In Biglaw, Does It Pay To Have An MBA?

It’s often said — especially by associates who have nothing to do the whole day, then get an assignment at 5 p.m. that’s due the following morning — that lawyers (read: partners) aren’t very good managers. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, since very few of them are trained in management. This also explains why many top firms have a CEO or CFO — an MBA-type, rather than a lawyer, tasked with overseeing the business aspects of Biglaw (so the lawyers can focus on lawyering).
If you’re an associate with an MBA degree, will law firms compensate you for that additional expertise? One reader is curious:

I was wondering if you could start a thread or do some research about JD/MBA bonuses. I’ve heard, for instance, that Weil gives a $50K bonus plus a year’s credit, while Willkie gives a $40K bonus plus a year’s credit. I’ve also heard that Latham gives a $20K bonus and no credit.

I’m trying to get a better sense of what market is for JD/MBA. I’m also curious about what happens when you clerk (i.e., whether it would be similar to doing a 2 year clerkship and hence a 70K bonus at top firms).

Are these figures correct? Any other thoughts or additional information on this subject? Please share what you know, in the comments.
Here’s a related inquiry, from a second reader:

Please consider opening a perk thread dealing with non-CLE continuing education — that is, firms which will pay for or assist with tuition costs for ongoing educational programs or degrees, such as MBAs.

We tend to doubt there are many firms that will pay for their associates to get business degrees, since firms have little incentive to make their associates even more attractive to investment banks and hedge funds than they already are. But we’re happy to pose the question to our readership. Anyone?
P.S. We already did a perk thread on regular CLE, which you can access here.

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