Associate Bonus Watch: Morgan Lewis Pushes Back Bonus Decisions
A central theme running through this week’s bonus speculation was that bonus decisions would be made much later this year than last year. As first reported here, Cravath kicked off the bonus season last year on October 29th, 2007. But in 2006, Milbank didn’t get the ball rolling until December 8th.
The first solid information that bonus decisions could be made a lot later this season came in today from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. MLB associates were notified that bonuses would not be paid before the holidays via a firm wide email.
Read the email after the jump.
A tipster shared the following email with ATL:
As we do every year, we are conducting our annual evaluation and compensation process. I am sending this e-mail to let you know about a change in the timing of two aspects of this process.Beginning this year, we are moving our annual evaluation meetings from December to January. Incentive bonuses will also now be paid in January instead of December. As in past years, base compensation adjustments will continue to be effective as of January 1 and will be reflected in your January paycheck.
Please do not hesitate to contact me or your local Practice Group Leader if you have any questions regarding this change or would like to discuss it further.
But one upside of the move could be job security for associates at least through the holidays. “Stealth layoffs” happen under the guise of performance reviews. If the “annual evaluation meeting” isn’t happening until January, then arguably nobody is going to get fired on the down-low until January at the earliest.
As many people have pointed out, actually having a job is fine holiday present — whether or not the job comes with a bonus.
Update (2:48): Morgan Lewis sent us an email explaining their new bonus timeline:
We decided on a one-month payment deferral from December to January for two very practical reasons. First, it has become increasingly difficult to provide substantive evaluations during December due to a number of factors, including year-end deadlines. It has long been our view that compensation announcements should not be divorced from the evaluation process itself. The deferral simply provides additional time for these discussions. Second, it relates to our desire to obtain the most current market information before we announce bonuses.
As we’ve said before, we believe a lot of firms will be trying to figure out what is happening with the economy before they make bonus decisions.
Morgan Lewis also clearly stated that layoffs were not on the table:
We are not discussing and have not discussed layoffs at any point this year.
We’ll see if other firms follow the Morgan Lewis lead.
(112) 
Comments
Morgan Lewis = TTT
FIRST to say those associates will be screwed by paying '09 Obama tax rates on their '08 bonuses (if any).
I am nervous about Morgan Lewis not hiring 1L's
-Nervous T 5 1L
Obama's taxes make me a sad panda.
elie, please hire me for 1L summer!!! i won't even require a bonus.
*tempts elie with a giant party platter of lunch meats*
-nervous T-10 1L
Snap.
Keeping my job IS my bonus this year. I don't expect anything else.
3 is not the real "nervous t-10 1L"
we can all tell who the real nervous is, the only people I hate more than nervous t-10 1L are people trying to imitate him.
Morgan Lewis associates are gonna get screwed. Get ready!
Skadden DC will announce bonus info in April after it thaws out from its nuclear winter.
5 is also not the real nervous t-10 1L
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/10/30/thinking-twice-about-white-cases-summer-offer/?mod=rss_WSJBlog
Glad I turned down that White & Case OCI. T-50, State School, 2L.
*reads link from 12, decides to only apply to V5's...cravath here i come!*
-nervous T-10 1L
With the amount of work I put in this year, I expect at least the same bonus as last year, maybe more. I have already been told by a couple of partners (including the head of the group) at my top-10 firm that I would be "taken care of" and looking at 6-figures plus, but of course, mine is an extraordinary situation. I think that more and more we will see firms announce low or no bonuses to the mass of associates, but continue to reward top performers and superstars like me (not to toot my own horn, but I have done the work of 3 associates this year, and exceed the collective competence of my entire group).
SRSLY - HOW DO YOU ALL KNOW ELIE IS FAT?
SRSLY - HOW DO YOU ALL KNOW ELIE IS FAT?
SRSLY - HOW DO YOU ALL KNOW ELIE IS FAT?
White and Case managed to oversubscribe while still rejecting my ass.....
It's ok, of all the callbacks I did, their attorneys hid their misery the worst.
With the amount of work I put in this year, I expect at least the same bonus as last year, maybe more. I have already been told by a couple of partners (including the head of the group) at my top-10 firm that I would be "taken care of" and looking at 6-figures plus, but of course, mine is an extraordinary situation. I think that more and more we will see firms announce low or no bonuses to the mass of associates, but continue to reward top performers and superstars like me (not to toot my own horn, but I have done the work of 3 associates this year, and exceed the collective competence of my entire group).
