Associate Bonus Watch: Mayer Brown Announces(And penalizes associates for delinquent time entry.)

The powers-that-be at Mayer Brown have made their decisions on bonus and salary adjustments, as announced in an email last night. And it appears that they’ve taken a page from the Dechert playbook, according to one associate:

“The second paragraph [of the memo] is a shock. We were never informed of financial ramifications for failing to enter our time.”

It might be slightly annoying, but it’s the growing trend. Expect more firms to adopt policies that tie compensation to timely time entry. Email exhortations without financial consequences don’t seem to be very effective.
(And it’s arguably not that big an imposition. You already slave away at the firm for ten or twelve hours a day — so what’s another five minutes at the end, to enter your time before heading home? It’s just a matter of getting into the habit of doing it, instead of letting a backlog build up.)
The Mayer Brown memo, after the jump.


MAYER BROWN LLP — MEMORANDUM — SALARY INCREASES AND BONUSES FOR U.S. ASSOCIATES, COUNSEL AND INCOME PARTNERS
From: Andrew H. Schapiro
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 9:39 PM
To: US-Assocs; US-Cnsl; US-Partners-Non-Equity
Subject: Salary Increases and Bonuses for U.S. Associates, Counsel and Income Partners
We are happy to announce that the Committee on Professional Advancement has concluded its decisions on progression salary increases and bonuses for U.S. Associates, Counsel, and Income Partners. As we had hoped, we have been able to incorporate the bonuses and salary adjustments in the March 7th paychecks. As in the past, any salary increase for 2008 is retroactive to January 1.
The Committee based its compensation decisions on individual achievement, performance, work quality and compliance with Firm policy. As the Firm has advised at various points throughout 2007, in this round of compensation decisions we took into account time sheet delinquencies. The Committee reduced compensation by up to $5,000 for some individuals because they consistently failed to comply with the Firm’s time entry policy. The Committee intends to continue this policy of reducing bonuses and, if necessary, salary increases, for late timekeeping in 2008 and suggests that you record your time promptly in accordance with Firm policy (within three business days). We believe this is critically important, both as a matter of financial success but also professional responsibility.
We are grateful for and pleased to recognize the significant contributions made by our associates to the reputation and prosperity of the Firm. We expect that with your help we will enjoy continued mutual success.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Effective September 1, 2007, we have changed our name to Mayer Brown LLP.
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Dechert Docks Associates for Dilatory Billables

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