Biglaw, King & Spalding, Money, Skaddenfreude

Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: More on King & Spalding

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Earlier this week, we reported on King & Spalding raising starting salaries for its associates to $145,000.
A subsequent article, in the Fulton County Daily Report, contained this interesting analysis:

[Legal recruiter Raffaele V.] Murdocca predicted that King & Spalding would not simply match the new Alston & Bird pay scale for more senior classes. “A lot of associates are upset with how much pay compression there is at Alston & Bird,” he pointed out.

Alston increased pay by $15,000 for first-year associates but in smaller increments for more senior associate classes, so there is only a $45,000 difference between the salaries of the firm’s first- and seventh-year associates….

“That is not a lot of money when dealing with very different levels of experience,” said Murdocca. “Mid-level and senior associates are doing a substantial amount of work and are very valuable. The firm does not want to upset them….”

For ATL readers in ATL, there’s additional discussion after the jump.


More from Murdocca:

He predicted that King & Spalding would either establish a pay scale with less compression—i.e. with larger pay increases for each class—or a more merit-based system, where pay for more senior associates is tied to performance.

Another option, he added, would be to pay bigger bonuses to mid-level and senior associates.

A less compressed pay scale would cost the firm a lot of money. According to its Web site, King & Spalding has 172 associates in Atlanta (including those not on the partnership track). That would mean an outlay of roughly $2.6 million to raise pay by $15,000 across the board.

So is Murdocca on the money? Or is this just wishful thinking?
K&S ups ante to match Alston’s pay for first-years [Fulton County Daily Report]
Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: King & Spalding

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