People should feel happy that they even have a job this year, and not be greedy about bonus.
2 - Bush tax cuts expire in 2010... your "bonus" isn't going to be screwed by Obama tax plan even though pretty sure you're a 1L.
On my absentee ballot, I cast a write-in vote for 14.
God you're dumb. Clearly the evaluation meeting is to evaluate the bonus situation, it's not a performance review.
14/19 - if you were that much of a superstar, you'd not be trolling this board.
for President, of course
22
14/19--you exceed the competence of the head of your group too? I'm sure he would love to know that you think he's less competent than you, that ought to get you an even bigger bonus. Prick.
Why hasn't ATL reported the White & Case/UM debacle? That belongs on this blog and not the WSJ.
Alright, WTF is all this "Skadden DC" innuendo that has been permeating ATL comments for the past week? Is it a new shtick to compete with Nervous T10 1L? If so, it's worse. Much worse. And Nervous T10 1L is pretty horrible.
Doesn't this just mean it will be paid in Jan and does not actually say anything about when the levels will be decided?
They could announce in mid-November and still not pay until January ...
These are the new bonuses. And to you they're gold, and you don't get them. Why? Because to give them to you would be throwing them away. They're for closers.
12 Here. Does ATL's lack of posting make me the de facto ATL editor? I have plently of time on my hands.
- T50 State School, 100% scholarship, accepted at V10, good football tickets.
*reads link from 12, decides to only apply to V5's...skaddendc here i come!*
-nervous T-10 1L
"not to toot my own horn, but I have done the work of 3 associates this year, and exceed the collective competence of my entire group"
FYI, this is tooting your own horn.
@21 - Do you really think Obama will just simply let the Bush tax cuts expire on time?
Obama will play class warfare from day one, and will immediately hike taxes to at least pre-Bush levels effective for the 2009 tax year.
Of course, he has to get elected first.
White & Case oversubscribed AGAIN? Fire some recruiting people before you fire the associates.
I must say that the firm does have some of the creepiest Stepford Wives recruiting videos I've ever seen.
31 do you truly feel the need to tout your resume in your signature? You are a sad little man with small balls
I'll be the first to stick up for nervous! At least s/he has a sense of humor!
I toot my own horn everyday, sometimes twice. Its no big deal. Oh, and say hi to your mother for me.
38 -- What, no offer to do a film together?? I thought you produced Entourage!!
19 - so you've billed 6000+ hours this year...nice! Also great to learn you are more competent then all the partners in your group. TOOL!!!
*reads link from 12, decides to only apply to V5's...skaddendc here i come!*
-nervous t-10 1L
Hey Mystal, how's it going? You know me. I'm Mark Wahlberg. Yeah, I see you like to eat a lot. I like that. I was in a movie called The Perfect Storm. Did you see it, Mystal? There was a fat woman character in that movie that kind of reminds me of you. Well, ok then. Talk to you later. Say hi to your mother for me.
14,
You're on pace to bill 6000 hours this year? I feel for the clients that pay your (over)bills.
19 - Let me tell you a secret. Your accomplishments, whatever they may be, will not make you a happier or more secure person. That shit come from the inside, and billing 20 hours a day won't build it.
*reads link from 12, decides to only apply to V5's...skaddendc here i come!*
-nervous t-10 1L
Guys in my highschool used to reference the Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals skit all the time. It was no big deal.
Ellie is fat. Word to your mother.
guys quit making fun of elie! (see elie i've got your back, just like i will this summer if you hire me)
-nervous T-10 1L
20 -- no i don't feel "lucky" i still have a job. my firm is not experiencing much of a slowdown in work and not doing any stealth or mass layoffs. i don't see why i shouldn't be rewarded for billing 2000+ hours with a bonus to match, just like any other year.
30,
Associate: The bonuses are weak.
Partner: "The bonuses are weak." Fucking bonuses are weak? You're weak. I've been in this business fifteen years.
Associate: What's your name?
Partner: FUCK YOU, that's my name!! You know why, Mister? 'Cause you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove a eighty thousand dollar BMW. That's my name!!
