Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell
Here’s some recent associate pay raise news from Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell (the entity formed by the merger last year of Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp and Chicago-based Lord Bissell & Brook):
Attached is a memo from, purportedly, the Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell (the new combined firm) management regarding associate salary increases. Despite the fact that it is being issued from the new combined firm, the memo only relates to the Locke Liddell associates and is completely silent as to raises for the Lord Bissell associates. We found this unbelievable, especially considering the new firm’s internal tag line is “One Firm, One Future.”To put it simply, the LLS side is getting salaries increased across the board, albeit on a deferred comp scale, and the LBB side is getting nothing….
Nothing like dual compensation policies (well, at least one comp policy) for associates at the same (purported) firm!!!! That will surely make already declining morale even better.
Update: This post is the subject of a correction. See here.
Check out the memo for yourself, after the jump.
LOCKE LORD BISSELL & LIDDELL LLP — MEMORANDUM — ASSOCIATE COMPENSATION
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
LOCKE LORD BISSELL & LIDDELL LLP
ATTORNEYS & COUNSELORS
Interoffice Memorandum
TO: Legacy LLS Associates
FROM: Jerry K. Clements
DATE: February 5, 2008
RE: Associate Compensation
The Executive Committee is pleased to announce that we are increasing associate salaries for legacy LLS associates effective as of February 1, 2008. As such, each of you will begin to receive your base salary increases commencing with your February 15 payroll checks.
The new associate salaries will be as follows:
Compensation for Associates in Texas Offices:
Texas
Class Base Deferred Total
2007 $ 160,000 $ - $ 160,000
2006 $ 170,000 $ - $ 170,000
2005 $ 172,500 $ 15,000 $ 187,500
2004 $ 175,000 $ 35,000 $ 210,000
2003 $ 180,000 $ 50,000 $ 230,000
2002 $ 185,000 $ 65,000 $ 250,000
2001 $ 190,000 $ 65,000 $ 255,000
2000 $ 195,000 $ 65,000 $ 260,000
Compensation for Associates in Washington, D.C. Office:
Washington, D.C.
Class Base Deferred Total
2007 $ 160,000 $ - $ 160,000
2006 $ 170,000 $ - $ 170,000
2005 $ 172,500 $ 15,000 $ 187,500
2004 $ 190,000 $ 20,000 $ 210,000
2003 $ 205,000 $ 25,000 $ 230,000
2002 $ 225,000 $ 25,000 $ 250,000
2001 $ 235,000 $ 30,000 $ 265,000
2000 $ 240,000 $ 40,000 $ 280,000
Compensation for Associates in the New Orleans Office:
Atlanta/New Orleans
Class Base Deferred Total
2007 $ 145,000 $ 7,500 $ 152,500
2006 $ 155,000 $ 7,500 $ 162,500
2005 $ 160,000 $ 10,000 $ 170,000
2004 $ 165,000 $ 20,000 $ 185,000
2003 $ 170,000 $ 30,000 $ 200,000
2002 $ 180,000 $ 40,000 $ 220,000
2001 $ 190,000 $ 50,000 $ 190,000
2000 $ 195,000 $ 50,000 $ 245,000
The deferred portion of the compensation will be payable at year-end to those associates who work at least 2,000 billable hours for the year. No deferred amount will be payable to those associates who work less than 2,000 billable hours. For this purpose, billable hours will include up to 100 hours of pro bono work which has been approved by the Firm for credit. Procedures for approval of pro bono work may be found on the intranet.
We will continue to evaluate our year-end merit-based bonus program in light of changing market conditions. As in prior years, we will have a three tiered discretionary bonus with that will take into account several factors to include but not be limited to the hours worked and the quality of the individual attorney’s work product. As in the case of the performance target for the deferred amounts, the performance targets for the year-end bonuses will take into account up to 100 hours of pro bono work approved by the Firm for credit.
Thanks once again for all that you do for our Firm and our clients. We truly appreciate the value of our associates as professionals and as people. Please feel free to contact me or any member of the Executive Committee if you should have any questions.
(44) Comments
Comments
Structured this way, the bonus is actually deferred comp that one can aguably be entitled to if they simply bill 2000 hours. This doesn't say that the associate has to be employed at the end of the year. Does other firms do this? This looks like a wage suit waiting to happen.
Compression city, baby!
There is a glaring typo in the New Orleans section.. was this typo included in the original memo or a copying error here?
I love typos in mass memos.
Steptoe & Johnson LLP used to do something similar. Now at least they pay you the full salary unless you didn't make your hours the previous year.
This is just speculation, but maybe the reason that only the LLS associates are getting raises is that they work in the offices where the salary scale was behind market. I don't know for sure, but I get the impression that LBB was closer to market and those people might have been making market (or near market) salaries already, at least in Chicago. So, this is really just a way to say "No, LLS associates, you aren't worth less."
