Clerkship Bonus Watch: Williams & Connolly to $45K / $90K
Not too long ago, we reported the move of Williams & Connolly to a pay scale with a starting salary of $180,000. Today we bring you more happy compensation news from W&C.
First, the firm just raised its clerkship bonus from $35,000 to $45,000. This is a welcome development, although not super-exciting; $45K is slightly below the $50K that is the market clerkship bonus, at least for the top firms.
The second piece of news is more interesting. If you have two clerkships under your belt -- e.g., a federal district court clerkship and a federal circuit court clerkship -- Williams & Connolly may be the place to be (assuming you're interested in working on sexy, high-profile litigation matters). For people with two clerkships, the firm pays a total clerkship bonus of $90,000.
Most of the firms that pay a $50,000 bonus for one clerkship pay a $70,000 clerkship bonus for two clerkships and/or two years of clerking experience. So $90,000 would appear to be a new high in terms of clerkship bonuses.
Sorry, we don't know the fine print on this offer (e.g., whether two years of clerking for the same judge will get you the $90K, what clerkships will qualify towards the two-clerkship bonus, etc.). But if you're in the small class of people who might be affected by this, and if you secure an offer from Williams & Connolly, you may wish to make a polite inquiry into the precise contours of the policy.
Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Williams & Connolly to $180K
(14) Comments
Cmon lat, no news of OMM NY?? I've heard that things are going from bad to worse - there is literally no work there...
Word around the office here is that we are NOT having this year's retreat at the Pasadena Ritz.
It seems like W&C does whatever it wants with no impact on other firms, Wachtell-style. What I don't understand is why Covington, Wilmer, and A&P don't match the NY special bonus (or match this clerkship bonus) to try and pull away from the rest of the pack.
OMM to Pasadena Motel 6!
Does it matter where you clerk? Any federal district?
12:53--probably not, but not too many people get hired at W&C coming out of clerkships with the D. Guam.
My DC clerkship is up in August. When is it time to start looking for jobs at big firms?
As someone who summered at W & C and is currently doing a two-year district clerkship, I would greatly appreciate if anyone can shed some light on whether the $90k bonus only applies to two separate clerkships, or two years clerking at the federal level.
clueless clerk: 3 months ago
Many firms (all that I've contacted) don't expect to receive applications from clerk until January, so the time is now.
2:26 & 3:29--
Now or even in a few months. I know judges with a policy of not letting clerks talk to firms until the last few months of their clerkships, and I've never known their clerks to have any trouble getting offers.
If your clerkship isn't up until August, there's no rush. In my experience, Biglaw hiring of federal clerks is largely at the clerks' convenience, even at the more competitive firms where you may not be certain to get an offer.
If you go down the list of lawyers at Williams and Connolly, the distinguished accolades are hard to believe, or match for that matter even at some of the best NY firms. Seems like the place is packed with uber-intense over achievers. So the question is: Is it a total nightmare to work there?
10:13: By most accounts, no, at least not any worse than any other firm where you do a lot of trial litigation. I think most people there do work pretty hard, but more because that's inherent in trial work than because they're personally uber-intense. And the quality of work and partnership prospects can't be beat.
WilmerHale really needs to match - I expected it to be top tier in DC (esp after the merger), but W&C is clearly showing itself to be a tier of its own.