14,
Really? You've done the work of 3 associates? Really? 6000 hours? Really? That's over 16 hours every day including weekends and holidays. Really? You basically worked from 6am - 10:30pm for 365 straight days? Really? Really?
I suppose you also walked to work, going uphill both ways in the snow, even in July. Oh, yeah, really?
*makes fruit basket for elie, to reduce his craving and caloric intake*
;) Elie! Elie! Elie! ;)
-nervous T-10 1L
Actually, I will only bill about 2100 hours this year, and I am not busy right now at all (hence why I am on here #24 -- superstars want to know the buzz too).
"Amount of work" doesn't always = hours billed (though obviously that matters), and there is something to be said for understanding complex problems, doing highly effecient work, getting things done and making clients happy. Judging by the responses on here, though, most of you have not figured that out, and that is why you won't be getting any special bonus this year.
44, I couldn't agree more. I have almost never billed 20 hours in a day, let alone 15 (maybe a half dozen times I can remember). I feel extremely lucky and humbled to be where I am. I am sorry that the rest of you cannot experience the feeling of knowing that you get it, while you watch the rest of your peers flounder.
-14/19
*nervously reads link from 42, decides to only apply to V5's...skaddendc here i come!*
-nervous t-10 1L
Actually, I will only bill about 2100 hours this year, and I am not busy right now at all (hence why I am on here #24 -- superstars want to know the buzz too).
"Amount of work" doesn't always = hours billed (though obviously that matters), and there is something to be said for understanding complex problems, doing highly effecient work, getting things done and making clients happy. Judging by the responses on here, though, most of you have not figured that out, and that is why you won't be getting any special bonus this year.
44, I couldn't agree more. I have almost never billed 20 hours in a day, let alone 15 (maybe a half dozen times I can remember). I feel extremely lucky and humbled to be where I am. I am sorry that the rest of you cannot experience the feeling of knowing that you get it, while you watch the rest of your peers flounder.
-14/19
The sense of entitlement by so many of you is disgusting. Have you taken a look at what is happening in the economy right now?!? Just be happy you have a job and are getting the overpaid salaries none of us really deserve! Plus if you killed yourself billing this year instead of actually having a life...well then lesson learned for you.
51 - I take it that wsa to the tone of Seth & Amy?
14/19/55 is nominated for the biggest prick of the year post. Do I hear a second?
What a douche.
14/19/53/55 do you send all emails to your clients twice? That must really not piss them off at all...
12: I like this comment on the WSJ blog best:
This post belongs on Above the Law, which has become a mediocre blog especially because of posts like this. The law blog is intelligent and interesting– can’t we keep it that way?
Comment by: Please don't go down that road
No
-14/19/53/55
14/19/53/55: I understand complex problems and issues. I also resolve them favorably. For example, I understand the complex issue of posting comments on this board and will resolve it favorably by pressing the "post comment" button only once. I will do all of this while handling bet-the-company litigation as well as cutting edge constitutional questions that the Supreme Court will one day resolve--because I'm trying to be almost as cool as you, if that's possible.
58- I second that
58- I second that
58- I second that
Oh come on, people - as if you can't tell by now that 14/19/53/55 is a troll. Stop it!
I am assuming that post #14 is a joke. C'mon, nobody is that ridiculous. I call bullshit.
The associates in BIGLAW departments that have seen a slowdown should be happy they have a job and should not expect a bonus. However, the associates in BIGLAW firms that are busy (especially those that are on track to bill 2400+) absolutely expect a bonus equal to 2007 bonuses without the "special", although I am sure a "special" bonus would be much appreciated by those that are billing well above their practice group average hours.
Not too big of a deal. Pushing things off for a month sucks a little, but is probably more than offset by not firing anyone right before the holidays.
I'm glad Elie didn't overplay his hand in this post and go ape shit on MLB, like he did in the one about K&L Gates cutting back on the quality of TP.
The associates in BIGLAW departments that have seen a slowdown should be happy they have a job and should not expect a bonus. However, the associates in BIGLAW firms that are busy (especially those that are on track to bill 2400+) absolutely expect a bonus equal to 2007 bonuses without the "special", although I am sure a "special" bonus would be much appreciated by those that are billing well above their practice group average hours.
