Featured Job Survey: Payback
So far this year, our ATL / Lateral Link survey results have produced tables on clerkship bonuses, signing bonuses and bar expenses, and relocation benefits, as well as parental leave (kudos, by the way, to Akin Gump and Andrews Kurth for moving to 18 weeks maternity leave recently).
But for many of these charts, there's a worrisome question lurking in the background: will you have to pay the firm back if you leave?
We received almost 400 responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on payback policies, and the most common answer appears to be "yes, but only if you leave relatively quickly." Most of you reported that your firms would require you to return clerkship bonuses, signing bonuses, bar stipends and expenses, and even moving expenses if you left your jobs within a year after starting. But relatively few firms imposed longer terms, and a fair number reported no payback requirement at all.
Find out which firms fall where, after the jump.
The following table reports four items:
* whether the firm requires associates to return any funds when they leave,
* how long the associates have to stay before the payback requirement expires,
* whether the associates have to repay the entire amount or just a pro-rata portion, and
* which bonuses, advances, or expenses are subject to repayment. For this last item, it's important to note that these are just the specific items mentioned by survey respondents. Chances are, if a firm expects you to return your signing bonuses, they'll want you clerkship bonus back as well, regardless of whether it's listed below.
As with our other running tables, the table below will be updated from time to time based on your tips and corrections.
Payback Requirements, By Firm
| Firm | Payback Required? | Term | Full or Pro Rata? | Amounts Subject To Repayment |
| Alston & Bird | Yes. | unknown | Full | Salary advance |
| Baker & McKenzie | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Ballard Spahr | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Cadwalader | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses Salary advance |
| Cleary Gottlieb | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Cooley Godward & Kronish | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees |
| Davis Polk | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Dechert | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| DLA Piper | Yes. | 18 months | Full | Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Foley & Lardner | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Goodwin Procter | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Haynes and Boone | Yes. | 12 months | Pro rata | Signing/graduation bonus Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Heller Ehrman | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Hogan & Hartson | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Holland & Knight | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Jenner & Block | Yes. | 12 months | Full | |
| Jones Day | Yes. | 12 months | Pro rata | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees |
| Katten Muchin Rosenman | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| King & Spalding | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Signing/graduation bonus Relocation expenses |
| Kirkland & Ellis | Yes. | 12 months | Pro rata | Bar stipend or review fees Relocation expenses |
| Latham & Watkins | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Linklaters | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| McDermott, Will & Emery | Yes. | 12 months | Pro rata | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| McGuireWoods | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| McKee Nelson | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Merchant & Gould | Yes. | 3 years | Full | Relocation expenses |
| Morgan Lewis | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| O'Melveny & Myers | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees |
| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | Yes. | 3 years* | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Parker Poe | Yes. | 24 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees |
| Paul Hastings | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Pepper Hamilton, | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees |
| Perkins Coie | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Pillsbury Wintrop Shaw Pittman | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Quarles & Brady | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Signing/graduation bonus Relocation expenses |
| Quinn Emanuel | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Reed Smith | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Ropes & Gray | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Relocation expenses |
| Sidley Austin | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Skadden | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
| Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees |
| Troutman Sanders | Yes. | 12 months | Full | Clerkship bonus Signing/graduation bonus Bar stipend or review fees |
| Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges | No. | n/a | n/a | |
| Wilson Sonsini | Yes. | 12 months | Pro rata | Bar stipend or review fees Bar exam/application fees Relocation expenses |
Is your firm missing? Spot an error? Please let us know.
(18) Comments
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Booooooorrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnng...
Anyone know S&C's policy re: clerkship bonuses?
I was rejected by Lateral Link!
Latham & Watkins is performing very well in these things!
Can we get some clarity regarding term required for A&B?
S&C is $50k for 1-year and $70k for 2 I believe (and a lot more for supreme court, but not sure how much--$250 maybe?). I'm pretty sure it's also a 12 months payback policy like most other firms.
S&C also gives bar expenses (exam, application, review, etc), and relocation expenses. No signing bonus I'm aware of (other than the aforementioned clerkship bonus), only a salary advance of $12,000 or something like that.
What if you graduate, take the bar, start Sept 1, and leave the following August to clerk? (and the firm knows you're planning to clerk) I'd be surprised if most firms asked for bar fees back, but maybe I should ask.
No STB, S&C,or WLRK numbers? this whole chart is worthless then
having to payback an advance makes sense, its called an advance not a bonus for a particular reason.
lateral link isn't doing so well at getting me a job, so no worries!
Anyone know what Dewey & LeBoeuf's policy is?
what's stb's policy???
How about a list of sh_t firms that only have 10 week summer programs. DLA, Holland + Knight, SNR, Pillsbury. I'm sure there are others.
I was told by recruiting at Paul Weiss that there is no payback policy for clerkship bonuses.
Can someone please inquire of Kramer Levin's playback policy? I need to know.
Kramer Levin's recruiter is: 212.715.9213. could someone please call??
I need to know about the clerkship bonus payback policy...
Kramer Levin's recruiter is: 212.715.9213. could someone please call??
I need to know about the clerkship bonus payback policy...