2:11, you're right about the end of year wording, but this is the system that some of the large Texas firms use now. It doesn't sound like this is how their system works, but at my firm, if you hit your 2000 hours before the end of the year, you get your deferred comp before the end of the year.
This is a great example of a common and completely wrong use of "as such."
As an LLB associate in Chicago, I can tell you that our second year salary is 165,00.
2:21 -
Yeah, it sucks how in ATL/NO the '02 class gets $220K total, but the '01 class a year senior makes $30K less.
That's at pretty damn good scale for Atlanta. Beats the hell out of the compressed A+B scale.
i just have to comment on the unintentionally comedic name of locke, lord, bissell & liddell. why didn't they just go all out and name the new firm lock liddell lord & bissell?
Why address the memo to "LLS legacy associates" when LLS had no Atlanta office pre-merger?
This is one dumb memo.
2:47 Sounds like a Snoop phrase.
For shizzle Lord Bissell!
2:47, I believe the name of choice is Locke & Lord
Do they get a bonus on top of the deferred comp. if they bill 2010 hours?
Read the 2nd to last paragraph - they get the base, the deferred comp for billing 2000 hours AND then a 3 tiered bonus. In the past it has been based on hours such as 2000, 2150, 2300.
Liddle Lord Bizzle, for shizzle!
Who is this Lock N' Load Fo Shizzle, LLP?
....sounds like a TTT firm to me...
If second year LBB legacy associates are only at $165K, they are getting the shaft. S**cks to be you. Also so much for labeling a memo as "strictly confidential."
"For student Rachel Niederer, 21, it was Obama's way with words that swayed her to his side. "I love listening to his speeches," she said.
This says everything you need to know about Obama supporters: Young, and, above all, stupid.
What kind of genius is required to merge and then have memos that apply only to the associates of one pre-merger firm as well as separate (and very shitty) websites? What the hell is going on over there, are "LBB Legacy Associates" really paid that little, does anyone have any insight?
3:53-What the hell does this have to do with LBB's comp memo? Btw, if Obama's supporters are stupid, then why are whites with college degrees supporting him more than Clinton? I thought that college degrees, you know, made someone smart (or at least not stupid).
4:14 don't feed the trolls...
yeh, LLS was paying market when all the Dallas firms went up last year, so whoever said that up there was dead wrong
at least to their new associates, anyway
4:19-sorry about that.
Best regards,
4:14
where is foley & ladner's information? c'mon folks.
4:14 -- Nope, college degree doesn't mean much these days. And judging by how stupid you are, I'll assume you're an Obama supporter.
Cheers!
This firm sadly has crashed and burned. I recommend that any laterals or SAs keep looking because you do not want to end up at LLBL’s Chicago office. The environment in the Chicago office has become toxic.
Legacy LLS has taken over. Lackluster Texas management has taken control and treats the Chicago office like a redheaded step child. Chicago associates salaries are $20-30k below market:
2006 – 165k
2005 – 175k
2004 – 190k
2003 – 200k.
Bonuses were small – roughly 60-70% below market. In many instances a mid-level associate billing 2100+ received $5k. Legacy LBB associates were told we would remain a top firm and be compensated accordingly. What a joke. Instead we got bent over with Locke & Load shot up our asses. Standard rates were raised 18%. Yet the cupboard is bare when it comes to associate compensation – increased revenues apparently are heading south to Texas.
Locke & Load soon will know the answer to the question “who is John Galt.” An exodus of top producing associates has started. LLBL lost a newly minted income partner (HLS grad) last week, two mid-levels (Northwestern grads) and should expect more young partners and associates to announce their departure soon. The Chicago associates are upset and interviewing. Texas management is short sighted and cheap. It would have cost roughly $20-30k per associate to keep us. Instead you mock us by raising Legacy LLS associates salaries and giving us the shaft. The price to replace us is roughly $100k (recruiter fees and lost billables). Good luck. I’m sure there are many recruiters thanking you.
“I swear by my life and my love of it – that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” -- John Galt
Eh, the Galt post is a little extreme. An e-mail went out to former Lord Bissell associates last month informing us that 2008 compensation is not yet set and asking for patience as the new executive committee gets its act together. Apparently the guiding principles are that all offices (even L.A., Chicago and N.Y.) are going to a Texas-style deferred compensation structure, and all offices intend to pay market salaries to associates who bill 2000 hours (like the D.C. scale above).
The main open questions, obviously, are exactly how much will we receive in total compensation for 2000 hours and up, and how much of our salaries will be held back under the new structure. Some folks are sticking around to find out; some aren't. People who never have and never will regularly bill 2000 hours are wisely leaving.