I don't take the memo to mean performance reviews will happen in January, but rather, expect (I'm an MLB associate) that they will take place in November and December as usual. Note, the memo makes clear that salary increases will still take effect on Jan. 1. Although these increases are pretty much a foregone conclusion for those who hit 2000 hours and perform adequately, they still are contingent on a satisfactory performance review, which obviously suggests that reviews will occur before January.
No
-14/19/53/55
Even Cravath has to wipe his own ass sometimes.
skattendc
The general sense around here (V5) is that we will probably get the 2007 ordinary bonus, without the special. Given that we have been very busy with a lot of work from this financial crisis, but that the economy and general corproate activity has slowed down, this would be somewhat a reasonable compromise. Since we are lockstep, everyone will get the same bonus.
V20 will pay the same standard bonii as last year and take this opportunity to rise above the rest of the firms out there.
Below that, the market will begin to segment , with second-tier firms deciding they can no longer keep up.
Biglaw will once again be Biglaw and pretenders to the title will shrink away!
Look at this from another perspective, for those of us who already have new employment lined up in mid to late January 2009, firms' pushing back paying the bonus to January means they'll get a 2-day notice instead of the one-month notice we initially planned. Oh well.
Look at this from another perspective, for those of us who already have new employment lined up in mid to late January 2009, firms' pushing back paying the bonus to January means they'll get a 2-day notice instead of the one-month notice we initially planned. Oh well.
Look at this from another perspective, for those of us who already have new employment lined up in mid to late January 2009, firms' pushing back paying the bonus to January means they'll get a 2-day notice instead of the one-month notice we initially planned. Oh well.
ATL is screwing us by posting all this news and comments with lower expectations. To some extent, ATL drives the bonus market, and if all that management committees see is associates hoping for any bonus at all and not wanting to get fired, then we're not going to have a good bonus year. ATL should be posting things about how the top firms are booming, how this is the year for top firms to distinguish themselves from purported competitors, etc., not this happy to have a job bs!!
58/62/63/64/65,
I continue to be baffled by the animosity on this site. I was recently elected to be the vice-chair of social activities for my condo complex, and I have balanced these activities while continuing to serve my clients in a first-rate capacity. For this, I will be rewarded monetarily this year, while some of you will not. So why does that make me a prick or a douche? Please explain.
I also have one of the more highly-attended holiday parties around. Douches don't have highly-attended parties. So there.
-14/19/53/55/61/72
Someone should give #19 a cockpunch.
Reality had to happen at some time. Firms that bill their associates out at rates that are $100+ an hour less than the V15 firms, or don't have premium work or blank check clients can't afford to pay the same bonuses as the very top firms. It would be nice of course, but it doesn't make much economic sense.
No one should be proud of billing 2000 or more hours.
you all forget that law is a BUSINESS, and the business owners (partners) are protecting themselves while looking to keep the hired help happy enough that you keep showing up.
the timing of the bonus payment and bonus review is tied to collections (they don't know how much there really is to pay you, or when it may actually arrive in the coffers).
for the moment, be happy that you have a job and a salary (earning in the top 2% of the population no less), because given the economy . . . you could be SOL tomorrow
83, agree completely, but sometimes it is the unfortunate byproduct of providing your clients top-notch, first-rate legal services. At the end of the day, it is not the hours worked, but the level of service provided and whether the client is happy with the result. That keeps them coming back, and keeps us employed.
-14/19/53/55/61/72/80
80: I take it all back...so long as I get an invitation to this year's party.
SF is f*cked.
19 = triple biller
14/19/53/55/61/72/80 - you rock. For serious. You not only do the work of three associates plus find time for seven ATL comments this morning alone? And, you still exceed the collective competence of your entire group? In that case I wouldn't assume that they have six figures worth of cash to pay you.
Elie/Lat-
Can we do a post on billable hours for corporate associates in T-50 firms? Whats realistic for people to hit as the billable year is ending?
79 - totally agree!
79 is right. Let's see some posts about how well Sullivan and Weil and others are doing.
Morgan Lewis is one of the "2Ls, accept another offer" firms.
14 would have written more, but had trouble typing with one hand while patting himself on the back with the other.
MLB sent out another announcement that the standardized hours-based bonuses will still be paid in December in Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia. The incentive bonuses will be paid out in January across the firm, along with the other offices' hours bonuses.
