Susman & Godfrey Wins Prize for Most Self-Aggrandizing Pay Raise Announcement
The litigation boutique of Susman Godfrey is prestigious. And it is well-paying, especially around bonus time.
It’s also not shy about honking its own horn (which shouldn’t be surprising, given its Texas roots). In fact, Susman Godfrey just issued a press release about its pay raises that might make Gallion & Spielvogel blush.
Here are some excerpts (emphases added):
TOP LITIGATION BOUTIQUE SUSMAN GODFREY RAISES ASSOCIATES SALARIES IN LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK OFFICESusman Godfrey announced today a salary increase for their associates in Los Angeles and New York. The compensation package for first year associates joining their Los Angeles and New York offices is $160,000, plus benefits. Already among the best paid associates nation-wide, the compensation package for first year associates in their Houston, Dallas, and Seattle offices is $140,000, plus benefits….
Susman Godfrey also pays year end merit bonuses to associates who have been with the firm for at least one year. Last year, associate bonuses topped out at $120,000. In 2005, some associates received a walloping $150,000 in year-end perks. More commonly, our merit bonuses have accounted for 20% to 60% of an associate’s annual compensation and are far in excess of bonuses paid by our competitors. Thus, associates’ year-end merit bonuses tend to range from an additional $30,000 to $80,000 on top of the base salary.
“We are also the bestest law firm ever. Simply put, our competitors just suck.”
You can read the full press release, in all its glory, by clicking here.
Top Litigation Boutique Susman Godfrey Raises Associates Salaries in Los Angeles & New York [Susman Godfrey]
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Most self-agrandizing pay raise announcement?
Lat---please find something newsworthy to report!
Thanks.
How many associates do they have in NY?
Lat is just trying to open another thread. Page-views must be 10 times above average when there is salary stuff to be discussed.
More traffic is good for Mr. Lat...
According to their website, they have ONE associate in NY.
those bonuses are pretty amazing.
Commenters on this board are so bitchy. If you don't like Lat's editorial judgment, go somewhere else. God knows there are many other websites that provide the same info (Greedy Associates, Infirmation, AutoAdmit, etc.).
Maybe Susman will soon reach the "prestigiousness" of Gallion & Spielvogel...
Give credit where credit is due. I've heard that Susman has paid bonuses equal to salary. They are a shining beacon of hope to us slightly less outrageously overpaid associates, and do not deserve the scorn of ATL or its commentators.
Everything is bigger in Texas...including the need to feel wallopingly prestigious.
Agreed that it's a little tacky. But Lat's alma mater WLRK also boasts on its website that "the level of . . . compensation (including the base salary and year-end bonus) that we offer our associates is significantly higher than that of any other comparable firm."
Conclusion: Lat, you're a hater. Now post something about CA hours-based bonus schemes.
Agreed that it's a little tacky. But Lat's alma mater WLRK also boasts on its website that "the level of . . . compensation (including the base salary and year-end bonus) that we offer our associates is significantly higher than that of any other comparable firm."
Conclusion: Lat, you're a hater. Now post something about CA hours-based bonus schemes.
A lot of people trash susman here and on xoxo but it seems to be me jealousy may be involved with compensation that high.
What? Lat is a WLRK alum? I guess I just hadn't noticed his 74,897 earlier references to that effect. They must have gotten buried in his 253,872 gentle reminders that he's a YLS alum. Takes a "horn honker" to know one, no?
Here are the profits per partner rankings for Texas firms:
Rank / Firm / Assoc.-Partners / Profits Per Partner '06 / Profits Per
Partner '05 / % change
1 Susman Godfrey 86/39 $3,003,000 $3,941,000 -23.8%
2 Akin Gump 863/207 $1,293,000 $964,000 34.1%
3 Vinson & Elkins 659/213 $1,126,000 $1,071,000 5.1%
4 Baker Botts 676/210 $1,095,000 $905,000 21.0%
5 Beirne, Maynard & Parsons 92/19 $874,000 $865,000 1.0%
6 Locke Liddell & Sapp 320/95 $831,000 $716,000 16.1%
7 Thompson & Knight 359/104 $800,000 $671,000 19.2%
8 Fulbright & Jaworski 903/348 $771,000 $714,000 8.0%
9 Gardere Wynne Sewell Dallas 261/94 $756,000 $672,000 12.5%
10 Andrews Kurth 358/127 $731,000 $706,000 3.5%
Over three million. Remember that. Now let's look at the top ten Am Law profits per partner.