The Galt comparison is little strong but still rather apt. 11:27 has drunk Locke & Load’s Kool-Aid. I hear the hang over is nasty. Time to sober up. This two tiered compensation policy (that is completely out of step with the New York and Chicago markets) will drive top producers to leave. LLBL only will be left with 1700 hr a year TTT. Many associates who make hours are looking to get out. John Galt made it sound likes it’s only about money. It isn't. Associates want out because moral stinks, the partnership track has been extended and there is no sense of direction in the firm.
LLBL has zero credit regarding compensation. Many promises have been made by LLBL related to compensation only to be broken. An email, albeit from a single executive committee member, stated LLBL was working with a consultant to try to figure out how to structure Chicago associate compensation and that more information would follow. Unfortunately, the email said nothing more than “we don’t know what we’re doing but may tell you more later.” This comports with a disappointing pattern that has developed. In December, management called an all hands meeting and announced it had not finalized policies but we could expect more later. On Friday January 4, 2008, a staff member in Texas sent the entire firm an email after 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time admonishing all time keepers that most attorney’s had failed to comply with the time keeping policy that had not been finalized or yet announced. LLBL still does not even have an integrated website or letterhead.
Of course it’s about money. Simply paying market salaries and bonuses in Chicago, N.Y. and L.A. would easily resolve all of the morale issues identified above.
Note to LLBL powers-that-be: the best thing you have going for you are the words "Lord" and "Bissell" in your firm name.
I don't know much about the TX market (I had never even heard of Locke Liddell until the merger), but LB & B has (had?) an outstanding rep in Chicago. I had an offer to summer there, along with a few other ("higher ranked") firms in Chicago.
Given its strong reputation (especially in my practice area), my decision to turn down LB & B was not an easy one. And for nearly six years now, I've met and worked with LB & B associates and partners plenty - and have always been impressed.
Where there are lateral spots available in Chi (or NY, DC, etc.), LB & B associates will be very attractive hires.
Given the state of the union, on anything but oil and gas, why would anyone look to TX for leadership wisdom?
One month ago ex LLBers were sent a memo from Chicago after there was trash talk on the web about the below market pay. (Letters with base salary had already been sent out and apparently people weren't happy.) Basically - Ahhh, oops, we forgot to mention, we're going deferred and one day we'll let you know what you're really working for. OK.... still waiting....
In the meantime, they've raised billing rates to a level that not only doesn't jive with associate compensation, but is going to harm business. Instead of a raising rates over time, they did it all at once.
Hey, but what about that groovy orange logo, isn't that enough to make you want to work there?!
As an incoming associate, what advice does any current Chicago-LLB attorney have for me? Is there even anything I can do? I just have to get paid below market and like it?
4:11 It is not too late to send out your resume. If you go there, don't expect a reach around.
Management is trying to quell the uproar amongst LBB associates by sending out another "we'll tell you more shortly" about your compensation. Much like the children's tale "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," there are only so many times that mgmt can make promises of things to come with no action. The bottom line is that associates have lost all remaining faith in the management of the firm. Virtually every marketable (read productive) associate in CHI has resumes out.
Christ. The tools on this board have become more embarrassing than the mismanagement of associate compensation information at Locke Lord.
Today Jerry Clements continued LLBL’s duck and weave strategy. Her email was a joke. LAT stay on this. There is a story here. She even took a stab at the veracity of your blog. I quote from her email: “I want to correct the inaccurate and misleading information about our associate compensation that is getting attention on some legal blogs this week.” Not sure what was “inaccurate or misleading.” LAT the memo you posted was sent, and I’m sure confirmed. Your website is a great source of information. The comments here are true.
Ms. Clements allegedly shot down a proposal by legacy LB&B members of the executive committee to pay market in Chicago. Her reference to “significant time discussing” Chicago associate compensation on Monday means Ms. Clements rejected all attempts by the executive committee to match market in Chicago. Watch out Chicago there is a new Sheriff in town and her name is Jerry. Locke & Load Sheriff you may be able to imprison the shell that was LB&B but you’ll never win over the attorneys that were the heart and soul of this firm with short sited half-baked policies.
LAT watch this post or open a new thread on Friday or early next week because the roof very well may come off this place.
Have all the whiners in Chicago finally calmed down after yesterday's news, or are you still mad that you have to (gasp!) bill 2000 hours a year.....
And God forbid that "LLBL still does not even have an integrated website or letterhead." Enough already.
Only "12", yes "12", Associates at legacy LBB made 2000 hours. LLBL needs to get work in the door of the Chicago office first before anyone should worry about how much their paid.
Crocodile tears for the LBB attorneys. Smart move they made.
Now it's not deferred compensation -- it's a "guaranteed bonus". It wasn't mentioned when this new policy goes into effect. Watch for the blood bath in November....
Any advice to staff?