjustments are also being made to the draws of most non-share partners in those offices, effective May 1, 2007. Each affected non-share partner will be notified of his or her increased draw amount shortly. Increased non-share partner draws will be reflected in the July draw payments.
Thank you again for all of your hard work and dedication.
SHEPPARD MULLIN RICHTER & HAMPTON ASSOCIATE PAY RAISE MEMO
From: Guy Halgren
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:40 PM
To: ALL-ASSOC
Cc: ALL-PARTNR
Subject: Associate Compensation
To All Associates:
As you all are well aware, base salary compensation for Associates in California and Washington DC has increased. We believe it is critical to pay competitively in order to continue to attract and retain the legal talent our clients expect and deserve. After careful review of the market and receiving valuable input from many of you through our Associate Forum, we are pleased to announce Sheppard Mullin will be increasing base salaries for Associates and Counsel 1, 2 and 3 who are in good standing in California and DC. We appreciate all of your hard work and loyalty to the Firm and its clients.
Effective June 1, base compensation will be as follows:
Level Base
1 $160k
2 $170k
3 $185k
4 $210k
5 $230k
Counsel 1 $250k
Counsel 2 $265k/$280k
Counsel 3 $280k
Our guideline hours remain at 1950. Consistent with trends in the market, baseline bonuses will be paid beginning at 2100 hours and we will continue to pay bonuses under the same schedule with 100 hour increments. We will continue to provide credit for “Creditable-Non-Chargeable” hours toward the guideline hours and the baseline bonus. The updated bonus schedule will be posted on the Associates “Financial” section on Pipeline.
Any associate in good standing who at the end of 2007 made less than he or she would have under the former compensation model, will be paid the difference. That payment will be made in January, 2008.
We will continue to monitor the market for changes in compensation and are committed to paying competitive compensation to our associates.
All associate compensation in the NYC and Shanghai offices is unchanged. Special Counsel and Senior Attorney compensation is also unchanged.
Robert Beall will be scheduling a follow up meeting with the Associate Forum to discuss these changes and answer any questions you may have. That meeting will be scheduled during the next two weeks.
On behalf of the Firm, thank you for all of the fine work you do for our clients.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

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