Second

I second 10:28. Lat, it would be appreciated by countless clerks, present and future.

You guys, he is going to get mad that you are being babies!!

At least say "pretty please with sugar on top follow up with Latham"....also, what if we throw in some delicious pancit and lumpia, just like mama makes...delicious...no one can turn down pancit and lumpia. No one.

Do all firms pay "transition stipends"? If they don't, it is still a 35k bonus and would mean that Wilmer just gives 5k bonuses to everyone (i.e. a positive for the firm not a negative).

10:35 has a point.

So why did everyone get so mad at Latham (since not every firm pays a bar stipend like Latham)?

Wow! Latham sucks! How have they not raised yet?

When will it take for Latham to address this embarassing situation? Now that law firm shenanigans will be referred as "pulling a Latham," you'd think the firm would want to step up. C'mon guys. It's over. Just do it.

What will it take...

Clerkship Bonuses (as of 7/31/07)

The $50k Klub (* = $50k/$70k):
2. Cravath*
3. SullCrom*
4. Skadden*
5. Davis Polk
6. STB
7. Cleary
9. Weil*
10. Kirkland
11. Covington (NY only)
12. Paul Weiss*
13. Debevoise*
20. OMM
21. White & Case
23. MoFo
25. Ropes & Gray (NY only)*
29. Fried Frank
30. Paul Hastings*
33. Akin (NY only)
37. Wilkie Farr
54. LeBoeuf*
55. Cahill
NR. Patterson Belknap

The LIST OF SHAME:
1. Wachtell ($0)
8. Latham ($35k)
14. Wilmer ($35k)
15. Shearman ($15k)
16. Sidley ($35k)
17. Williams & Connolly ($35k)
18. Gibson ($35k)
19. Arnold ($15k $35k)
22. Jones Day ($35k)
24. Hogan ($35k)
27. Mayer Brown ($35k)
48. Jenner
NR. Quinn ($35k)

Lat, you are the man. Keep up the fabulous work.

Most CA-based firms pay stipends. OMM, for example, pays a $50k clerkship bonus PLUS a $13-15k bar stipend.

Lat: Thanks!

Federal clerks working in Portsmouth get their very own police officers as a bonus in lieu of the $35K. Pretty sweet.

The other big firm that should be getting pressure is Sidley. Kirkland has raised in Chicago and DC, and Sidley doesn't want to fall behind in its home territory and major appellate satellite. If they want to sell themselves as a place to do appellate-type work, they need to pay their clerks to reflect that. And if Sidley moves, that will put pressure on a lot of other firms.

Everyone got mad at Latham because it is pawning off $48,333 as a market clerkship bonus when $13,333 of that is a bar stipend given to all first year associates. So, the clerkship bonus is really only $35k. And, it insults our collective intelligence for the firm to suggest otherwise.

What's more, post-employment clerks are not eligible for the bar stipend. They get the $35k bonus.

I'm sure Latham associates enjoy the bar stipend, but it is not the only firm offering that benefit. And keep in mind that the firm does not pay bonuses to associates in their stub years.

Bottom line - the bar stipend and the clerkship bonus are separate issues. Shame on Latham for combining them in a weak attempt to pass it off as a market clerkship bonus.

I thought I read here that Wiley HATES to lose people b/c of a clerkship bonus. Haven't seen them raise yet...

As far as I can tell, all clerkship bonuses have to be discounted by the signing bonus that a clerk will not receive in the following, quite common, situation: if a clerk did not summer at the firm that he or she takes a post-clerkship offer, then that clerk will not get the normal signing bonus that all of the summers get when they accept and offer after their summer. So, if you summer at the firm and then do a clerkship and then go to the firm, you get a signing bonus + a clerkship bonus, but if don't summer, then you don't get the signing bonus. Bo-hoo.

Lat, thank you.

What the hell's up with Shearman? Are they giving up on lit associates?

I third the motion to check in on Jenner and Latham, Lat. And, I sincerely add a pretty please and thank you as well.

Everyone is mad at Latham because it is the highest ranked firm with no bonus, besides Wachtell, which we all know is just "doing its own thing" and gives crazy other types of bonuses anyway. Numbers 2-13 ALL have the $50K bonus, EXCEPT for Latham. That just ain't right.

Thanks, Lat, for all the hard work exposing these shenanigans (sp?...sorry no time to spellcheck).

Jenner, Jenner, who can I turn to?

11:06-what the heck are you talking about with this "signing bonus"? The stipend? That's not a signing bonus, it's just a "get you through the summer" stipend that goes to everyone that summered at a firm and then goes back. It is absolutely NOT part of the clerkship bonus, because, as we know: (1) the non-clerks get it, too; and (2) you don't get it if you didn't summer at that firm, i.e., are a legitimate clerkship hire.

Latham, Latham, lama sabachthani?

11:27: Dude, going all Aramaic on Latham...that's pulling out the big guns.

Latham does not have a signing bonus---that bar study stipend is the "signing bonus" and not all clerks get it, as pointed out by previous commentators.

11:27- Well said.

I understand why everyone's talking about Latham. But why Jenner? They were one of the slowest to match to $160k, weren't they? Why does everyone think that they will be likely to raise before other firms in town, like Mayer and Sidley?

I guess that Jenner clerks are particularly proactive/interested in their own well being.

What about pre-clerk summers who get the value of working an extra summer post 3L year ($20-30K depending on time off for bar exam)?

