Featured Job Survey: How Do You Move It?
Results and tips are still flowing in from our ATL / Lateral Link survey on signing bonuses and bar expenses, but we’ve noticed that quite a few of you have been asking to include information about your firms’ relocation benefits as well. Sometimes, those benefits overlap, but often they don’t (e.g., for lateral hires).
So today’s survey focuses more specifically on how your firms help you move.
Update: This survey is now closed. Click here for the results.
—
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this survey.
(0) 
Comments
hi
They survey should also ask whether the company will show the reimbursements as salary on your W-2, i.e. whether the reimbursements are taxable income or not.
All firms treat moving expenses, bar prep, etc. as taxable income to the associate. It's not the firms' choice - it's that little thing known as the tax code.
As a lateral link reject I will not be filling out this survey.
At my V5000 insurance defense firm, the name partner gave two of us $150 each to help him move a couple of Saturdays ago.
$150 = three settled cases for us, so it was a pretty substantial moving bonus.
Shouldn't this poll distinguish between lateral hires and first year associates? I'm guessing more laterals own homes than first years, so firm policies on that sort of stuff might be different.
And how about a poll on bar expenses and stipends for laterals moving to a new state?
Enough with the surveys already.....
Surveys are ok as long as the results don't get spoon fed back to us in little teaser chunks. :P
This is NOT for 1st year associates. It's been documented everywhere what 1st years get from their respective firms. Moreover the firms are only too happy to tell you what they give incoming 1st years. This survey seems to be about reimbursement/compensation for moving to another office of the SAME FIRM.
I would really appreciate ATL shining a light on firms' compensation practices for incoming U.S. domestic laterals from a DIFFERENT FIRM. I've been told that it's usually negotiated by the incoming lateral at my V10 firm -- meaning you better know what market is or you'll get a bum deal.
Considering about 50% of associates leave their big firm position within four years of starting, it makes a lot of sense to look at what firms are willing to pay an incoming lateral.
You might distinguish between situations where the lateral comes through a headhunter or contacts the firm directly. Some other issues: will the new firm match the old firm's bonus (pro rata, in full, even if the old firm paid a higher bonus), signing bonuses, relocation expenses, bar enrollment/course fees, and assistance with finding a residence (broker's fees, temporary housing, etc.).
12:33 - perhaps you need to spend a little more time with "that little thing known as the tax code" - moving expenses are actually deductible in most cases - you just need to be moving 50+ miles and moving for work (and if the employer pays them when they would be deductible to the employee, it's not income to the employee) - see http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/tips/20010302a.asp.
Bar exam fees (at least for your first bar) wouldn't be deductible for the same reason law school education expenses aren't - it's qualifying you for a new profesion.
er. that bankrate article is wrong re: reimbursements. see http://www.irs.gov/publications/p521/ar02.html#d0e1739 - it's an excludable fringe benefit if it would have been deductible by the employee.