Rank / Firm / Profits Per Partner / % Change From '05 / # of Partners
1 Wiley Rein* $4,435,000 465.0% 61
2 Wachtell $3,975,000 4.9% 77
3 Cravath $3,015,000 16.0% 87
4 Cadwalader* $2,900,000 13.9% 76
5 Sullivan & Cromwell $2,820,000 17.0% 164
6 Cahill Gordon* $2,575,000 12.7 % 63
7 Paul, Weiss $2,495,000 0.8% 109
7 Simpson Thacher $2,495,000 5.3% 162
9 Quinn Emanuel* $2,430,000 27.6% 68
10 Kirkland & Ellis* $2,270,000 7.1% 212
Wiley Rein's total is only because of the Research in Motion settlement. Good for them, but don't expect them to be so high next year. That leaves only Wachtell and Cravath beating out Susman this year. Not even Lat's beloved Sullivan & Cromwell surpassed three million.
So, that means Susman Godfrey is one of the most profitable firms in the nation AND they pay their associates about 2x better than their comparably profitable peers. Their website also says that they have a 5 year partnership track and there's no non-equity partnership; the track is 4 years if you do a clerkship. Hmmm, slave at Cravath for 50% of the salary and a small shot at making partner in 8 years or slave at Susman for twice the salary and a good shot at making partner 4 years? Real tough choice there.
Personally, I prefer the solo life--decent pay and reasonable hours. But, judging by the numbers, you have to give these folks some respect.
Ergo, 1:45 and 1:16 can shut the fuck up.
2:53 -- I didn't realize SG's recruiting people post here.
2:53 -- I didn't realize SG's recruiting people post here.
But sure if you want to do plaintiff's work, you can make money from it and possibly more than many BigLaw partners. No one's disputing that. The ad was a bit much, given that SG's not in the same category as the others.
Okay, 2:53, obviously, since you appear personally offended, you work at Susman. You don't seem to get the point of this whole thread. Its not that Susman doesn't have high profits per partner or that it doesn't pay their associates well. The point is they are tacky. Proof? They're class action plaintiff lawyers!!!!!
Anyone notice SG's -23.8% change in PEP? That's not the trend you want.
2:53 seems offended and equally stupid. Where is the 2X compensation number?? The usual suspects in NY pay $160K plus a bonus too. In flush years, those bonuses also often meets the touted SG number.
Plaintiffs work can be very rewarding if you don't mind selling your soul. If all you folks care about is money, become an asbestos lawyer or wait out the next big health disaster. Those are the guys flying Gulfstreams to their Tuscan villas.
On the other hand, if you like what you do, and want 35 years of a comfortable life with little financial worries, big law does not look so bad.
"If all you folks care about is money, become an asbestos lawyer or wait out the next big health disaster."
I do not think that asbestos law is the guaranteed ticket to easy street that you seem to think it is. There are a few highly successful asbestos lawyers, but then again, there are also a few highly successful basketball players, and no one suggests taking up basketball as a surefire way to coast to financial independence.
LOL, 4:10. You only sell your soul when you do plaintiff's work, not defense work (i.e. represent massive, soulless companies)? That's a good one.
I thought that you were corrupted in big law period, no matter which side you're on.
I'm not sure what 2:53 means by the 2x salary thing though. Maybe he's referring to the 100% bonus years? The announcement is a bit tacky though.
Does anyone know how much input firms have in press releases like this? Or is this something a marketing department could release on their own?
Anyway, at this rate, ATL is going to look like autoadmit before we know it.
To get serious for a second, the appeal of Susman's main office (houston) to top-notch litigation candidates has probably been greatly diminished recently. Susman used to pay a judicial clerkship bonus 3x bigger than anyone else (50k v. 15k) and use to outstrip everyone with large bonuses, which *typically* brought total comp for new attorneys to around 200k. Now, the New York firms are offering the same clerkship bonuses and roughly the same total comp. Yes, susman has a shorter partnership track, but not nearly the same broad lateral opps. as a firm like Cravath for those that don't make the cut.