Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Don't Forget About Faegre & Benson

We’ve been doing a lot of coverage on Dorsey & Whitney. The firm canceled its 2010 summer program and only had a 56% offer rate to its 2009 summers.
But we don’t want to forget about another Minneapolis powerhouse firm, Faegre & Benson. Earlier this month, we learned that the firm had decided to cut the starting salaries for its new associates. Faegre & Benson has confirmed to Above the Law that the new starting salary for its Minneapolis associates will be $110,000. That’s down a little less than ten percent from the firm’s previous starting salary of $120K.
One upper Midwestern tipster had hoped Faegre was taking advantage of the troubles at Dorsey & Whitney to surge past them in the Minneapolis market:

Faegre is the largest law firm in Minneapolis, and the general vibe is that it has surpassed Dorsey & Whitney in this market in terms of prestige and quality. So it’s sad to see Faegre take a step back. Especially since Faegre claimed that its layoffs earlier this year solved all its financial troubles. Will other Minneapolis firms follow suit to $110K???

I’m not sure that Dorsey & Whitney people would agree with the tipster’s “general vibe.” Regardless, rolling back to $110K for 2010 is something no offered Dorsey & Whitney summers would take in a heartbeat.
Read the full Faegre & Benson memo about its salary cuts, after the jump.


FAEGRE & BENSON — MEMO — SALARY CUTS
The Management Committee has set starting salaries for the new class of Associates in the U.S. and London offices as follows:
Minneapolis, Denver and Boulder $110,000
Des Moines $95,000
London £50,000
We have been monitoring changes in starting salaries across the country, including recentlyannounced changes at firms with principal offices in Minneapolis and Denver, as well as changes in London. At the same time, we have been listening to concerns expressed by our clients regarding the cost of legal services. We did not come quickly to the decision to makes these changes. But all things considered, we believe our new starting salaries to be competitive in the evolving marketplace for talent and responsive to client expectations in the evolving marketplace for legal services.
No changes will be made in the 2009 monthly salaries of current Associates. 2010 monthly salaries for current Associates will be set later this year.
The 2009 year-end compensation process for Associates will be the same as in past years. Bonus determinations will be made by the Management Committee based upon the Ten Factors following a review of each Associate’s annual report, performance evaluations, and related accounting data. As in past years, an Associate’s overall productivity is a material factor in determining his or her bonus.
We remain committed to a level of compensation and to a compensation system that fully reward each Associate for her or his contributions to the practice, are competitive in the marketplace, and serve to promote the retention of lawyers at the Firm over the course of their careers.
Earlier: Nationwide No Offer Watch: Dorsey & Whitney Brings More News From the Upper Midwest
More Canceled Summer Programs: Quarles & Brady, Dorsey & Whitney (outside Minneapolis)
Prior ATL coverage of salary cuts

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