Associate Bonus Watch: Simpson Shares the Wealth with Public Service Fellows

Here’s a bit of surprising good news, from a source at Simpson Thacher:

Thought that STB should get its props for the (completely unexpected) notice that those on the public service fellowships will receive a pro-rated portion of the bonus that their individual class years received. Not bad, considering that normally not being employed at the firm by bonus day means no bonus.

This does seem like a pleasant surprise — especially since we now know that Simpson initially didn’t budget for bonuses for younger classes. We looked back at the terms of the public interest fellowship program at Simpson for mention of prorated bonuses for participating associates, and we found none.


So this basically seems like found money for the public interest fellows (even if it may not turn out to be an enormous amount, given that Simpson bonuses this year aren’t huge to begin with, even before proration and taxes). It’s a generous, classy move by the firm.
Are other firms’ sabbatical programs — e.g., Skadden Sidebar, DL Pursuits, etc. — giving pro-rated bonuses to the associates who are on these programs?
We’re guessing they are not — firms generally don’t dole out money when not required to do so — but we are happy to be proven wrong here. If you know the answer to this question, please email us. Thanks.
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Falls in Line
Dealing With the Downturn: Simpson Thacher’s Public Service Program

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