Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Delaware

The nation's capital of corporate law pays associates quite well.

Now some of you might be saying, “Delaware — WTF???” But if that’s your reaction, you don’t know very much about corporate law.

Delaware is, after all, our nation’s capital of corporate law. Numerous top corporations are chartered in Delaware, and the state’s Chancery Court hears some of the biggest-ticket corporate cases around.

So what do law firm associates in Delaware earn these days? We received some helpful information from a tipster:

“Skadden and Fish & Richardson pay NYC market. At Skadden, at least, that includes an NYC market bonus.”

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Detailed salary charts for local firms, plus your comments, appear after the jump.

Still from the same industrious source:

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Morris Nichols pays:

Class Year Base Salary Min/Max Bonus Discretionary
1st Year $145,000 $0 $0 Yes
2nd Year $152,250 $0 Yes
3rd Year $159,900 $0 Yes
4th Year $167,900 $0 Yes
5th Year $176,300 $0 Yes
6th Year $185,100 $0 Yes
7th Year $194,300 $0 Yes
8th Year $204,100 $0 Yes

Richards Layton pays:

1st Year $145,000 $1,500 $1,500 No After four months, for September hires.
2nd Year $150,000 $3,000 $7,500 Yes
3rd Year $155,000 $3,000 $10,000 Yes
4th Year $160,000 $3,000 $12,500 Yes
5th Year $165,000 $3,000 $15,000 Yes
6th Year $170,000 $3,000 Yes
7th Year $175,000 $3,000 Yes
8th Year

Our source continues:

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I know the above is correct. Bonuses are a mystery, of course.

It would be nice to know what the other firms pay in the market. Potter, Anderson; Connolly Bove; Morris James; Young Conaway, etc.

Most important is that Richards is outed for paying less than Morris Nichols for upper level associates. Also, it would be interesting to see what the Philly firms pay in Delaware (Pepper, Duane, etc.).

Can you fill in some of these blanks? If so, please do so in the comments. Thanks.