Sonnenschein Salary Update

Last week, we told you that Sonnenschein would be cutting its associate’s salaries. At the time, Sonnenschein pointed out the hit to first year salaries:

Our first year Associate base salary under the new approach will be set at $145,000 in most of the cities in which we operate, and the salary levels for the balance of our Associate classes vary by year and geography consistent with our standard practice.

What does “consistent with our standard practice” mean? Above the Law has received word on what the salary cuts will look like for the rest of Sonnenschein’s associates. Tipsters report:

* 2002 and above = 15%
* 2004 = 15%
* 2005 = 14%
* 2006 = 14%
* 2008 = 10%

Did anybody expect Sonnenschein to ask its more senior associates to take a larger pay cut than its junior associates?
More news from the firm after the jump.


Associates at Sonnenschein were taken aback by the significant cuts for more senior associates:

In view of Elliott’s redundant remarks regarding the disconnect between first year associate pay and value added by first year associates, SNR associates were led to believe that more experienced associates would be less affected by the pay cuts.

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Tipsters also report that partners at the firm have been given talking points to use with firm clients:

Elliott also distributed an email to partners re how to spin the firm’s cuts. Partners are to notify clients that Sonnenschein associates are now not motivated to inflate billing because they have no monetary incentive to do so… Clients have not received a rate decrease.

But some tipsters are not worried about salary cuts. Instead, some associates are simply trying to hang onto their jobs:

Elliot & friends are literally evaluating attorneys month by month, week by week and if an attorney has a bad month (never mind the multi-year profitable performance leading up until now) they are labeled as “underperformers” and go on the chopping block. Definitely associates are being pushed out … The last round was approximately late March and another stealth round is or has happened following April’s performance.

Keep hanging on, Sonnenschein associates. It’s always darkest right before the dawn.
Earlier: Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Sonnenschein Has Had Enough of Lockstep

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