The hours bonuses still require getting at least an average performance review, so evaluations are definitely being done before January--at least in those three offices.
80 -- You are the "vice-chair of social activities for [your] condo complex?" Really? You must be billing a lot of hours then, only people with no lives and no friends sit on the board of any condo building.
80 - you are a douche and no one really likes you. Quit fucking around with your condo board trying to make friends and try to get your billables up.
I hear Morgan doesn't even give a first year bonus. When you get one, it is highly compressed. Info?
I'm surprised to hear that Morgan was paying in December at all. I greatly prefer January bonus distributions - helps me max out of SSI earlier in the year = more take-home pay for more months.
It's tax neutral, sure, but I like having use of the money across each paycheck after I hit the cap, rather than all in a wad at the end of the year.
80 -- WTF! ANY party will be highly attended if the douche host serves enough good booze and food no matter how much of a douche the host is. For all we know you invite all the denizens of the local homeless shelter to up the headcount at your holiday party so you can brag that you have even more friends.
MLB is a fine place to work. This "story" is considerably overblown.
To keep PPP up, Morgan Lewis quietly pushed out dozens of partners this year, and have "repointed" many others. The surviving partners are more than a little bitter, and are probably unsympathetic toward associates crying about a delay (not a reduction) in their bonuses.
you guys need to step off with your "higher tax" b*llsh*it.
The economy sucks. There are people who ACTUALLY have trouble paying bills that matter. Not their expensive apartment or whatever bills.
We're damn lucky to be able to go to such great law schools, work at high-paying jobs, and have good career prospects ahead of you.
All you idiots who believe "the government is taking too much of your money" should have to spend one week in the life of post-Depression America.
You make me sick.
(And no, I'm not any of the stereotypes you're about to throw at me. Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong.)
14 - There's no way in hell you did the work of 3 associates this year.
How can I say that? Simple.
Let's say an average associate (who does the work of one associate) bills 2000 hours. That means they actually worked probably 3000.
3000 * 3 = 9000.
There are 365 days in a year (in case you didn't know). 365 * 24 = 8760.
8760 < 9000.
There's not enough hours in a year for your claim to be true.
(And that's not even counting time to sleep.)
Stop tooting your own horn and say something useful. You remind me of a S&C 1L SA in my class who did nothing but piss off the whole class by being a jerk talking about himself.
He didn't amount to much.
I'm a Morgan Lewis associate and I'm not at all concerned about getting a bonus this year. They took care of us last year even after the infamous Morgan Lewis deferral memo by paying us regular and special bonuses and I have heard that they will do the same this year.
I'm a Morgan Lewis associate and I'm not at all concerned about getting a bonus this year. They took care of us last year even after the infamous Morgan Lewis deferral memo by paying us regular and special bonuses and I have heard that they will pay bonuses this year.
14/19, do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on? Stop bragging about your pathetic life.
14/19, do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on? Stop bragging about your pathetic life.
Morgan Lewis has a September 30 fiscal year end, not a December 31. This means that now Morgan Lewis is holding off on paying bonuses for almost 4 months after the end of their fiscal year. Most firms who pay in January have December 31 year ends, so they are paying within weeks, not months. Also, Morgan Lewis claims to fix the associate bonus pool in August, just before the fiscal year end, based on that fiscal year's performance and how many associates they think will hit the 2000 min. hours to be bonus eligible.
So that means Morgan Lewis is doing one or both of the following: (1) delaying payment to earn a bit more interest on the set aside associate bonus pool; or (2) waiting to see what other firm's pay in bonuses so they can reduce the bonuses they pay accordingly. #2 goes against the firm's claims of how bonuses are calculated. Remember, Morgan Lewis bonuses are entirely discretionary, and require 2000 hours to be bonus eligible.
103 - "Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong."
now who can argue with that.
Just wanted to let you know that Morgan, Lewis quickly reversed its "no lay offs" stance. As of this week, Morgan Lewis is laying off all senior associates "not on partnership" track, whatever that means...
Just wanted to let you know that Morgan, Lewis quickly reversed its "no lay offs" stance. As of this week, Morgan Lewis is laying off all senior associates "not on partnership track," whatever that means... The decision is said to be "purely economical." So, all you high-paid senior associates who have committed your entire careers to the firm, you get one month's pay and you're out!