While they'll likely be working and drawing a government salary closer to the time when they jump to their firm, should they get the summer stipend they missed out on by not joining the firm right after law school? I think so.

If they miss out on the summer stipend and the clerkship bonus is only $35K then they're really only getting $23K more than they're fellow classmates--not to mention the cost of paying up front for bar expenses.

11:52-- If you took the appropriate state's bar exam prior to joining Latham, and have not worked for another firm between joining latham and taking said bar exam, then you get the stipend--clerk or not. If you're a clerk, and you qualify for it, you just have to wait until after you finish clerking.

But it's still not properly part of the clerkship bonus, any way you slice it.

Wilmer also pays a moving stipend and actual bar expenses for everyone.

Lat, thank you so much for your coverage of the clerkship bonus issue. Would you please contact Latham again to ask if they have any intentions of addressing the issue of them lagging behind the market set by the other top firms? Thanks!

Latham is definitely an aberration on that list of shame. They should be ashamed of themselves.

WHAT THE HELL???!!! FOR ANY FIRM TO RAISE IN THE NY OFFICE AND NOT IN THE DC OFFICE IS JUST PLAIN SILLY. ITS SAYING THAT DC CLERKS AREN'T AS VALUED AS NY CLERKS ARE! WHAT GIVES!!!!???

Wow. Great PR for this recruiting season.

what would justify a firm paying different clerkship bonuses based on location?

Nixon Peabody should be added to the list of shame. They pay a below market clerkship bonus. I've heard $20K.

Lat -- thanks. Keep up the pressure; the fact that clerks going to firms not in NYC are paid less than those who are is just silly.

Thanks, Lat!

I agree that it's completely ridiculous for firms to pay higher clerkship bonuses in NY than in other offices, especially as more non-NY firms go to $50k.

And its not even based on the location of the court. Do these firms actually think that clerks contribute more to NYC offices than any place else in the country.

Lat, help!!!!!

Up-to-date Vault 100 chart here: http://lawclerkaddict2008.blogspot.com/2007/07/vault-100-clerkship-salary-bonus-chart.html

I'll be updating the site over the next week to get it ready for the hiring season.

Your chart is not up to date. Jenner gives a 35k bonus.

Thanks very much for this information and for providing some much needed market transparency. (I would LOVE to have some similar transparency for the YE bonuses, too; I'm having a hard time digging information up and comparing firms.)

I was excited to see the words "Latham" and "clerkship bonus" in the title of this post, only to be disappointed when I saw that it was a reference to another firm "pulling a Latham."

ha, 4:36. sorry to hear that. sadly, because it's called "pulling a Latham," there's now a secondary meaning to the "elite" LA-based firm.

Does anybody know if the big firms attach any strings to their clerkship bonuses? How common is it for former clerks to sign on with a big firm, collect the clerkship bonus, and split after a year?

Why would Latham treat its clerks worse, compensation-wise, than the other firms in its Vault tier? This doesn't seem to make business sense, particularly around recruiting time with the clerkship-obsessed considering which firms to join---leaders in compensation or stragglers. Perhaps a phone call could clarify the reasoning. Any volunteers?

9:47---Not common. I've only known two people to have done it and they had extenuating circumstances (spouse relocation and other offered another clerkship). Both stayed almost a full year. It might happen more often, though doesn't seem the best way to build a reputation in the business. Firms are free to impose conditions on the clerkship bonuses, though. (And many do)

9:47-- "Strings attached" usually only include paying the Firm a prorated portion of the bonus if you leave before a year passes.

9:51-- Business decisions can include: Latham supposedly has more clerks joining in the fall than any other V10 firm, so the bonus hikes theoretically cost it more (the bonus amounts are not differentiated by COA and district); 2Ls and most 3Ls are not able to count on a clerkship while interviewing though they may be hopeful, and they can reinterview as clerks; clerks who have already accepted are not likely to retract their acceptances at this late date due to an after-tax increase of approximately $8k.

Bummer for clerks who have accepted? Yes. "[B]usiness sense"? Maybe, if morale isn't shaken by the seeming "inequities" blogs like this bring to light and if it doesn't significantly affect the firm-selection decisions of August/September recruits, which remains to be seen. (And a firm like Latham is likely to have considered these issues---they were hesitant to react in knee-jerk fashion to the recent salary increases too.)

More important aspects for clerks to consider likely are the practice areas of the firm and the prospects of the firm, short- and long-term, as a firm itself and as an associate at the firm. Not 8k post-tax.

But that's just my two cents, for what it's worth.

Ok - here's a weak, but possible explanation. My friend tells me that LW has fixed dates for firmwide associate comp committee meetings, which are usually on Thursdays once a month(random, I know). Everything comp, including bonuses, has to be evaluated and approved by that committee, so maybe that meeting has yet to occur. I think the delay is not important in LW' eyes, as long as they pay the incoming clerks to avoid a morale issue. So, if this Thurs/Fri passes with no word, that's not great, but it's not the end of the game. . . only way to know is to call and ask. . .

SIDLEY? Get it off that list of shame. I'm shocked it is on their because, in Chicago, it's Sidley and Kirkland that get fancy-pants clerks---not the other firms payiing $50. That will probably change for Sidley if it doesn't get itself in gear.

sorry for the mispellings. multi-tasking wasn't working for me.

any word on Mayer Brown?

From a federal clerk with an offer from a non-NY Akin office: only a $30K bonus. No bar stipend or any other $ apart from the salary.

any info on Cadwalader's NY office?

Akin DC pays $30K